AC/DC - Black Ice.

[herrieman]

AC/DC - Black Ice, recorded Vancouver, 2008. All songs written by the brothers Young, with some lyrical additions by Brian Johnson. Produced by Brendan O'Brien. A bit late, three months after I got it, but swoah.

Why a review for this particular album? One: there's not much posting going around lately. Somebody has to start... Two: this is a good album, the band has not released much since the Stiff Upper Lip Tour in 2000. Three: it's AC/DC.

Black Ice is a highly anticipated and highly wanted album, not only by me, but by loads of fans and music buyers around me. The art work is screaming "professional", as it shows what the fans want: Angus in different settings, there were several different covers sleeves available, the pictures inside show some real rock'n'roll attitude (naughty men, sexy women, the band just doing it the worker style: no make-up, nothing fake, just clean and honest rock).

The songs:
1. Rock N Roll Train. This is a 'lovely-going' rock song, the first single of the album. It has a very clear chorus and I think this song is worth it to be taken into the 'eternal-set-list' for tours to come.
2. Skies On Fire. This song reminds me of Bob Dylan's Hurricane in some way. It's quite a simple song, but the groove keeps going. Excellent, sharp solo here! Angus really must like this song.
3. Big Jack. Ha. This is a High Voltage sound-a-like, but played in higher notes. The lyrics are a bit naughty. All and all this song makes me happy. Very much.
4. Anything Goes. I sense some Rose Tattoo influences, especially vocally. Brian Johnson sure is singing this tune higher that what we're used of him, but it suites him. It's like Brian is persuading his high school love to get into his car.
5. War Machine. When I first heard this, without listening to the lyrics, I thought of Accept's Russian Roulette album and thought it was an anti war anthem. But it isn't, there's heads nor tales about the lyrics. I do like the tempo, but the solo is senseless and the song doesn't match up the rest of the album.
6. Smash N Grab. This song is bluesy, to say the least. Especially the drums drive this song and the guitar work is sharp as a knife. Rhythm, solo, chorus; excellent.
7. Spoilin'for A Fight. It takes a while to get to the point with this song, but I do like it. It reminds me of Who Made Who and that's one of my favorite AC/DC-with-Johnson songs.
8. Wheels. ZZ Top could have written this too. It's faster than the last couple of songs, it deals with women and cars and it's recognizable as AC/DC still. Nice.
9. Decibel. I called Smash N Grab bluesy, but this song has everything blue: tempo, slides, vocals, solo, feel. Likeeeee!!!
10. Stormy May Day. Slide, slide, slide. Man, this sounds like Angus even dismissed his beloved Gibson SG and sits behind a board with a slide on it. I wonder if they will ever play this song live, as we all know Angus can't stand still on a stage. Did I mention blues yet? It's not as powerful as Ride On, but it comes close.
11. She Likes Rock N Roll. Time for some faster stuff and a bigger role for Cliff Williams in this song. The guitar rhythm is solid too, Brian sounds like he had a tennis ball for breakfast. He spits out the lyrics as if he's mad at something, but it's surely not the girl he's singing about. Great song.
12. Money Made. I thought it was the blue collar tribute, but they lyrics deal about a wealthy hooker overseeing what she got. Did she get the Jack? No, she didn't. Groovy song, loads of timbre in Brian's singing here. A good song to get drunk by.
13. Rock N Roll Dream. Slow starter, fast verse, slow chorus. I don't get the lyrics, but the groove is OK. Not a bad song, but I should have used this as a B side to the second single instead of putting it on the album. But as Brian stated once: 'we make albums, not singles'.
14. Rocking All The Way. Lovely chorus, this is a perfect sing-a-long half way the set of the new tour. Easy listening stuff, could have been a bit sharper; but the solo is top!
15. Black Ice. Tempo is right, vocals sharp, guitars sound pretty cool. The perfect ending of this record.

