Yahoo! Music Album Review

Released on 20/10/08
Label: Columbia

AC/DC's formidable reputation as one of the best - and indeed, loudest - live bands to have ever blasted an overdriven E chord through an obscene amount of Marshall firepower has served to obscure the fact that the albums released after the monumental "For Those About to Rock" haven't been much cop. For sure, each subsequent album has boasted around two or three killer tracks only to be bolstered by an unacceptable amount of pedestrian filler.

Indeed, the tour for their last release, 2000's "Stiff Upper Lip", soon saw the band jettison any pretence of the album's worth by playing just the title track before concentrating on the embarrassment of boogie riches of the Bon Scott-era and replacement vocalist Brian Johnson's first two long playing outings. So while the news of the long overdue release of this, AC/DC's 16th album, sent paroxysms of joy around the head-banging community, the fact they've just released their strongest set since "Back In Black" will ensure their forthcoming world tour will be something more than a mere victory lap.

Opener "Rock'n'Roll Train" you'll already be familiar with but "Black Ice" really springs to life with a triptych of stone-cold 'DC classics. Employing the same dynamics as "Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be", "Big Jack" is an instantly familiar blast of power that'll have you singing along by the time the second chorus comes around, while "Anything Goes" finds the rock veterans easily encroaching on Bruce Springsteen's territory without sacrificing any of their trademark nudges and winks. By the time "War Machine" is ushered in by Cliff Williams' Zen-like bass, the realisation creeps in that "Black Ice" has been well worth the wait.

Moreover, AC/DC find themselves actually stretching out beyond their comfort zone, albeit briefly. Angus Young's salacious slide guitar on "Stormy May Day" may well be the bastard offspring of Led Zeppelin's "In My Time Of Dying" and Graham Bonnett-era Rainbow but it's when the band get down to what they do best that they truly shine. "Wheels" and "Spoilin' For A Fight" are economically crunchy and the world's tightest rhythm section of guitarist Malcolm Young, drummer Phil Rudd and Cliff Williams' low-level rumblings could easily turn coal into diamonds in a matter of seconds as Brian Johnson's fags-for-breakfast-lunch-and-tea rasp brings the whole shebang together.

At 15 tracks, "Black Ice" could have done with some judicious pruning. "Skies On Fire" flies by on cruise control, while with the funky metal of "She Likes Rock'n'Roll", AC/DC find themselves in unfamiliar and unsuccessful surroundings. Ultimately though, "Black Ice" is far better than anyone could have hoped, played by people who by their age should know better. For those who've brought back rock, we salute you!

    by Julian Marszalek