It goes without saying that there won’t be any kind of radical innovation on an AC/DC record, and that’s just the way it should be. AC/DC only play one kind of music—thunderous, three-chord, no-frills hard rock—and they do it better than anyone else on the planet. There’s a reason they’re one of the most beloved rock bands of all time, and over 30 years into their career, they’re still one of the biggest concert draws in the world. They’ve been able to keep up this level of fame precisely because they’ve always known how to tell the critics to take their notion of artistic growth and shove it.
So unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last three decades, you probably know what you’re getting yourself into with Black Ice, the Aussie quintet’s sixteenth (!) studio album and first since 2000’s Stiff Upper Lip. This is textbook AC/DC, as solid as anything they’ve done post-Back in Black. Angus and Malcom Young’s buzzsaw guitar riffs still crush everything in sight, Phil Rudd’s backbeat still swings with the force of an anvil, Brian Johnson still sounds like a cat being simultaneously strangled and castrated, and four of the album’s 15 tracks have some variation of the word “rock” in the title.
As for the actual songs, Black Ice is largely hit-or-miss. There are some great ones on here, particularly the slick, fist-pumping lead single “Rock N’ Roll Train,” the ferocious “Spoilin’ for a Fight,” and the dark, slithering title track. The bluesy “Decibal” is probably the closest the band has gotten in two decades to approximating their early, Bon Scott-led work. “Stormy May Day” is a direct rip of Led Zeppelin’s “In My Time of Dying,” and a pretty kickass one at that. But like most AC/DC albums, there’s a load of redundant filler too. “Smash N’ Grab,” “Rocking All the Way,” and “Money Made” rock plenty decently, but you’ll forget them the minute they’re over. Which isn’t to say they’re bad songs, because AC/DC has so perfected their formula that I don’t think they’d be capable writing a bad song.
And that’s about all there is to say about Black Ice, really. If you’re an AC/DC fan, you’ll love it. If you’re not, it won’t do anything to change your mind. It’s a far cry from their peerless glory days, but it’s never embarrassing. It’s an excuse for AC/DC to tour, which is always good news. And at the very least, it’s worth a download to spite the fact that it’s being sold exclusively at Wal-Mart.
Speaking of which, what the fuck, guys? Wal-Mart wouldn’t have even sold AC/DC albums back in the day. So what’s this about? Wal-Mart? Really? Bon Scott would be ashamed. Wal-Mart? Come on. On the bright side, at least now they won’t be able to pull the “artistic integrity” excuse in explaining why they haven’t released a best-of album. Hopefully they get on that soon, because an AC/DC greatest-hits album would pretty much be the single best thing ever to happen to the human race. But until that day, it’s good to have Black Ice as a reminder that these guys still do things exactly the way they always have, which is the only way we’d ever have it.