Score:85/100. There are some songs that were not necessary, so to say. Needless to say on the rest of the songs the band is in shape, the grooves and faster parts are well balanced. The album sounds clear as a bell, but because of the lyrics some songs seem a bit predictable. Don't say 'AC/DC IS predictable' because this really is the best they did after Back In Black. Especially Brian Johnson does a great job, he has more reach and feel as he showed over the years. Phil Rudd and Cliff Williams do as they're told and with the tightness of Rudd, Williams and Malcolm I think especially live that will make the shows as excitable as can be because the rest of the band (aka Johnson, Angus, show attributes) can fill in the rest. Angus is for most fans the reason to go to an AC/DC show anyway, but seeing that skinny man alone on such huge stages is useless. The band has always had a steady rhythm section and this album shows that. The songs, guitar riffs and solos are sharper than, let's say Stiff Upper Lip and even For Those About To Rock (only two or three brilliant songs, the rest is filler and sometimes even boring). An album like Blow Up Your Video sounded happier, but that doesn't mean it's much better or worse than this album.
Overall: AC/DC fans can buy this one blindly, the AC/DC collectors can spend their money on 4 different versions of the album but I doubt if they do buy this album four times. For that, sorry to say, this album is no Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap or Highway to Hell or High Voltage. I am one of the suckers that does have several versions of the Bon Scott album just mentioned....

[Missy]

I love all things AC/DC and this album really rocked my socks. I think it's their personal style that I get into. You can really hear the band's personality in each of their songs.

[stach]

I am ahuge AD/DC fan, BUT to me this album is just going through the motions. It lacks energy, writing, in fact it lacks most of everything that was AC/DC. To me it is the worst effort by a great band. Now that is not to say this is a bad album. Just that the standard was set very high and this one falls short.I do like a couple of the songs but the rest just make me want to put on any of the great earlier AC/DC albums.

[Amok]

Originally Posted by stach

ITo me it is the worst effort by a great band.

Your least favorite out of their entire catalogue?

[About2Crash]

I have only heard RocknRoll train, it was alright, but it didn't make me want to go out and buy an album. AC/DC is a mix band for me, and I find myself still really loving their "anthems" like You shook me all night long, but songs like Dirty Deeds and Rocker are just fucking rock and roll at it's best.

[Blaise]

I love AC/DC but shamefully I don't have any of their albums. I guess it's because I hear so much of their stuff already. What is their best album? Should I pick up "Back in Black" or "Black Ice"?

[Erik]

Back in Black has all the classics on it (then get a Best of Bon album). I've heard Black Ice and its good but, everyone else I know owns it so I get to hear it when I want. It's AC/DC and it's pure rock.

[stach]

My personal Favorite is Powerage, then Let There Be Rock, Highway To Hell and so on.
Yeah Amok, Black Ice is my least favorite, mainly because there is absolutely nothing new about it. It all seems to be a mix of what they have already done with less energy.

[About2Crash]

My ultimate AC/DC mix album:

1. Hells Bells
2. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
3. TNT
4. Big Balls
5. Let There be Rock
6. Rocker
7. You Shook Me All Night Long
8. Squealer (what a great rock song name!)
9. Whole Lotta Rosie

[Erik]

AC/DC is a lot like Iron Maiden in that they are more Best of bands. It's probably because a lot of their songs sound the same. That's an interesting topic...best of bands.

[stach]

I totally disagree. The first 5 albums almost every song is great.
After that about 75% of the songs are great. Far better than a "best of" band.

[Amok]

Would you peoples rather listen to the best of ACDC or Iron Maiden?

[Blaise]

Iron Maiden for sure. They are much more dynamic. I have to be in the right mood to listen to AC/DC. They are good when you want something gritty and straight foward (I love how much presence the guitar has in their mixes). I can listen to Maiden almost anytime and enjoy it.

[herrieman]

Not many Iron Maiden albums/songs give me goosebumps (anymore). All of the AC/DC albums with Bon are in my absolute top 25 of all albums, hardly any Maiden there. I like Back in Black, Blow Up Your Video, Ballbreaker and Black Ice a lot too. With the set lists both bands use, AC/DC never let me down, Iron Maiden did several times. I must say Iron Maiden this year was absolutely tops, 2007 they sucked big time. Both on Graspop.

[stach]

I like them both very much, but I would pick AC/DC over IM.

[Kris]

I've only heard a few songs of this disc, and from what I've heard, it's still good ol' AC/DC. I'll have to pick it up when I get a chance.

I'd also take AC/DC over Maiden. I like both of them, but I guess I just grew out of Maiden.

[KISSandCooper]

Great Review! I Rwally like the new album! The thing i like about AC/Dc is that they always have keep there own style!