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AC/DC: Black ice

30/10/08 || Euthanatos

Some bands are completely reliable, even if they had a few mishaps in their discography. Motörhead is one, for instance. AC/DC, for damn sure, is another. Now on their fifteenth studio album, the band sounds great, and they’ve written a collection of songs that are so gritty and fun, you can’t help smiling every time you put this baby on. Some reporter said “Black Ice” was their best album since “Back in Black”. I don’t know about that, but it certainly is one of their better ones.

See, while “Stiff Upper Lip” was good, it just wasn’t great. Something was missing. It had an amazingly bluesy title-track, and your usual awesome riffage courtesy of the God among guitar players Angus Young, but on the whole, it seemed stale, a little too cautious, a little too lazy. Nothing of the sort can be said of “Black Ice”.

A lot of praise, for starters, should be given to producer Brendan O’Brien. He went the whole nine-yards in making the band comfortable, even though they had never worked together (like making a whole new environment from Brian Johnson to sing in, since he hates recording studios), and captured AC/DC with an extremely live feel, raw and stripped bare to the bones of rock n’ roll goodness.

Plus, this is when things really start to get interesting; there are fifteen tracks on this sucker, which could not be more apt for your fifteenth album. And you know what? There’s not one of them that ain’t good. Granted, not all of them are killer, but damn it, each and every one has something interesting, a ballsy riff, a cool lick, a great groove. The blues influence can still be felt strongly, but the truth is, AC/DC haven’t sounded this rock n’ roll, pure rock n’ roll, in a long, long time. It truly takes one down memory lane, even to the Bon Scott days.

While Angus and Malcolm Young haven’t lost an inch of their edge, and Phil Rudd and Cliff Williams contribute to provide one of the most solid rhythm sections ever, Brian Johnson is the real great surprise here. While his customary snarl never bothered me, quite the contrary, I’ve always enjoyed it, there’s no hiding it always sounded a bit too forced, artificial even. This time around, the man is singing with a lot more soul, less singing through his teeth and more with his throath, giving such an old-school vibe, I feel like I’m sitting in an old-fashioned bar, drinking a pint in a smoke-infested environment. As I’ve said, all the songs have something going for them, but the fiery “Rock N’ Roll Train”, the sleazy “Big Jack”, the brutal “War Machine”, the incredibly fun “She Likes Rock N’ Roll”, and the absurdly intense title-track are my favorites. Just goes to show that these legends are the ones that truly know how to make magical tunes. The forefathers of metal have granted us with a great gift yet again.

The cover: It’s pretty random, but shit, do you even need a good cover when the album as cool as this?

8 schoolboys drinking beers out of 10.

Information
Released: 2008
Label: Columbia
Website: www.acdc.com
Band
Brian Johnson: vocals
Angus Young: lead guitar
Malcolm Young: rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Cliff Williams: bass, backing vocals
Phil Rudd: drums, percussion

Tracklist
01. Rock ‘N Roll Train
02. Skies on Fire
03. Big Jack
04. Anything Goes
05. War Machine
06. Smash N Grab
07. Spoilin’ for a Fight
08. Wheels
09. 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

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