Ozzy Osbourne Finished Recording a New Album in Four Weeks Thanks to … Post Malone?

In a detailed and revealing new interview with Jacqui Swift of the Sun, Ozzy Osbourne says that he’s recently completed work on a new album, and it all has to do with Post Malone.

Yes, Post Malone — the tattooed rapper whose songs have peppered the charts for a few years now as he’s gone from rising star to massive success on a global scale. Perhaps not quite the inspiration you’d think for a new album from the Prince of Darkness, right?

As Osbourne said, it all happened after he received a request to appear on a track by Post Malone … though Ozzy had no clue who the rapper was:

“I’d never even heard of this kid. He wanted me to sing on his song Take What You Want, so I did and then one thing led to another. I started recording a new album with Post Malone’s producer Andrew Watt. It’s only nine tracks but it was a catalyst to get me to where I am today.”

The song, premiered by Post Malone this month, starts with a new vocal hook from Osbourne:

Talk about a chance source of inspiration for new material, right? Osbourne said that he’s since finished recording this new record in four weeks — a pretty fast turnaround, honestly — and that he’s looking forward to fans hearing it.

This all comes after a significant bout of health issues faced by Ozzy, as he was forced to postpone and/or cancel tour dates for much of the past year-plus, battling pneumonia, a skin infection and other maladies that threw a wrench in his plans for a marathon “farewell” tour titled No More Tours 2.

“If it wasn’t for making this record I would still be on traction, thinking, ‘I’m going to be lying here for ever’. I’ve missed music so badly. My fans are so loyal and so good. Up until making the album I thought I was dying. But that got me off my a**e.”

No conversation with Ozzy Osbourne is complete without a zinger of a sound byte, and he offered one up in the Sun piece in the form of total bewilderment at today’s streaming culture:

“Music goes straight online these days and that’s quicker than it takes me to write a text. It’s all about downloads and streaming now. What the f*** does that mean? What’s Spotify? I thought it was a skin problem where you woke up spotified.

“The album was all finished in four weeks. I said to Sharon that I didn’t feel like I’d made an album because we haven’t ended up screaming at each other.”

Here’s hoping we’ll hear more from Ozzy soon!