Disco de AC/DC: “Black Ice [Import]”

AC/DC have finally released new material after eight years of waiting, not to mention the three or so years that they teased us, releasing statements for that long about how new material was being written and recorded. If I were less faithful, I would've said that the new album would become the next Chinese Democracy, having its release date pushed back X amount of times until everyone lost interest. Yet here's the new album, Black Ice, as promised. I must say, it was worth the wait.

The lead single, "Rock N Roll Train", was released onto radio about a month ago, and it silenced the critics right away (and if they were still saying negative things, you wouldn't be able to hear it over the sheer volume of the track!). All of the classic AC/DC components are here: Ang and Mal's chunky guitar chords, Cliff's driving eighth note bass, Phil's mechanically consistent drums, and of course, Brian's lethal shriek. I was left slack-jawed when I first heard "Train" on the radio, and thankfully, the rest of the album lives up to the track.

Upon the first listen of the album as a whole, I noticed a shift toward more melodic chord progressions, yet instead of another Stiff Upper Lip, the songs stay heavy; some songs ("Anything Goes" in particular) sound like the the more melodic side of The Razor's Edge, to give you an idea of what I'm talking about. There are also a fair amount of songs that pay homage to AC/DC's '80-'85 era ("Money Made"). Over all, fans of AC/DC should not be disappointed with Black Ice, as everything that the band is known and loved for is contained right here; at the same time, those who do not like AC/DC should steer clear of this album as well, despite the amazing rock 'n roll you'd be missing.

One thing I was really looking forward to was hearing extended and ripping guitar solos from Angus á la "Whole Lotta Rosie". Of course, there are solos on Black Ice, but on a lot of songs they seem a bit restrained, and just when I start rocking out, the chorus seems to cut off what Angus was trying to say. Also, the song structures don't seem as varied as previous albums (yes, even by AC/DC's standards). While this is truly not a make-or-break point on this album, it would've been cool to hear some real barn-burners like "Landslide" off of Flick Of The Switch, or "Let There Be Rock".

At the same time, the boys actually try new things; there's slide guitar work on "Stormy May Day", and a calm intro riff on "Rock N Roll Dream" which contrasts well with the heavy chords of the chorus in the same song.

AC/DC really brought out the rock 'n roll with this album, and the large amount of times the words "rock" and "rock 'n roll" appear in the lyrics only reflects this fact. The album clocks in at around 56 minutes, and it seemed like it was finished in half that time, which for me, makes an enjoyable, if not, great album. Black Ice compares favorably to any Brian Johnson-era AC/DC; it is an absolute return to form after the mildly disappointing Stiff Upper Lip. This comes close to the absolute best that I believe AC/DC are capable of producing at this stage in their career, and for these reasons, I rate this 4.5 stars.

Sirius has turned over Channel 29 to the Thunder from Down Under (Channel 53 on XM) -- the music is AC/DC 24/7. Included within the rotation are several songs from Black Ice, including Rock n' Roll train. On this album, AC/DC is going old school, with power chords and power choruses. There is a lot more space in the recordings -- not the wall of sound from Fly on the Wall through Razor's Edge. Nonetheless, Angus's and Malcolm's guitars are in your face, supported by Cliff's driving bass, and Phil's impeccable drumming -- the latter two, due to beautiful production, sound great and give the whole recording a real sense of depth. ...

Since writing the above, (and being criticized) I have bought the album, and I love it. One of the most pleasing aspects of the album is Brian's voice. He actually "sings" on this album, and his voice shows a lot more range (for Brian, anyway). Also the guitar work has a lot of variation, including *gasp* a slide guitar.

If you are a fan of Brian-Era AC/DC, then you are going to love this album.

Well, it's been a long time since any, new AC/DC material has come out, but it's finally here. "Black Ice" contains 15 more hard-rockers at over 55 minutes, with such heavy anthems like "Rock 'n' Roll Train", "Spoiling For A Fight" and "Wheels". Obviously, all the songs are, at minimum, solid and worthy AC/DC songs.

Now as a longtime fan, I realize what AC/DC will and won't do. They're never gonna write a ten-minute epic with seven different sections. They're never gonna feature 1970's styled synthesizers in the background. Heck, they're probably never gonna have anybody guest on their albums.

