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Black Ice
by AC/DC

AC/DC reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 69 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.1 out of 10
based on 24 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 49 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

The hard-rock band's first album in eight years was produced by Brendan O'Brien.

LABEL: Columbia
RELEASE DATE: 20 October 2008
DISCS: 1 disc
GENRE(S): Rock

NOTES: Released as a Wal-Mart exclusive.


What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

91
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Black Ice will trigger nostalgia in the devout, but inasmuch as the album reaffirms AC/DC's power, there's nothing backward-looking about it.
Read Full Review
80
Mojo
"Back In Back" it ain't, but it's certainly a real return to form. [Nov 2008, p.102]
80
PopMatters
In a postmodern age of irony and cynicism, of self-absorbed navel-gazing, when too many bands want to make vapid political statements and shallow social commentary, AC/DC reliably deliver the goods: solid blues-based rock ‘n’ roll that gets the blood pumping and the air guitar strumming.
Read Full Review
80
Village Voice
Quality stuff. Sorta like 'Send for the Man,' but better.
Read Full Review
80
Observer Music Monthly
AC/DC have stuck to their guns with electrifying results.
Read Full Review
80
Boston Globe
In other words, Black Ice is a quintessential, if not exactly essential, AC/DC album.
Read Full Review
77
cokemachineglow
Like all AC/DC records, this is a troubling one to love.
Read Full Review
70
Dot Music
Black Ice is far better than anyone could have hoped, played by people who by their age should know better.
Read Full Review
70
Hartford Courant
It's a strong album that rarely skimps on gut-churning guitars.
Read Full Review
70
Rolling Stone
Johnson yelps at one point--making it clear that his band still finds resonance in words that were clichéd by 1956. And for that, you've got to salute them.
Read Full Review
70
Spin
Scattered predictability aside, AC/DC still sound strong and hungry 35 years on, as if they could pulverize riffs in perpetuity.
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70
Paste Magazine
Black Ice is, in many respects, just a consolidation of all AC/DC’s strengths and/or perceived weaknesses in one easily-digested package. Yes, there is filler among the killers, but in large measure what you have here is grade-A, late-vintage rawk with no frills and most of the thrills intact.
Read Full Review
67
Entertainment Weekly
The appeal of AC/DC lies with their more-than-30-year-old commitment to the same no-frills metal groove. But that groove now seems in danger of becoming a rut.
Read Full Review
60
The Guardian
It's a record aimed at the band's existing audience, and far more important than any qualitative highs and lows is the fact that everything you might expect is present and correct.
Read Full Review
60
Uncut
If Black Ice has a weakness, it’s that it betrays an anxiety. As if AC/DC really might be uncharacteristically worried that their grasp on the planet is in danger of slipping. As if they’ve tried to discreetly update their sound, while hoping that their rebarbative old fans won’t notice what they’ve done. Invincibility suits AC/DC. Self-doubt, even a microscopic hint of it, does not.
Read Full Review
60
Blender
Half of their new truckload feels typically phoned-in. But sometimes they surprise you, nailing the signature sounds of their '70s boogie-metal brethren. [Nov 2008, p.72]
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60
All Music Guide
AC/DC still can sound invigorating - and make no mistake they do here, as much as they ever do on a latter-day record - but they just need to tighten up, cut back, crank it up and sound a little rude again.
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60
Billboard
The seemingly ageless Australian rock combo mostly employs its same tried-and-true formula on the audio side of the Black Ice equation.
Read Full Review
60
Hot Press
After an eight-year hiatus, these hard rock legends return to the music scene with a banging album that has just a little less bite than others past.
Read Full Review
60
Q Magazine
Black Ice is the album AC/DC were always going to make. It wasn't broken. They didn't need to fix it. [Nov 2008, p.119]
40
Austin Chronicle
For those who truly want to rock around the clock, Black Ice never brings the heat.
Read Full Review
40
NOW Magazine
Black Ice may sound like a vintage AC/DC record in a superficial way, thanks to producer Brendan O’Brien and engineer Mike Fraser, but having Brian Johnson squeal dumb cliché phrases--three of the 15 songs have “rock ’n’ roll” in the title while a fourth has “rocking”--over a steady 4/4 thump is going to bore even their most ardent followers.
Read Full Review
40
Sputnikmusic
As with anything, there's catch; the 'good' only lasts four songs and about fifteen minutes out of a fifteen song, fifty-five minute record.
Read Full Review
20
Tiny Mix Tapes
As a whole, Black Ice is a mess of tired conventions shoved noisily at the listener, as though just getting them all on record was good enough.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this album is 8.1 (out of 10) based on 49 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

J C gave it a5:
Weakness...this band has had about 10 good songs in the last 20 years, their inspiration died with Bon.

Doug L. gave it a10:
Despite the 8 year wait on putting out a new album, they stuck to their guns and kicked the billboards right in the ass. This is an epic AC/DC album with spine shivering riffs and a knack to give a group a good time. I love it, the people love it, the critics love it, it is definitely there best since Back In Black.

Gino P. gave it a7:
For a band that have 35 years in the road its a fair production, but I expected more, for me ACDC at his best was Back in Black, that is a really hard one to top.

Tim XXX gave it a5:
Not a bad album, but like typical ACDC albums, there are really only 2-3 solid songs and the rest of the songs all sound the same. Look back at the last 3-4 ACDC albums, they all have 1 killer song and 10-11 very average songs at best.

JC N gave it a5:
When I first heard the new AC/DC album was coming out, I so badly wanted it to be amazing and good and - not original, since AC/DC aren't but I wanted something that didn't have "Rock 'N' Roll" in three of its track names. It reflects where AC/DC have come to. The songs are mediocre at best - I had to train myself to tolerate Rock 'N' Roll Train in order to like it, and the same with the others. There is nothing fresh, and it sounds like old songs recycled with a slightly different riff or solo. To me, The Razors Edge was better. I'm glad it's selling so well though.

Jordan L gave it a10:
Vintage AC/DC! The first album in about a decade and a great refresher of the sound of true Rock & Roll. AC/DC is a band that will never fade away, and will remain a powerhouse in Rock & Roll industry for however many years its music surfaces.

Garth W. gave it an8:
It's AC/DC. What did you expect? The day AC/DC does a ballad is the day the band is dead. Some complain that it sounds the same as everything else they've ever done. While everyone else tries to rock harder, AC/DC just rocks. Therein lies their genius.

Read more user comments...

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