Album · 40 years old this year
The Ultimate Sin
The Ultimate Sin is Ozzy Osbourne's fourth studio album, released on 24 January 1986 on Epic. It arrived as the follow-up to Bark at the Moon and found him in a heavy metal and hard rock mould, with a fresh rhythm section behind him. Randy Castillo made his first appearance on drums, while Phil Soussan played bass on this record only.
It was the second and final Osbourne album to feature guitarist Jake E. Lee. Soussan co-wrote the hit single "Shot in the Dark", the song most closely tied to the record. The album went Platinum in the US in May 1986 and Double Platinum in October 1994. It is also the last of his albums to carry his classic logo on the cover until Scream in 2010, which makes it something of a marker in his catalogue.
The Ultimate Sin on Riffology
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The Ultimate Sin: tracklist, credits and charts
9 tracks · 41:03Tracklist
- 1The Ultimate SinDaisley, Lee, Osbourne3:43
- 2Secret LoserDaisley, Lee, Osbourne4:08
- 3Never Know WhyDaisley, Lee, Osbourne4:28
- 4Thank God for the BombDaisley, Lee, Osbourne3:53
- 5NeverDaisley, Lee, Osbourne4:21
- 6Lightning StrikesDaisley, Lee, Osbourne5:13
- 7Killer of GiantsDaisley, Lee, Osbourne5:41
- 8Fool Like YouDaisley, Lee, Osbourne5:19
- 9Shot in the DarkOzzy Osbourne and Phil Soussan4:17
- Produced by
- Ron Nevison
- Recorded at
- Air Studios (London, UK), Studios Davout (Paris, France), The Town House (London, UK)
- Recorded
- 1985
- Mixed at
- Air Studios
- Engineered by
- Ron Nevison
- Artwork
- Ria Lewerke, Boris Vallejo
- Photography
- Mark Weiss
- Labels
- Epic, CBS Associated (US)
- Length
- 41:03
Line-up
- Randy Castillo · drums (drum set)
- Jake E. Lee · guitar
- Mike Moran · keyboard
- Phil Soussan · bass guitar
- Ozzy Osbourne · lead vocals
Singles
- “Shot in the Dark” · 20 January 1986
- “The Ultimate Sin" / "Lightning Strikes” · 28 July 1986
- “Lightning Strikes” · 1986 (Aus)
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1986 | 6 |
| UK Albums Chart · 1986 | 8 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1986 | 3 |
| Swedish Albums · 1986 | 4 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1986 | 6 |
| European Albums Chart · 1986 | 14 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1986 | 19 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1986 | 21 |
| German Albums · 1986 | 31 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1986 | 36 |
All 11 charts
| Dutch Albums · 1986 | 38 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia · 2021 | Gold |
| Canada · 1986 | Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 1986 | Silver |
| United States · 1994 | 2× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
70.5
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
3.4k
ListenBrainz listeners
143k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
18k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 24 January
Every year →
More from Ozzy Osbourne
Full discography →
Blizzard of Ozz
1980
Mr. Crowley Live EP
1980
Diary of a Madman
1981
Speak of the Devil
1982
Bark at the Moon
1983
Prince of Darkness
1984
Shot in the Dark
1986
Tribute
1987
No Rest for the Wicked
1988
Best of Ozz
1989
Just Say Ozzy
1990
Ten Commandments
1990
No More Tears
1991
Live & Loud
1993
Ozzmosis
1995
The Ozzman Cometh
1997
Down to Earth
2001
Live at Budokan
2002
The Essential Ozzy Osbourne
2003
Prince of Darkness
2005
Under Cover
2005
Black Rain
2007
Scream
2010
Memoirs of a Madman
2014
Ordinary Man
2020
Patient Number 9
2022
The best of 1986
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Shot in the Dark
Ozzy Osbourne · 1986
Live ?!★꩜ Like a Suicide
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Seventh Star
Black Sabbath · 1986
Who Made Who
AC/DC · 1986
Live Magic
Queen · 1986
Orgasmatron
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More on Epic
The label →
(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
Oasis · 1995
Ten
Pearl Jam · 1991
Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine · 1992
Definitely Maybe
Oasis · 1994
Vs.
Pearl Jam · 1993
The Battle of Los Angeles
Rage Against the Machine · 1999
No More Tears
Ozzy Osbourne · 1991
Be Here Now
Oasis · 1997
Renegades
Rage Against the Machine · 2000
Korn
Korn · 1994
Issues
Korn · 1999
Patient Number 9
Ozzy Osbourne · 2022
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1986-01-24; musicbrainz + wikidata 1986-02-22 (29 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 22 February 1986 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 24 January 1986 | |
| Wikidata | 22 February 1986 | |
| US release | 22 February 1986 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1986 | earliest UK or European date |
13 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | XE | Epic | other | |
| 1986 | GB | Epic | other | |
| 1986 | US | CBS Associated Records | 074644002614 | other |
| 22 February 1986 | US | CBS | 074644002621 | original |
| 26 February 1986 | JP | CBS/Sony | 4988009507514 | other |
| 21 March 1986 | JP | CBS/Sony | 4988009518558 | other |
| July 1986 | XE | Epic | other | |
| 1988 | XE | Epic | 5099746249625 | other |
| 30 September 1988 | JP | CBS/Sony | 4988009618159 | other |
| 1995 | AT | Epic | 5099748168023 | other |
| 22 August 1995 | US | Epic | 074646723920 | other |
| 20 June 2007 | JP | Epic | 4547366030495 | other |
| 2014 | XW | Epic | 074646723920 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| coverartarchive | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |