Ozzy Osbourne’s new track is already appearing on the charts, despite not having been released yet.
The new track is titled ‘Gods Of Rock N Roll’ and has already found its way onto the Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, ahead of its release this Friday (February 14).
It comes as the song as a new version of the Billy Morrison song ‘Gods’, which appeared on his 2015 album ‘God Shaped Hole’. The track saw the Black Sabbath frontman co-write and sing on the original, and now it has been reimagined as an orchestral edition featuring new guitar aspects from Steve Stevens.
The reason that it has found its way onto the charts already comes as Morrison gave the new version of the track its premiere while on SiriusXM’s Ozzy’s Boneyard channel last month. Since then, it has been picked up by other radio stations and has made its way to the Number 26 spot on the Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.
‘Gods Of Rock N Roll (Orchestral)’ is set to feature on the upcoming deluxe edition of Billy Morrison’s 2024 album ‘The Morrison Project’, which will arrive digitally on February 21. It will be available as a single on Friday (14).
As highlighted by Consequence, the original track wasn’t the only time that the Prince Of Darkness teamed up with Morrisson, as the two also worked together alongside Steve Stevens on a song called ‘Crack Cocaine’ – which featured on the original version of ‘The Morrison Project’. The forthcoming new version of the album will also include two new versions of that track.
The upcoming single from Osbourne comes just days after the metal pioneer announced details of the final-ever Black Sabbath live show, which will take place in Birmingham on July 5. The hometown event will include a number of star-studded opening acts and special guests, including Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Lamb Of God, Mastodon, Alice In Chains, Halestorm, recent Grammy-winners Gojira and more.
Tom Morello – the soloist and former Rage Against The Machine guitarist – will also be appearing at the gig, serving as music director. In a statement, the musician described Ozzy Osbourne and co’s final show as set to be “the greatest heavy metal show ever”.
Speaking to NME at Villa Park shortly after the announcement of Black Sabbath’s final gig, Ozzy Osbourne’s wife and manager Sharon opened up about Morello’s involvement as music director and said: “He is so knowledgeable on all different genres of music, but especially Sabbath.”
She also revealed that Morello will be taking to the stage himself and appearing alongside Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan and Tool’s guitarist Danny Carey – the latter of which was not confirmed in the original announcement.
“They’re all from Chicago so they’re all doing their bit,” she explained. “Then you’ll see Slash and Duff [McKagan] and whoever they choose to play with. David Draiman [Disturbed] is going to come up and sing, Jonathan [Davis] from KoRn is going to be here and he could be playing with [Red Hot Chili Peppers’] Chad Smith or whoever! Alice In Chains are coming and they’re playing as the band.”
When asked if she didn’t prefer the idea of just Black Sabbath and a few supporting acts, Sharon said: “No, this is a celebration – of the genre and the pioneers who started it and passed it on to all these bands. Usually, this thing is done when you’re dead – so it’s nice that these guys can be alive to be appreciated!”
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