Patient Number 9
| Ozzy Osbourne
Patient Number 9
Patient Number 9 is the thirteenth studio album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. It was released on 9 September 2022 through Epic Records and was produced by Andrew Watt. -Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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NME
A fizzing piece of hard-rock magic.
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The Guardian
The irrepressible rocker offsets his usual forays into the occult with moving contemplations of illness on a star-studded return.
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Kerrang!
If nothing else, it's pleasing to see Ozzy still carrying on and still being The Prince Of Darkness. But Patient Number 9 is also, like its predecessor, a massive celebration of life and friendship and the magic power of music. 'I'll never die, because I'm immortal!' he announces on Immortal. He sounds it.
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Louder
Metal’s greatest icon continues his late-career hot streak.
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Sputnik Music
An unadventurous, unspectacular, but nonetheless dignified addition to a veteran artist's modern body of work.
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Revolver Magazine
By the time Ozzy closes the album with a final laugh, he sounds a lot less nostalgic than ready for something more. Whether he gets back onstage or in a studio (and as his slowly improving health allows), this heavy-metal patient only sounds recharged, not ready for any farewells or swan songs just yet.
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Wall of Sound
I have no doubt Ozzy fans will take to this album like the Prince of Darkness takes to bats. With thirteen tracks to choose from, there’s more than enough meaty goodness to sink your teeth into.
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Ghost Cult Magazine
Genuinely one of the strongest albums Ozzy has released in years, Patient Number 9 might be weighted somewhat more towards the slower, power ballad side of things but when it gets going, it rocks like a motherfucker. The vocals are strong and vibrant, and if that’s due in part to studio tinkering then who cares? Ozzy earned the right to do whatever the hell he wants a long time ago, and most importantly, it sounds fucking great.
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HeadBangers Lifestyle
The 73-year-old Ozzy Osbourne might not know what day of the week it is at times as he is suffering from Parkinson Disease, but give him a studio, a microphone, the right songs and all that musical talent gathered around him and he will do the job one way or another. For how much longer? God only knows, but in the mean-time ‘Patient Number 9’ is a hard rocking and heavy metal and rock album that sounds great and has better performed songs than I ever thought was possible given the state of Ozzy’s health. Check out some clips as a taster if you have any doubts. I am sure that you will be easily convinced….
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The Moshville Times
Going from strength to strength “God Only Knows” has me convinced I could actually get my eldest daughter into this album if I played her this track first – an experiment I’m eager to try out. And just like that we are at the final track with some good old delta blues… which is honestly something I thought I would never hear on an Ozzy album. But I love both delta blues and Ozzy so it’s a hit for me.
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The Post
Had Patient Number 9 been released in the heyday of Black Sabbath, it would have been a remarkable and well-received feat. However, given the context of the album’s release, "Patient Number 9" is mediocre at best.
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Stereoboard
Although occasionally wrestling with mortality and existential dread, unlike its foreboding predecessor, ‘Patient Number 9’ is an almost perfect encapsulation of all things Ozzy that ultimately feels less of a swan song than a launchpad for a glorious final act. Health permitting, let’s hope this revitalised crazy train won’t be derailed any time soon.
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The Independent
Even as Osbourne clambers from the grave in its second half and sets about wreaking undead revenge on his enemies, an anguished fatalism soaks the record.
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The Quad
All in all, the work was a strong effort, and while not ever going to surpass his 80’s works such as: “Blizzard of Oz,” “Bark at The Moon” or even “No Rest For The Wicked,” it will likely find itself amongst the greatest of his latter career compositions. The production is very modern and everything is polished as such, so for lovers of that raw unbridled power that defined the Sabbath days, (myself a guilty party) there is some left to be desired.
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AllMusic
Even with that fatalistic perspective sometimes peeking through, Ozzy sounds hypercharged throughout Patient Number 9, continuing the unlikely late-in-the-game comeback he began on Ordinary Man, and besting that album by taking more chances.
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Cryptic Rock
Patient Number 9 is another golden ring on his finger. The man may have been slowed down by his life’s challenges; but as an artist, his music is earthly eternal. All this said, Ozzy Osbourne is really alive and well, still rocking menacingly to his heart’s content.
