Epic, in association with Legacy, have put together a box set from the Prince of Darkness that is guaranteed to make Satan himself sit up straight in his throne and smile ear-to-ear.  The collectors edition will be released on May 31st. 

For starters, the box set contains both of the studio albums featuring Ozzy’s guitarist, and musical comrade, Randy Rhoads. Ozzy was lifted up from a booze and drug induced haze to rock superstardom with the release of Blizzard of Oz, after being ousted from Black Sabbath. Like a demon rising from hell’s most molten lava, Ozzy was able to do the unthinkable: resurrect his career and become larger than he was with Sabbath, eventually becoming larger than life.

Blizzard introduced the world to the young guitarist named Randy Rhoads, whose playing was so magical that he inadvertently influenced Metal guitarists for all time. Fluent in Metal, Classical and any number of other genres, his life was cut short from a freak plane crash while on tour with Ozzy. His legacy will remain as long as there are rebellious young men and woman who turn to the electric six-string to express their angst with the world.

This version of Blizzard brings back all of the original members of Ozzy’s band and even includes the never before released “You Looking at Me, Looking at You” as well an emotional, stripped down, guitar and vocal only performance of “Goodbye to Romance.” Randy is forever remembered, as well, as the album ends with a one-minute plus jam of Randy in the studio, wailing away, as only he could.

Ozzy’s sophomore effort, Diary of a Madman, is also included in the box set. The album, while having no bonus tracks, is remastered and sounds amazing. The tunes on both albums show why Ozzy was able to take over the world of Heavy Metal. The title track of this album actually gave the Metal genre the push needed to become eerier, darker and more menacing. “Over the Mountain,” “Flying High Again” and “You Can’t Kill Rock n Roll” show Oz and band pushing themselves to stardom.

The third CD included in this set is a rare live concert featuring Randy Rhoads. The set list includes all of the best of the first album in “Crazy Train,” “I Don’t Know,” “Mr. Crowley,” “Revelation (Mother Earth)” and “Suicide Solution.” Also included is “Flying High Again” as well as three Sabbath classics in “Iron Man,” “Children of the Grave” and “Paranoid.”

The box set also includes a DVD documentary looking back at these classic moments with tons of interviews with Ozzy and other stars. Watching Ozzy at the soundboard revisiting these classic songs is worth the price of admission. The Prince of Hell Fire becomes emotional listening to Randy from beyond the grave and often can only shake his head at the musical majesty that was created on these two iconic recordings.

This is a must-own for all fans of Ozzy and Randy.