And for their style of music, there's nothing wrong with that. They're all about rocking out, and cranking out that "simple but addictive" style of theirs with lots of great songs. But with all the albums they've done, by now they're kinda pushing the envelope on how far they can go with that style. Plus, Phil Rudd plays absolutely no drum fills, and the only time you can hear Cliff Williams' bass guitar, he's doing the same eighth-note bounce. C'mon guys, you've been playing the same song for over 25 years now, you rock and all, but surprise us!

Fortunately, little nuances like the slide guitar in "Stormy Mayday", Brian's soul-influenced singing and the semi-Celtic jig in "Anything Goes", or the title track's cross between an Aerosmith crunch and a Red Hot Chili Peppers groove does flavor up the album, taking it from good to great.

So what's the final verdict? Well at this point, I can safely say AC/DC is never gonna pull a big surprise outta their hat, BUT I will say that this album is really awesome, one of their best in a while. So head down to Wal-Mart with an Andrew Jackson in your wallet, turn the system up in your car, and prepare for some classic AC/DC tunes! Thanks for the time, and peace.

I expected AC/DC's final CD to be average at best--like Metallica's "Death Magnetic" (okay, "Death Magnetic" is a tad bit below average).

Happily, my expectations were exceeded by AC/DC.

"Black Ice" is outstanding.

They stick to their style. If you like AC/DC you'll like "Black Ice." If you don't like them don't buy "Black Ice."

There are few things in this crazy world that you can really depend on, but the sound of an AC/DC song is one of them. Since their beginnings in the early 1970s, their sound has changed very little -- even through a change of frontmen that, in retrospect, was more drastic than it seemed at the time -- except that more modern producers have removed the tinny sound of their early records and replaced it with a deeper one that truly does their music justice.

Now, I'm not saying that AC/DC are the best band ever, but they're certainly one of the most consistent, and Black Ice is just one more example of this. Of the fifteen songs on this, their first studio album since 2000's Stiff Upper Lip (and the first to feature lyrics by vocalist Brian Johnson since 1988's Blow Up Your Video), only a couple are not up to the level of their brethren. The rest of the album is a solid lineup of concert anthems, the kind of rock n roll at which the boys from Australia have always excelled.

Johnson's comment that "we found out what we were good at, and that was rock n roll" may have been what inspired the group this time around, given that there are three songs on Black Ice with "Rock n Roll" in the title (and one called "Rocking All the Way"), including the first single, "Rock n Roll Train," whose chorus actually says "Runaway Train." (But God forbid someone confuse them with Soul Asylum!)

The lyrics have never been the high point on any AC/DC album (except, as stated above, when it comes to their consistency). This time, if anything, they are a bit tamer than usual, with what seems to be much less innuendo (possibly something to do with the album being primarily available through Wal-Mart in the U.S.). But arena-rock songs aren't about intelligent words, anyway, to wit this verse from "Rock n Roll Train":

One hot Southern belle

Son of a devil

A schoolboy spelling bee

A schoolgirl with a fantasy

Those words don't mean anything, but when Johnson wails them, well, you just want to wail right along with him. Luckily, the musicianship on Black Ice is strong enough to carry the album. Though it's the heavy-metal/hard-rock listenership that most fully embraces them, AC/DC has always been, at its heart, a blues-rock band, and several songs bring this right to the front. Witness the riff on "Decibel" that sounds lifted right from Beale Street, with Johnson surprisingly deft at using his lower register vocals in accompaniment.

In fact, most of the second half of Black Ice is saturated in blues rock, and it's so far my favorite portion. Don't get me wrong: I love a good fist-pumping riot as much as the next guy, but there's just something about that white-boy blues that brings it on home for me. There's not enough "Stormy May Day" to go around in my opinion -- Angus uses a slide(!) and reminds me of Led Zeppelin's "In My Time of Dying." (Incidentally, "Skies on Fire" reminds me of another Jimmy Page track from his best solo album, Outrider.)

But whatever you think of the band's style, if you're a fan, you'll be enthralled by Black Ice. Even my three-year-old son is already a fan of "the train song" and "Big Jack" (which he thinks is actually about Big Jet from Little Einsteins, and I don't correct him because I think it's cute), so there's another potential fan on the way up. Luckily, the odds are that, by the time he's old enough to pay money for his own albums (in whatever form they're available by then), AC/DC will still be playing the same kind of hard rock grounded by Phil Rudd's journeyman 4/4 beat, Chris Williams's unwavering bass, and Malcolm Young's invisible rhythm -- and I'm really glad they are.