AC/DC basically representing everything I love about music, they almost had me begging for this new album, the first one in over eight years, the last one being Stiff Upper Lip in 2000. I have to admit that I was a bit doubtful at first, AC/DC might be a legendary rock band, but they’re getting pretty old, as Angus Young is the youngest at 53 years old and Brian Johnson just hit 61. Now we all know what a life filled with sex, drugs and rock’n roll can do to you. I mean, that’s why people retire, right? Well, I’m glad to hear that I was wrong to doubt them: Black Ice is good, very good.
Black Ice sounds exactly like what AC/DC has been since Brian Johnson joined the group in 1980. At that point, the band lost its punk approach (just listen to “Let There be Rock”), led by ex-signer Bon Scott, to move towards a more musically-refined style (check out Stiff Upper Lip). They didn’t lose their legendary raw energy, they matured. Black Ice is still pure AC/DC, just don’t expect something from the Bon Scott era!
Most of the songs are original enough, although “War Machines” sounds exactly like “Given the Dog a Bone”, but that song came out 28 years ago, on Back in Black. (You can literally sing “Given the Dog a Bone” during the song’s chorus. ) Another hint of unoriginality: 3 songs on the album have the words “Rock ‘n Roll” in their title. On the other hand, “Stormy May Day” features slide guitar riffs, which are refreshing enough, considering Angus Young usually doesn’t like to add any effect to his guitar playing; he prefers raw intensity to pedal effects and whatnots. Also, "Skies on Fire" is one of these instant classics songs from which you can feel the badass attitude AC/DC is capable of, but doesn't demonstrate very often.
By listening to each and every song they have to offer on their latest output, I’m impressed by how well every band member experiments with their instruments. Just take Cliff Williams, for example: when you think “AC/DC”, you usually think “easy bass lines”, 2 or 3 notes max. Well, I don’t know if he took lessons or something, but he definitely improved since last time. Songs like “Skies on Fire” and “She Likes Rock ‘n Roll” have pretty interesting bass patterns. He follows the guitars a lot more, instead of following the bass drum like he used to. Brian Johnson delivers some pretty good vocals on this album, and although his voice is either a hit or miss for most people, his performance is great, almost touching, on “Rock ‘n Roll Dream”, as the softer song allows more focus on the vocals. As for the rest of the band, Phil Rudd is as tight as always, holding the same beat for over 4 minutes each time. Malcolm Young’s rhythm guitar is perhaps one of the best in the genre and the sound of his brother’s guitar blends perfectly with his. Angus Young is still the little devil he’s always been. He doesn’t neglect the guitar solos either, and that’s where he separates from the rest. Most older lead guitarists often end up not putting the effort, relying on their popularity to sell albums. Angus knows intensity sells.
Talking about selling, this is something I just can’t take out of my head… Black Ice ended up being a Wal-Mart exclusive in the United States. Now, as a Canadian, that doesn’t affect me, but it’s just the fact that consumers don’t get the liberty to buy the band’s latest album at any other store just doesn’t sound right. You might know by now AC/DC is one of the only bands not showing up on iTunes, along with The Beatles (although both of them are ranked #1 and #2 for republished album sales), but I can understand that, as Angus said himself that AC/DC doesn’t make singles, but albums, and that each song deserves to be on the album (as iTunes users often buy single songs instead of full albums). Yet, the multi-album deal AC/DC signed with SonyBMG Music not only keeps them from selling singles this time, but limits them to a single nationwide store brand. This is clearly sound like a paid exclusivity from Wal-Mart’s side: “hey, let’s piss off the consumer, it doesn’t matter, he doesn’t have the choice anyway and he’ll still come here to buy the album!” At least indie stores can sell the vinyl version of Black Ice. I don’t think AC/DC cares much for the exclusivity deal, as their record label has the final word in this kind of business. They rely a lot more on world tours anyway.
That being said, the album isn’t exclusive to any store in Canada, so go grab the album at any store you want to go to. If AC/DC fits your musical tastes, I recommend it.
Rock on!
Btw, the first picture is the "Yellow logo" version of the album, which I have. The most common one is the "Red logo". There is also a "White logo" and a 4th one, which is exclusive to Wal-Mart in Canada, the "Blue logo".
P.S. J'ai été quelque peu influencé par Le Kevin qui, à côté de moi, passe pour un maître de la critique musicale.
