AC/DC - Black Ice [Review]
1fastdog.
Posted to Music on Wed Nov 05, 2008 at 08:43:39 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
They'rrrrrrrrrre back!
After an 8-year hiatus, the the venerable rockers from Down Under are back with a #1 album. How's it sound? Well, clench your fists and start pumpin' or grab your air guitar and start jumpin', 'cuz it's that kind of album.
Here's the video for Rock N Roll Train.
It may be a Wal-Mart exclusive, but Black Ice is the second-biggest selling album in the US this year. 784,000 people purchased the new album, which just happens to be the best AC/DC release since their stone-cold classic Back In Black.
AC/DC never really changes their sound all that much, and this time is no different. Indeed, the new album sounds like it could've dropped 20-years ago; it's all catchy-as-fuck, boogie-metal riffery and sing-along shout-outs, the kind of tunes that AC/DC used to churn out with epic frequency. The difference between Black Ice and all the other joints put out since 1980's Back In Black, is that this album is almost entirely full of single-worthy material. Previously the band had been in a rut in which saw them putting out albums that had one or two great singles interspersed with a metric ton of filler.
This is an easy album to like if you've ever invested any time listening to the band's late '70s and early '80s output. Forget any grandiose statements; forget any lyrical revelations that take days to pore over and think about; forget any ideas about experimental musical journeys with crazy arrangements or wacky instrumentation - none of that crap exists in AC/DC's corner of the world. What does exist are songs that you can throw on anytime and have an instant party with. Songs that beg to be blasted out of car stereos with the windows down and the volume up. It's classic hard rock comfort food to the nth degree.
Tracklist and final thoughts to follow:
1. "Rock 'n' Roll Train"
2. "Skies on Fire"
3. "Big Jack"
4. "Anything Goes"
5. "War Machine"
6. "Smash 'n' Grab"
7. "Spoilin' for a Fight"
8. "Wheels"
9. "Decibel"
10. "Stormy May Day"
11. "She Likes Rock 'n' Roll"
12. "Money Made"
13. "Rock 'n' Roll Dream"
14. "Rocking All the Way"
15. "Black Ice"
Black Ice is one of those albums that you can't help but like if you're a fan of any of the band's hit albums. It's tight, energetic and extremely catchy. In fact, they seem completely re-energized here. If there's a complaint to be made, it's that perhaps one or two songs are a little indistinguishable from one another towards the end of the album, but that's a pretty minor quibble considering the fun quotient served up throughout the album.
8 out of 10. The wheel has not been reinvented here, although AC/DC has seen to it that it's been sent down the track with rubber burning in its wake and thus making it an easy recommendation for those who like old school riff-rock.
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