Musically this album isn’t breaking any new ground, but it is a return to form for the band. The guitars are crisp and upfront, providing the crunchy rhythm AC/DC has become so well known for. The signature riffs have a familiar sound, but are not so derivative that they are ripping themselves off. On the contrary, the album sounds very fresh. The band even branches out a bit with “Anything Goes.” The song is surprisingly poppier than most of their work. In some ways it almost has a bit of a country feel. I don’t mean that in a bad way at all. The song is catchy and a nice change of pace for the album.
Vocally Brian Johnson sounds pretty much like he always has. His screaming, rather than singing, style has become synonymous with AC/DC’s sound. For the most part his delivery is spot on, with the exception of “Stormy May Day,” where his controlled screams become uncontrolled shrieks in the chorus. While Johnson never has matched the bluesy Bon Scott vocally, his unique style helped shape the band’s success. At this point someone is either going to like Brian Johnson’s voice or they’re going to hate it. Technically it’s about as far away from good singing as it gets, but as a hard rock voice, it’s one of the most distinctive in rock music.
In 1980 Rolling Stone magazine wrote about Black In Black, “a lot of people can't recognize the talent because of the noise… They've simply utilized many of the elements found in the early Rolling Stones' sound and cranked them up to plutonium-strength power. Back in Black separates the heavy-metal men from the metallic meatheads.” That statement still sums up what AC/DC is as a hard rock band – “catchy hooks and riffs” that never get old. Black Ice is not as good as AC/DC’s classic albums like Black In Black, Highway To Hell, or Powerage, but it’s fun, loud, and most importantly AC/DC can still rock your socks off.
Article comments
1 - lappet
awesome review man! i did one too, check out my blog