Band:	AC/DC
Album:	Power Up
Style:	Hard rock, Blues rock
Release date:	November 13, 2020
A review by:	nikarg

01. Realize
02. Rejection
03. Shot In The Dark
04. Through The Mists Of Time
05. Kick You When You're Down
06. Witch's Spell
07. Demon Fire
08. Wild Reputation
09. No Man's Land
10. Systems Down
11. Money Shot
12. Code Red

How many bands do you know that you can immediately recognize their sound from the first two notes of any song of theirs? And how many bands do you know that have whole albums in their discography that could easily be greatest hits compilations? Not that many, eh? AC/DC are back and they are powered up!

To be entirely honest, I was not expecting Power Up. And who did, really? With Malcolm Young officially leaving the band in 2014 and passing away three years later, with Phil Rudd being replaced in 2015 following his criminal charges, with Brian Johnson doing his last show in 2016 due to hearing loss, and with Cliff Williams deciding to stop touring and recording partly or entirely because of all of the above, the band was as good as dead. However, after a hiatus of four years the Aussies decided to surprisingly return with the line-up of Rock Or Bust; that is, Angus Young, Brian Johnson, Cliff Williams, Phil Rudd, and Stevie Young.

It is no secret that one of the top selling hard rock bands in the history of hard rock is often being accused of building an entire career upon a handful of riffs. But who can argue that AC/DC do not remain vastly influential even today, when bands from every subgenre of heavy music are ripping them off drawing inspiration from them? Don't take my word for it; just check this one out. And this one. Or this one. And the list is endless.

To say that the recipe here is familiar would be the understatement of the century. AC/DC deliver once again loud, simple, pounding riffs and grooving backbeats that are unashamedly monotonous and utterly formulaic, but at times also markedly amusing. I mean, you know how it goes, every song reminds you of every other song and so on, like "Demon Fire" is a mix between "Safe In New York City" and "Caught With Your Pants Down" for example, but who cares really and at the end of the day what did you expect? Anticipating AC/DC to deliver something different at this point would be as futile as waiting for Godot. And who would want something different from this band anyway?

If you know AC/DC even a little bit, you realize that even though Malcolm Young isn't part of the band, he is very much a part of this record. Not only because it is dedicated to him but also because Angus dug into the pile of riffs from the Black Ice period for much of Power Up's material. Other AC/DC albums are also reminisced here and you can hear that first and foremost on the tracks that bookend Power Up. Opener "Realize" could have had a place on Flick Of The Switch and closer "Code Red" with its southern rock vibes wouldn't feel awkward on Fly On The Wall. Both of those are among the highlights but the best part of Power Up starts from the super-catchy first single "Shot In The Dark" and stretches up to the aforementioned "Demon Fire". In between these two, "Through The Mist Of Time" is the most radio-friendly track, "Kick You When You're Down" is full of bluesy hooks and a great chorus, and "Witch's Spell" is a totally uplifting sensation. On the other hand, filler material is not absent but one of the strong points of Power Up is that it doesn't overstay its welcome and with almost all its songs being around three minutes-long, even the filler ones do not hang around long enough to become annoying.

Full disclosure time: I don't rate all AC/DC albums highly, just the ones of the first five years of the band. In my opinion, everything that they have recorded with Brian Johnson (who actually sounds great at 73 and this is a miracle of modern medicine), with the exception of Back In Black, belongs in the category of music that makes you tap your foot on the floor mostly indifferently, while you're knocking back a few beers at the bar chatting with your friends. Sure, some of those albums feature a few songs that may also make you bop your head while tapping your foot on the floor and at times they put a big smile on your face, but the sheer brilliance of Let There Be Rock, Highway To Hell, and Back In Black that gets you dressed in a school uniform so that you can duckwalk in style while air-guitaring and attempting to mimic Angus Young was never to be heard again after 1980. And Power Up does not change this.

I cannot imagine any AC/DC fan being disappointed with this one just like I cannot imagine it attracting any newcomers. Objectively speaking, Power Up is strong by this band's standards because it features an unexpectedly significant number of moments of the head-bopping/big-smile category that I mentioned in the previous paragraph. It is a much better way to put an end to their career with compared to Rock Or Bust and it is also one of their best records with Brian Johnson.

In one sentence, Power Up is the most we could expect from AC/DC at this point.

"A shot in the dark
Make it feel alright
A shot in the dark
All through the whole night"