My God, this is the real deal.
The unbroken line that reaches back from
Rose Tattoo and The Angels has caught up with present day rock'n'roll. In fact, new Oz band
Airbourne make latter day AC/DC, architects of some of the greatest hard rock anthems of all time, sound like a spent force.
Produced by Bob Marlette, '
Runnin' Wild' is indeed a formidable onslaught of ballsy, hard drivin' rock, full of bone dry riffs, gang vocals and gritty, sweaty delivery. Stand back, see the steam rising, watch the sparks flying.
The album is chock a block with immediate, stampeding rock songs, delivered with unnerving confidence and skill. The relentless twin guitar sparring is choreographed to perfection and the melodies are memorable.
But it's electricity and attitude that leap out of your speakers like lightning bolts of brilliance, energising high calibre songs, pumping them up, larger than life.
The strutting, exhilarating '
Stand Up For Rock'N'Roll' opens the album with a swagger. It's fast on its feet, punches hard and shows no mercy. Just how great hard rock should be.
Guitarist Joel O'Keefe has learned from Malcolm Young. The best, most effective riffs are underplayed, not overdriven. Consequently, when second guitarist, David Roads hits a powerchord or launches a solo, they sound absolutely huge.
There's little variation in
Airbourne's repertoire, but that's a plus. There may be a few potboilers -
'Girls In Black' and '
Heartbreaker' aren't quite up to the overall standard - but the remaining tracks are all winners.
There's the declamatory, stadium filling
'Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast'. There's
'Diamond In The Rough', propelled by an itchy rhythmic crunch. And there's the short, humorous '
What's Eatin' You', full of thinly disguised schoolboy innuendo. In fact there's a lot of it about on '
Runnin' Wild', but it's done with a disarming honesty and in fairness, makes no pretensions to be otherwise.
Airbourne may just have eased themselves into a niche that European bands like
Shakra and of course
Krokus have tried valiantly but vainly to make their own. A good bet I think.
Written by
Brian Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Show all reviews by BrianRatingsBrian: 7.5/10Members: No members have rated this album yet.
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