[Album Announcement and Artwork Reveal]
(Is he Christian metal Ozzy!??)
Imari Tones will release our new album, “Diary Of A Godman,” on July 22.
As the title suggests, this album is a tribute to heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne. When this legendary musician passed away in July last year, we decided to create this album and dedicate it to his memory.
The original concept was to create a Christian counterpart to Ozzy’s classic “Diary Of A Madman.” Although he was known as the Prince of Darkness, it’s often said that he believed in God in his personal life. The core idea—and the key song—had been with us for over ten years, but we felt that now was finally the right time to bring it to life.
At first, we planned to make it a four-song EP. But as new songs kept coming, it eventually grew into an eight-track release. At that point, it felt too substantial to call it an EP, so we decided to call it an album. Maybe you could call it a “small album.” We jokingly refer to it as an “Extended EP”—as in “Extended Extended Play.”
The music video for the album’s opening track, “Good News,” has already been released. The song is inspired by Japan’s history and cultural legacy, telling the story of the arrival of Christianity in Japan.
On July 22, the anniversary of Ozzy Osbourne’s passing, we will release “Diary Of A Godman.” At the same time, we’ll also premiere the music video for the album’s title track, our tribute to Ozzy. We hope you’ll look forward to it.
Album Link (Spotify presave and more)
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/imaritones/diary-of-a-godman
“Good News” Music Video
https://youtu.be/kc34sKkrJ-8
P.S.
A few words about the album artwork.
As you can probably tell, the cover is an homage to Ozzy’s “Diary Of A Madman.”
You’re probably wondering, “Who is this guy?”
His name is Jon Lockett, and he’s a dear friend of ours.
Jon is a passionate Christian metalhead and has been a longtime supporter of Imari Tones. In the fall of 2023, when we had lost our home in a fire and were living at our church, he traveled to Japan to visit us.
Seeing his personality, his love for both Jesus and heavy metal, and his wonderfully eccentric appearance, we immediately felt he was the perfect person to represent the “Godman” character. So while he was here, we did the photo shoot for the album cover together.
Three years later, we’re finally able to release this album, and we’re truly happy to share it with you.
Jon has spent his life supporting Christian heavy metal and continuing to make music himself. He has been involved with projects such as Aqaba Gulf and Headless Deathwish. (Tak actually helped produce some of Aqaba Gulf’s demo recordings.) Currently he plays bass for the Italy-based Christian metal band Nocturnal Flame.
Jon, thank you for giving this album such an unforgettable visual identity.
We’d love to tell you more about him another time.