To a certain extent, doesn't need to make new music -- and to a certain extent he hasn't, choosing to not record an album of original material in the years immediately after the reality TV show once again turned him into a household name. At the peak of 's fame in the early '80s, he was a boogeyman, embodying all the dangers of , but the TV show made him safe, even cuddly -- a punch line at the White House Foreign Correspondent's Dinner -- which just helped him rake in the money, particularly since in addition to riding the wave of , his annual tour turned into an institution of sorts, helping launch new bands while tending to his credibility. Now, that is a machine, one driven entirely by personality, not new musical product, and one that was nearly in perpetual motion, never needing new grist for the mill to turn a profit. Yet there's always a risk that an enterprise like that could grow a bit stale, even with the occasional box sets, live albums, and cover records to keep things humming. And so, finally got around to a new album original material, releasing in the summer of 2007, a full six years after , his last album of originals, and well past the sell-by date of his TV show -- proof that this record isn't about cashing-in, it's about keeping the machine rolling. was released just a year and half before 's 60th birthday, and he does sound like a veteran -- he can't wail like he used to, opting for a lower-register growl, but perhaps the biggest indication that he's getting on in years is that he doesn't rock as hard as he once did. Sure, longtime axeman is here playing some mean guitar, but this isn't as heavy as he was even a decade ago, lacking both the gut-level punch and monster riffs of even his post- work. Certainly, this level of heaviosity is missed, but it's also true that if really strived for a brutal attack he might wind up sounding older than he already does here, so hearing him ease into a hazily dark, vaguely psychedelic heavy as reminiscent of as it is of is oddly appropriate. Nothing on could really qualify as an classic, but there's something curiously comforting about relaxing a little bit and singing songs that are strangely age-appropriate -- something that's not respectable, necessarily, something that is still , but something that isn't quite as heavy as before, yet retaining that swirling, circular melodies and murky grind that has been his stock and trade for nearly 40 years. If the music feels a bit older, so do 's lyrics. He spends a startling amount of time addressing the ills of the world, ranging from terrorism to consumerism, and for once his fondness for gloomy doomsday imagery jibes with the conventional-held opinion of the state of the world (although he never gets as apocalyptic as 's , or the series, for that matter, which frankly is a relief). This unintentional zeitgeist piggybacking helps feel timely and appropriate, which is a mildly shocking turn of events, and helps the album feel something closer to a work of art than a piece of product for the Ozz machine. It's hardly a perfect record -- producer , who engineered and also produced 's 2006 , has a long history of editing and engineering, including credits on , , and , and all that history is evident in the album's slightly too punchy and precise sound. But even if is a bit clean, a bit soft in the center, it's far from an embarrassment, and it's surprisingly likeable -- kind of like himself in the new millennium, really, so it's nice that he finally has an album that lives up to his well-scrubbed, reputable persona. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine