Reviews > AC/DC
Black Ice Is A Stupid Title For An Awesome Record
By Johnny Firecloud
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
It’s only been eight years since AC/DC put out an album? Jesus, it seems like twenty. Things have changed quite a bit since the glory days of Back In Black. Arena rock’s been homogenized, sounds and styles have been co-opted and xeroxed till the ink is barely legible and the substance is… well, there is no fucking substance.
But still, to this day, nobody does it quite like AC/DC. The snarly, sex-anthem party rock with swagger for miles that we grew up on is a stylistic entity all its own, a timeless symbol of nostalgic rock purity that’s stood the test of time. And while the modern relevance has diminished considerably, the legends’ return is anything but unwelcome.
I wasn’t a huge AC/DC fan as a kid, but I knew their records front to back. Everybody did. Some albums, like Houses Of The Holy or Thriller, were just a part of the foundation. That was the case for Highway To Hell and Back In Black. They were landmark albums from a simpler, happier time, soundtracks to the balls-out carefree youth of the seventies and eighties. Before TRL. Before Lou Pearlman. Before the Mouseketeers grew up and ruined pop music. Before the internet pulled back the curtain and exterminated the mystique of rock n’ roll. Before everything went to shit, basically.
Some of us may still recall the smells and sounds of that long-dead purity, but only a select few bear the mark today. Somehow, though, Black Ice manages to escape nostalgia and doesn’t sound the least bit dated, due in part to the fact that they’ve abandoned the swamp-rock of their last two records and gotten back on their traditional tracks.
Producer Brendan O’Brien did the right thing: he didn’t try to modernize the band’s sound or imprint his signature on this one. He got out of the way when it came to weaving their trademark sonic tapestry, but clearly went to lengths to up the ante on the crisp delivery. Rather than get lost in the rock mud, every one of Phil Rudd’s snare snaps and cymbal crashes, every low-end note of Cliff Williams’s bass, every power-soaked chunk riff from rhythmic guitar heroes Angus and Malcolm Young can be heard with clarity and precision. Just as audible is the fact that Brian Johnson’s voice is, somehow, more fluid and power-charged than memory recalls. Lyrically, we’re not covering any new ground with Black Ice - pretty girls, raging storms, going over the edge, etc. But the pipes are clean and polished.
Album highlights:
Angus Young’s snotty six-string antics are in top form on Black Ice, but nowhere better than in Decibel, where his solos are spastic bolts of Aussie jive. It’s hard to say whether Johnson’s singing Decibel or Jezebel, but that’s irrelevant; it’s a great track.
She Likes Rock N’ Roll is a sexy, sizzling piece of rock goodness that’s got a riff as memorable as any AC/DC has ever laid down.
Skies On Fire is stripped riffage on a 4/4 beat with a bluesy solo, but it’s fucking mean.
Two interwoven rhythm guitar parts add an extra armor to Money Made, an average track if not for the awesome breakdown and ride out.
Anything Goes bursts in at a gallop, sounding more like Springsteen than ever before. Solid track from start to finish.
War Machine sports a similar chord progression to Givin’ The Dog A Bone, but with more bite and a solo that simply tears shit up.
Spoilin’ For A Fight slips an eighties Van Halen finger in, with pulsing bass in eighths standing high in the mix. This song could’ve been on Back In Black.
Rocking All The Way locked my conviction that Mark Lanegan would be the perfect guest vocalist to compliment Johnson’s voice.
They saved the title track for last, possibly because it’s the weakest song on the album. The end is fantastic, however, and if that were the last note we ever heard from AC/DC, it wouldn’t be a dishonor.
In short, Black Ice is the perfect album for rock fans who want the good shit with that classic feel, without having to resort to derivatives or records we’ve heard ten thousand times before. It’s a reanimation of testicular fortitude, a breath of wonderfully familiar air in a pungent atmosphere of mediocrity and irrelevance. There’s a reason they’ve sold over 200 million albums.
- 1. Rock N’ Roll Train
- 2. Skies On Fire
- 3. Big Jack
- 4. Anything Goes
- 5. War Machine
- 6. Smash N’ Grab
- 7. Spoilin’ For A Fight
- 8. Wheels
- 9. 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
It’s a long way
to the shop
if you wan’ a sausage roll.