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Black Squirrel Radio
Overall, Patient Number 9 is a stellar piece of work from Ozzy. Especially at 73 years young, Ozzy keeps the bar as high as he always has, maybe even surpassing it.
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Classic Rock History
What Ozzy Osbourne, Watt, and company have accomplished with Patient Number 9 is truly a marvel to behold, and if – heaven forbid – this should be the last full-length offering fans receive from The Prince of Darkness, may it be remembered as one worthy of one of the most fascinating and significant legacies in the history of popular music.
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Riff Magazine
The remaining songs let go of the collaborations, focusing more on Osbourne’s own writing and musical personality. “Dead and Gone” is Osbourne’s admission that the future is uncertain and often bleak, but provides tips on how to ultimately pull through until your time has come. “God Only Knows” (not a Beach Boys cover) is a power ballad in a more traditional sense, while “Darkside Blues” goes in a very different direction as a bluegrass stomper with steel guitars and other stringed instruments.
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Consequence
Ozzy Osbourne Is a Bright Light on Star-Studded Album Patient Number 9.
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The Soundcheck
Osbourne's ongoing and burgeoning team-up with Watt firmly helming production is an undeniable highlight for album #13, and while Patient Number 9 may not be a total game-changer for the rock'n'roll genre, it's ultimately Ozzy Osbourne doing what Ozzy Osbourne does: kicking ass and taking names, and making it sound effortlessly spectacular along the way. The Prince of Darkness rides again on Patient Number 9, and it's a regal adventure from start to finish courtesy of a once-in-a-lifetime talent (and some prodigious friends).
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Metal Digest
It has to be remembered that ‘Patient Number 9’ is not ‘Blizzard of Ozz’ or ‘Diary of a Madman’. It is leaps and bounds ahead of ‘Ordinary Man’, but don’t expect a miracle. There will be those which will adore ‘Patient Number 9’, but in reality, its nothing more than just a bog-standard average album that is far too long. However, if Ozzy was to bow out now, it wouldn’t be a disaster because at least it’s not ‘Ordinary Man’.
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Music Matters Media
As this is in fact Ozzy’s thirteenth solo album, it’s unclear why it’s titled Patient Number 9 (possibly another nod to the Beatles?). Suggesting a person who’s just one of many identified only by an assigned digit, this title, like that of the singer’s last album Ordinary Man, implies that Ozzy isn’t unique and doesn’t stand out. That, of course, can’t be anything but irony, since Ozzy is probably the most identifiable single figure in all of heavy metal. At the same time, Patient Number 9 doesn’t particularly stand out among his solo work or even hard rock in general, but overall it’s more than solid enough to not really have to.
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Maximum Volume Music
There is a general theme around mortality that is present throughout the album butat 73 years young and a decade littered with accidents and ill-health it is perhaps remarkable that we even have another Ozzy album, particularly as the previous release “Ordinary Man” was only a couple of years back. For that we must be eternally grateful that he still has the will, desire and talent to produce an album, that may not rank amongst his finest, nevertheless gives some outstanding moments and reminders of what makes Ozzy the legend that he is.
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BraveWords
Patient Number 9 has its faults, but there are genuinely some great songs and that makes it his best album since Ozzmosis.
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Now Spinning Magazine
This is his most Sabbath sounding album in years to me.
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Renowned For Sound
Patient Number 9 is Ozzy on surprisingly high form. His lyricism and vocal delivery are what you expect, but are also far better than what could have transpired. The choice of features on this album help immensely to bring the power that the songs needed, and Ozzy has risen to their level with each succeeding track. It’s a fantastic listen, and one that all rock fans, not just fans of Ozzy’s, should dive in to.
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The Arts Desk
That said, there is plenty else that is worth a listen and the title track with Jeff Beck, “Immortal” with Pearl Jam’s McCready and “Parasite” with Zakk Wylde all bring out the best in Ozzy on an album with very few duds – even if it sounds that more than a touch of Autotune has been needed to preserve his characteristic wailing.
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Rock Sins
Patient Number 9 is an album many of us probably didn’t know we needed or wanted. Ordinary Man seemed like the perfect send off, so another album felt like it might be a step too far. It’s a pleasant surprise that this album is indeed very good.
