Short answer: No. Longer answer: Some bands should know when it’s time to quit. If you are expecting another Back in Black, you will be disappointed. It is, of course, asinine to expect a band to recreate magic they had 28 years ago when they recorded the twenty-two-times-multi-platinum classic. However, it would be fair to expect that the band could at least release something as good as their previous album, Stiff Upper Lip, which was met with lukewarm reviews. Unfortunately for AC/DC fans, Stiff Upper Lip was far better than Black Ice, their most recent release.
The album sounds like classic AC/DC, but their age really shows. The riffs are reminiscent of all other albums, but the distortion has been toned down, and the tempos are a bit slower. The song “War Machine” lifts the main riff from Back in Black’s “Given the Dog a Bone,” but with far less power and edge.
While some may say that they are getting old and are going to tone it down, this is an asinine stance. The legendary metal band Motorhead released an album earlier this year that is as fast and as powerful as their classic speed-metal “Ace of Spades” album. If three old men can release an album like Motorizer, what’s AC/DC’s excuse for being so boring? While they were never a speed-metal band, there is just nothing special about Black Ice. There is not a single song on the album that stands out and yells “this should be the next single!” to listeners.
Black Ice has been called the biggest debut ever by a mainstream hard rock album. It sold about 1.7 million units in the opening week, which is most likely due to their exclusive deal with retail juggernaut Wal-Mart, and the band’s ridiculous marketing scheme of releasing ‘alternate covers’ where the only major differences are the color of the band’s logo. This marketing ploy guaranteed quadruple sales from their most loyal fans and is the likely cause of the successful debut week, as the content of the actual album leaves much to be desired.
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