New AC/DC Album Released

Legendary Australian Rockers' New CD Reveals Return to Form

Oct 30, 2008
Marc Latham

New AC/DC album, Black Ice, album cover - Planet Rock

AC/DC's first album for eight years has received a positive reaction from the rock community, with vocalist, Brian Johnson, writing lyrics for the first time since 1988.

AC/DC's new single, Rock'n'Roll Train, is a slow bluesy track that sounds more reminiscent of the band under first vocalist, Bon Scott, than the music after Johnson's arrival in the group. In fact, Rock n' Roll Train sounds like the natural successor to Ride On, which first appeared on the band's 1976 album, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.

The full track listing of the album is below, before a brief history of the band follows.

The Track Listing of Black Ice

Rock 'N Roll Train
Skies on Fire
Big Jack
Anything Goes
War Machine
Smash 'N' Grab
Spoilin' for a Fight
Wheels
Decibel
Stormy May Day
She Likes Rock 'N' Roll
Money Made
Rock 'N' Roll Dream
Rocking All the Way
Black Ice

AC/DC: A Brief History

AC/DC were formed in Sydney by brothers Angus and Malcom Young in 1973, and released their first album, High Voltage, in 1975. TNT followed in the same year, and continued the raw, soulful and humorous style of the band, who took very little time in the studio to record. Those two Australian releases were combined into one album called High Voltage for the UK market.

Two more studio albums and a live album built up a solid following of fans, and 1979's Highway to Hell saw the band breaking through into mainstream stardom. Tragically, lead singer, Bon Scott, died in February of the following year after an all night drinking bout.

Brian Johnson, formerly lead singer of a band called Geordie, took over the vocals for the next album, which was named Back in Black in tribute to Bon Scott. It was another classic album, and took them to the pinnacle of the rock world in the 1980s, as their steady rise in the 1970s had always promised.

Although their position at the top of the rock world has continued, the sound on their 1990s albums became predictable, with a succession of mid-tempo rockers offering little diversity and suggesting a lack of new ideas. Hence the long break before this new album. The wait seems to have been worth it, and AC/DC have rediscovered some of their original magic.