AC/DC - Black Ice

The riff remains the same

Eight years on from Stiff Upper Lip, has AC/DC’s extended absence been due to a major re-think of their metal masterplan? Thankfully, no, but there is the occasional brief stop-off as we stomp along a previously well-trodden road.

Let’s deal with the familiar first: Spoilin’ For A Fight is the kind of hugely infectious fistclenching, fringe-whipping chant-along at which they’ve always excelled, while She Likes Rock’n’Roll is equally sure-footed and welcomingly self-mocking. The variations on the theme make for interesting listening, though, not least Angus Young getting his slide guitar groove on for Stormy May Day, or unexpectedly bringing the funk as well as the noise on Decibel.

Best of all is Anything Goes, perhaps the most “pop” they’ve ever been, with its shades of Creedence Clearwater Revival. It’s got Massive Radio Hit writ large on every bar. Less successful are Big Jack (Brian Johnson’s wail aside, a little too like Robert Palmer coffee table rock) and the ho-hum trudge of Money Made, seemingly borrowed from Warrant’s Cherry Pie. Overall, it’s solid business; 15 tracks and none much more than four minutes long, never reaching the heights of Back In Black or Highway To Hell, but reassuringly rifftastic when it matters most.

3 stars 3 stars 3 stars

Columbia | 88697392382

Reviewed by Terry Staunton
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