AC/DC - Black Ice

Published November 29 2008

*=Staff's pick	Rock 'n' Roll Train* Skies On Fire Big Jack* Anything Goes War Machine* Smash 'n' Grab Spoilin' For A Fight Wheels Decibel* Stormy May Day She Likes Rock 'n' Roll Money Made Rock 'n' Roll Dream Rocking All The Way Black Ice

Genre	Rock 'n' Roll	Brian Johnson	Vocals
Tracks	15	Angus Young	Guitar
Runningtime	37 Min.	Malcolm Young	Guitar
Label	Sony BMG	Cliff Williams	Bass
Release	20 October 2008	Phil Rudd	Drums
Country	Australia	-	Keyboard
Similar artists	Rose Tattoo

Finally. Guns 'n' Roses, Metallica, Whitesnake and whatever in all respect, but the comeback of the year is of course AC/DC. I was almost out of hope of ever again hear some new material - or for that matter get a chance to see them live for the first time. Let's make one thing clear to start with: Brian Johnson is AC/DC for me, his voice is at least as important as Angus guitar and his cap as important trademark as Angus school costume. Brian sings better than ever on Black Ice. According to interviews he has taken his time, making short but top-notch performances every day in the studio. All hail Brian!

Add to that, that I simply love everything AC/DC has made from Back In Black and until today. Yes, they had a couple of hits before that, but something was missing then. The usual accusation that everything sounds as it uses to - is of course totally right. If you want something else, go buy some Dream Theater records, or whatever.

Rock 'n' Roll Train was the first single and as typical as an AC/DC song ever can be. The Hard As A Rock, the Stiff Upper Lip, the Rising Power …You have heard it all before: the riff, the rhythm and the chorus - and you want to hear it all over and over again; because you love AC/DC and would not want to have it any other way.

Skies On Fire is the kind of slower boogie track that AC/DC has turned to more and more on the latest few records. Not my favourite, but it holds the flag flying. Big Jack is back to the older Aussie rock style. Anything Goes is the catchiest tune on the plate, almost pop in the vain of Money Talks. War Machine is the heaviest, coolest and in my opinion best track, with a little vibe of Hail Caesar.

I will not bore you with going through all the generous enough 15 tracks. Let's conclude that it all sounds as it should and no one will find any surprises here. It is good to know that after eight years you can totally rely on AC/DC. Just to hear some new stuff makes you want to put a top grade. It is basically all a matter of the shape of the day. And at the end of this new dawn I must conclude that Black Ice is not one of the five top records of the band. Not even top ten. It is stable and true, but lacks the absolute top hits. It doesn't really matter though, it's still better and more original than most bands of today.

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
7	9	7	9,5	6

Summary
6 chalices of 10 - David