Here's the first song I heard this morning. Not a bad soundtrack for doing the dishes:
Ozzy Osbourne - S.A.T.O.
Introspective lyrics with a vaguely nautical theme, from 1981 - hey! Well, no, it's not any kind of yacht rock. ("Saiing Across The Ocean" is the most straightforward explanation for what the initials mean, but there are plenty of other fan theories about it. I've known about the song since middle school and never knew what S.A.T.O. stood for.) This triumphant-sounding metal shuffle wasn't one of Ozzy's bigger songs, and it's not stick-in-your-head memorable, but it still shines brightly. Of course the guitar playing is otherworldly good, it's Randy Rhoads, and the rhythm section is intense and powerful throughout. What actually elevates the song for me, though, is that big sweeping filtery synth, both in the intro and especially when it comes back near the end. It creates a sort of epic feeling of closure that works well with the discovery in the lyrics. It's the second to last cut on Diary of a Madman (or at least it was on my cassette version back in the day), and that's the right slot for it - not a hit, not a finale, but something to lift you up before the big finish.
Oh yeah, speaking of finishing things: I'm approving the final mixes today for Sucker In The Promised Land! We should be able to send the album off for mastering later this week. Really thankful to John, the mix engineer I work with - these songs have a lot of layers, so they're time-consuming and challenging to mix, but I think you'll be very impressed with how they came out. I'm planning to post a song from it in late January/early February, with the full release available in early March.