• There are two different versions of the cover art for Black Rain.  Neither has the album title on it, which is unusual.  However, the image to the left (the grey image) is the cover art the US cover art.  The one with Ozzy himself on the cover is the "everywhere else" cover art.  Why they chose such a boring cover art for the US release is beyond me.  it's also odd that if you buy the album through iTunes in the US, you get a "digital booklet", which contains most of the same art as the non grey one anyway.  The third image is what you get when you buy the CD in Japan (the fire was an artistic choice, it's not part of the CD package or anything).

• The album was recorded at Ozzy's studio at his house.
• At release time, there was a limited run of Black Rain copies for the US that included a pass which guaranteed a ticket to Ozzfest 2007.
• Here is the original press release for this album:

“I Don’t Wanna Stop.” “Not Going Away.” “Thank God For The Almighty Dollar.” “Civilize The Universe.” “Black Rain.” “Countdown’s Begun.” And “Trap Door.”

You can tell by looking at many of the song titles on BLACK RAIN—OZZY OSBOURNE’s first album with new studio material in six years—that the rock legend took a good look at his own life and the world around him. He also salutes his fans—among the most devoted in the world—with such songs as “Here For You” and “Lay Your World On Me.”

Due out May 22 on Epic Records, BLACK RAIN finds the two-time Grammy Award winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee as vital, creative and evocative as ever. You also get the clear sense that he’s operating at the peak of powers, as a singer and songwriter. OZZY fans can log onto www.ozzy.com to hear samples of tracks from the album.

OZZY co-produced the album with Kevin Churko and recorded it with his touring band: Zakk Wylde (guitar), Mike Bordin (drums) and Blasko (bass). OZZY says that he felt a new freedom while recording the album at his home studio in Los Angeles. The result: songs that are not only hard-hitting but adventurously arranged and sonically fresh. Explains OZZY, “It’s a well-put together album. I think it’s evident that it hasn’t been just slapped out and put down. I took my time on the album and Zakk [Wylde] plays some amazing stuff as always.” OZZY feels BLACK RAIN is the true follow-up to his classic No More Tears, the 1991 album that also challenged the expectations of what an OZZY OSBOURNE album should sound like.

Some of the songs on BLACK RAIN are ominous in their emotional tone--they examine a world teeming with greed, war, deception, bad drugs (“11 Silver,” about crystal meth) and environmental havoc. OZZY also zooms in on the overriding sense of fear and dread that define our times--perpetrated, he feels, by news programs that make “entertainment” out of terrible news events.

Says OZZY: “I just thought there’s so much fucking bad news, the only way I can release it is to put it in a song.” On the other hand, the new track “Civilize The Universe” offers a sense of hope, as OZZY sings: “I’m alive/Watching better turn to worse/One more time/Try to civilize the universe.”

OZZY will support BLACK RAIN with a world tour beginning in Moscow on May 27 which continues through July 6. Then starting July 12 in Seattle, he’ll headline the 12th annual OZZFEST tour throughout America (www.ozzfest.com).

The pioneer and trendsetter has pulled the plug on ticket prices in America and given the power back to the fans, calling this summer’s OZZFEST "FreeFest.” That’s right, this year’s OZZFEST is entirely free for fans, an unprecedented move for an artist and tour of this stature.

OZZY is being honored in May on VH-1’s “Rock Honors” telecast. He will perform three songs on the broadcast including a track from BLACK RAIN. Premiering on Thursday, May 24 at 9:00 PM ET/PT, “VH1 Rock Honors,” will be taped at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on Saturday, May 12.

OZZY’s popularity, creativity and reach are immeasurable, with recent inductions into both the U.K. Music Hall of Fame (as a solo artist and as a member of Black Sabbath) in November 2005 and as a member of Black Sabbath in the U.S. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2006. He’s won two Grammy Awards and one Emmy Award, and has a star on Hollywood Boulevard’s “Walk of Fame.”