Artist: AC/DC
Label: Columbia Records
Release: 2008
The undisputed champions of hard rock thunder, those Aussie uncles you might know as AC/DC, are finally back at the end of 2008, this time with the sensational Black Ice. You could say it’s about time! By AC/DC standards, Stiff Upper Lip turned out to be a way too lukewarm album, and ever since it came out, those of us who love character-boosted drinking anthems have been forced to stumble around for 8 years in a teetotaling, sterile “germ free” vacuum. Sure, in the meantime “the balanced and, both hygienically and content-wise, undoubtedly unobjectionable musical space” run by the masterminds of megalomaniacal corporations tried to keep us entertained with plenty of U2 and Bon Jovi fairy tales, but let’s be honest, those did about as much for the soul of a true-believer rocker as moisturizer does for the elasticity of Niki Lauda’s facial features. But good things come to those who wait. The suffering is finally over this year, because AC/DC are spreading their wings again with Black Ice, and judging by what we’re hearing, all that talk about the fall of the icons of rock & roll is complete nonsense.
Black Ice is the long-awaited return to form of rock & roll’s Australian dinosaurs, who, with only a few lapses into solemn displays of beery defiance, stay true to the traditional racket and cutting edge of three-chord riffing. The production is polished and up to date, and the album boasts a mood variety that’s unusual for AC/DC, generously adding to the diversity of the whole picture. Angus and company hit the bullseye right out of the gate. Rock & Roll Train packs all the essential elements of the classic AC/DC sound. And that’s just where the fun really begins. Skies on Fire, Big Jack and Smash n Grab are gems full of the high-octane rock & roll sparkle typical of the band’s post-Scott era, breathing down the neck of the mightiest AC/DC arsenal. War Machine is a vasectomy served straight up, without the usually mandatory hypnotic aids that would help soften the toxicity of Angus’s rattling, which sounds like it’s in the form of his life. War Machine won’t leave you cold, if for no other reason than the cunningly built-in dynamic range that gives the song a vitality we’re not used to hearing from AC/DC in the past.
What follows serves up the usual, but no less welcome, hard rock harassment that doesn’t stray too far from the well-known formula. Wheels plays the card of infectious melodies in the vein of You Shook Me All Night Long, while Spoilin’ for a Fight comes across as Angus’s next direct kick in the teeth. Money Made and Anything Goes, thanks to their more conciliatory nature and lighter approach, which will probably get up the nose of the pickier AC/DC worshippers, are the only serious candidates for the most skippable moment of the album. But no panic! The toxic atmosphere of Rock & Roll Dream quickly peeks out above their grayness, and it even comes with enviable vocal acrobatics from Johnson! No big shock there, but nowhere near as much as the creepy blues rocker Stormy May Day, where we even catch Angus shaking hands with some mighty fine slide playing. With such a top-notch selection of one-shot novelties, Black Ice would no doubt quickly get over the absence of fairly average ideas like She Likes Rock & Roll, Decibel and, in the end, the title track too, which wins the most sympathy of the bunch.
Black Ice is by no means a nostalgic trip by a quintet of aging rocker geezers, but convincing proof of exceptional musical vitality, with which AC/DC are once again becoming one of the main attractions, if not the main attraction, of the coming concert year. The wait was long and agonizing, but I can say without a shred of doubt that a good 8 years of yearning for a one-of-a-kind “voltage” feat was worth every moment of frustration. AC/DC have dispelled the doubts of the most skeptical in the best possible way, with a mighty rock manifesto that, just like in the good old days, proudly stands as a self-sufficient herald of the basic definitions of rock & roll!
Lineup
Brian Johnson: vocals
Angus Young: guitar
Malcolm Young: guitar
Cliff Williams: bass
Phil Rudd: drums
Production
Brendan O’Brien
Track list
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
Album length: 55.30