How long have they been working on the album for? A year, or the 8 years since their last one? Guess it’s the year for old bands to release new albums.
I can’t wait for this.
I heard that it was a Wal-Mart exclusive or something? Is that true?
yes, it’s only available at wal-mart.
so who’s walking down to a wal-mart, and who’s downloading it from a torrent site because they can’t buy it from itunes / legal outlet of choice? show of hands?
that’s a bit of a biased sample group there. but i’m completely in agreement with your point, which is precisely why best buy can kiss my ass, axl style.
zzzzz….snort – what?!? AC/DC? snort…..zzzzzzz
let’s face it, all you need to know or hear about AC/DC is from the time right before their first lead singer died and a couple of albums after the replacement singer took over and did so well. everything after that is just the same vocals, same progressions, same choruses, presented in a *slightly* different way. these guys’ creative output died years ago, everything since then is the occasional nostalgic rehash for them.
in other words, I don’t care how Firecloud tries to dress it up, I won’t be checking this out from Wal-Mart and wouldn’t listen to it if my ISP themselves put it on my hard drive without permission. it’s news now, but no one will give a shit about this album a year from now. I’ve heard the radio track, and wasn’t impressed. They’re rehashing but not even managing to capture the same tongue-in-cheekiness or just raw rockin power that they used to.
I also imagine that a LOT of AC/DC fans fucking love Wal-Mart and got their first CD player like 10 years ago. In other words – MP3s, what is that like a new scratch-off ticket (said in my best midwestern redneck voice)?
I think it’s the best one since BiB. Love the hooks and the fact that there are quite a few overdubs. Brian sings really good too, never been a fan of his vocals really. Smash n grab + Rock n roll dream are my favourites. And it’s SOUNDING great too.
First Metallicas Death Magnetic, now Black Ice, the old guys are back! :)
Here’s my take.
Rock N’ Roll…with an edge
With an 8 year absence of any new studio recording AC/DC fans have had to make do with DVD’s of rare footage, most of which your average hardcore AC/DC fan already has. To hear Black Ice is refreshing. For a while Aussie unknowns, Airbourne, were taking over the kings of Aussie pub rock. Not now.
Black Ice has the usual riffs, drumbeats, heavy bass lines and screeching vocals that accompany any AC/DC record, production wise it’s infallible, Brendan O’Brien did a great job and deserves a mention as do the vocals of Brian Johnson.
Track by track
1: Rock n Roll Train.
Released a few weeks ago as a single, typical AC/DC, simple and foot stomping. By no means the strongest cut on the album but for marketing ‘Rock N’ Roll train will probably see shops stocking miniature trains with the AC/DC logo emblazoned on the side. Hey, I’m a cynic.
2: Skies On Fire
The harmony in this is what one would expect of Cliff and Malcolm, ‘SKIES ON FYYYYY YERRRR’. A mid-tempo beat which kind of gets going as it approaches its end. Brian excels with the vocals with Phil keeping things tight behind the skins.
3: Big Jack
This oozes rhythm, almost like a train rolling along, touches of Rock N’ Roll Damnation. An anthemic chorus that the kids [40 years plus] will love to sing along to at the up and coming gigs.
4: Anything Goes
There are a lot of hardcore fans I know that are kind of split with this song. Personally, I think it’s the best on the album. It’s AC/DC meets Nazareth meets The Darkness meets 80’s rock. Brian sings along Springsteen [Born in the USA] style while Phil beats the skins. It has a good feel factor about it and for some reason a Christmassy type of feel to it. Many will want to play it over and over, some will want to skip it after it’s first listen. I like it… I like it a lot.
5: War Machine
Surprisingly short in length but none the less a fairly decent song. Starts off moody and builds up momentum as it steams along. Malcolm holds things together whilst Cliff picks away. The guitar work of Angus along with Brian’s vocals make this a definite inclusion in any set list… Maybe the strip routine halfway through?
6: Smash n Grab
Great harmonies once again from Cliff and Malcolm, Brendan O’Brien seems to enjoy getting the backing vocals right throughout this album. It has a catchy chorus: “SMASH, GRAB AND TAKE IT”. Yeh, I’ll take it thank you very much.
7: Spoilin’ For A Fight
Pure AC/DC, This is what they are all about. ‘Shot of Love’ + 10. I tend to follow Malcolm whenever I listen to AC/DC albeit on my air Gretsch. Things are picking up now on this album.
8: Wheels
Oh my! Add a piano and some brass to this little beauty and you have a masterpiece. Of course I jest, I don’t think AC/DC would ever go down that route but close your eyes for a second and you can hear a piano and a fanfare of trumpets blow in appraisal of this killer track. How do the Young brothers come up with such great, yet simple riffs?
9: Decibel
Hmmm, really not sure about this one. For me, it doesn’t really get going. It’s not weak and certainly not a filler. Maybe it is positioned wrong on the album? Some great guitar work from Angus but it loses pace for me midway through.
10: Stormy May Day
There was a lot of talk before the ‘unofficial’ launch of this album via torrent sites that Angus used slide on one of the songs. This is the song, although it’s not spectacular slide, it is a change for Angus Young. Imagine the mood of ‘Badlands’ from ‘Flick of the Switch’
11: She Likes Rock n Roll
Who invented the term ‘Rock N’ Roll’? They should have trademarked the term, they would have made a tidy sum of money from AC/DC. Not one of my favourites though the chant in the middle is ‘interesting’
12: Money Made
One has to look [listen] past the vocals of Brian to hear the genius of the Young brothers on this track. Psychic, they really work off each other on this piece. I don’t know what Brendan O’Brien said to them when they laid this down but whatever it was, it worked. A song to drool over.
13: Rock n Roll Dream
Starts off very slow, unusual for a song with ‘Rock N’ Roll’ in its title. Anyone who said Brian Johnson cannot carry a tune, listen to the opening sequence. It moves from slow to upbeat to slow to upbeat. Hard to fully let yourself go and almost definitely not one for the set-list.
14: Rocking All The Way
Ah, keep smoking those cigarettes Brian, the gravel voice at the start of this track more or less tells you what you are in for. Jump aboard the Malcolm Young showboat. This little baby rolls and is infectious. Slightly repetitive chorus line but hey, that’s AC/DC.
15: Black Ice
Kept thinking of Blackmore’s Rainbow when I first heard this track… until I heard Angus. To be honest, a bands title track should be remembered. ‘Highway to Hell’, ‘Back in Black’, ‘Let There Be Rock’ etc. Black Ice, the track, can’t stand next to any of the aforementioned. Sadly, this is the one filler on what is otherwise an enjoyable album.
8.5/10
Fid
Dear AZB
Wake up dude.
Wot??? “blah blah…the time right before their first lead singer died…blah “.
Dave Evans (born 20th July 1953) is still alive, you ignoramus.
Suggest you return to the limpdickband websites, Dickhead!
Stevo
oh jesus, like anyone but you gives a shit about dave evans, who was in the band for a year, and was gone before their first album was released. everyone with a brain knows he was referring to bon scott.
Duh. It’s a fact – something AZB’s blurb was short on. That’s ironic. Your response displays that indeed you do have a brain but it’s almost certainly borrowed from a bird.
I think “Stevo” is really Dave Evans, and he’s just super pissed that Acca Dacca have released yet another album (without him).
Or maybe he’s just an Aussie still pissy after the absolute ass caning the All Blacks gave the Wallabies to retain the Bledisloe Cup. They’re awful sensitive to their sporting losses, you know.
Hehe.
I got Black Ice at Walmart last Saturday. I got the limited edition Yellow Cover ftw. I mean I’m not a huge AC/DC fan, so I thought ehhh…maybe I’ll check this out. It was okay, his voice is somewhat different. My total score for the album is 7/10. :D
Really good album. 7.5/10! By far my favorite song is War Machine. It may be short but damn its good.
[...] put it aside and approached his question seriously. I said it would do better than AC/DC’s Black Ice- which would be huge in today’s market- and probably better than Kanye, because 808s & [...]