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Hotpress
The former harks back to his youth peddling doom-laden blues, while the latter is a stadium-rattling, high-octane rocker. While Ozzy’s days as a touring performer might be in doubt, there’s no denying that Patient Number 9 is terrific.
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Tinnitist
Backed by a squad of superstar guitar slingers, the immortal Prince of Darkness overcomes recent health crises and returns to reclaim his dark throne once again.
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The Irish Times
Since a diagnosis of Parkinson’s in 2019, Osbourne has delivered two studio albums. The second, Patient Number 9, is fantastically overblown, preposterously over-produced, and features an eye-catching roll call of guests that varies from the respectable (legendary Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi) to the horrific (legendary dose Eric Clapton).
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Stargazed Magazine
As a whole, this record suffers greatly from its sound. It’s desert-sand dry and often messy. If this is supposed to be modern , then I don’t like modern. This can’t however take away the fact that the record features a long row of mostly more than decent compositions, always with great melodies and often turned into multi-part mini-epics. With a great sound quality (as on Ozzy’s 80’s albums) the grading would have been more generous. Better than “Oridinary man”? The two records seem to be each other’s siblings.
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The Mic Magazine
If this is goodbye to metal’s own holy emperor, then one thing is for certain - it would be a glorious send off.
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Liverpool Sound and Vision
Through tracks such as Parasite, No Escape From Now, Mr. Darkness, Degradation Rules, Dead And Gone, and the album title track, Patient Number 9, Ozzy Osbourne rolls back the years in waves, with a glint in the eye that dazzles, a deal with an entity big on delivery, copious in its demand for rapture and glory. Nobody’s immortal, but Ozzy will be one of those to whom in the decades to come will be spoken of by Faust as a role model and the embodiment of never writing of any patient, wearing the clothes of Kings.
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Black Squirrel Radio
Overall, Patient Number 9 is a stellar piece of work from Ozzy. Especially at 73 years young, Ozzy keeps the bar as high as he always has, maybe even surpassing it.
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Defenders of the Faith
Like a musical glass of Listerine, Patient Number 9 washes away roughly 25 years of dreck from metal’s first frontman. Old school fans will be pleasantly surprised by the musical return to form, and new school fans will be in awe of Osbourne’s dedication this far into his career. I can only hope, in the event Osbourne musters up the strength to do a follow-up album, that his board of advisors and missus take a hint: In the battle between retro and modern, retro reigns supreme. Let’s just hope said hypothetical follow-up features a songwriting/musical appearance from Jake E. Lee. What? Too unrealistic of an expectation much?
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The Times
A tribute to the Price of Darkness's talent.
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The Dark Melody
The Prince of Darkness clings to not dying, and brings us "Patient Number 9" a decent album, nostalgic and hopefully static; where he shows that he is in his toughest battles to continue in the ring. Ozzy Osbourne is in the vein of most veteran metalheads in recent years; that is, far from his heyday, but in no way embarrassing or offensive to the legacy created in him.
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AudioVein Entertainment
Every track on this song is catchy with ball-crushing and eargasm-inducing guitar solos and some pretty heavy tracks. Believe this album has something for every Ozzy fan. Whether you’re a fan of the 80s era, 90s, or early 2000s. This album is jam-packed with a lot of fun tracks and very catchy tunes. Recommend even the traditional Ozzy Osbourne fan to give this album a listen.
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Strah Music
Through all of it, Osbourne sounds energetic, a distinction to the medical points which have plagued him lately. And in contrast to Ordinary Man, Patient Number 9 is a extra centered work; the items match collectively extra simply, more than likely a results of producer Watt’s rising relationship with Osbourne. “Degradation Rules,” considered one of two songs with Sabbath guitarist Iommi, even achieves the practically inconceivable: a close-to-great solo monitor 4 many years faraway from the basic Blizzard of Ozz. There was hypothesis round Ordinary Man‘s launch that it may very well be Osbourne’s remaining album. Patient Number 9 proves that principle incorrect. Don’t rely him out simply but.
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Loud Magazine
Ozzy Osbourne has cheated death so often that Cheater of Death should be one of his official epithets, and while recent reports of his health paint stark pictures of a man close to his demise, on Patient Number 9 he sounds like he’s never been so alive.
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