Band:	AC/DC
Album:	Back In Black
Style:	Hard rock, Blues rock
Release date:	July 1980
Guest review by:	Gorey

01. Hells Bells
02. Shoot To Thrill
03. What Do You Do For Money Honey
04. Given The Dog A Bone
05. Let Me Put My Love Into You
06. Back In Black
07. You Shook Me All Night Long
08. Have A Drink On Me
09. Shake A Leg
10. Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution

" He is unique, we don't want someone that would just be a Bon wannabe". These were the words -with the present tense- Angus Young used for his friend Bon Scott during a press conference in 1980.The whole world was learning the death of the legendary and brilliant singer Ronald Belford Scott, 33 years old, by suffocation. Dismay was ib the place, and yet Angus, Malcolm, Cliff and Phil decided to continue the trip ACDC, encouraged by the parents of the defucnt singer.But how can one go on when he's just lost a friend, a brother? The answer was brought up by a kid from Newcastle. Brian Johnson, who was until then the lead singer in Geordie, quickly integrated the bandthat came back to work and released the same year Back In Black, their balck album.

Yet some questions remained: would they revive? What could this new singer really bring out? Once you play the disc, the answer comes by itself; the "Hell's bells" toll, like a mourning complaint, a painful exclamation overcoming the past and announcing more life than death. After the first notes, no more doubt: this album is gonna be great. An unstoppable melody mixed with the rocky vocals of Brian Johnson hits the aim and then there i no more contest on the fact that the new ACDC perfectly suits to this powerful high-pitched voice.

The first track does not sound like former ACDC, but the alchemy between the newcomer and the Young bros is a success, giving life to an explosive cocktail with a strong hard rock/blues tendency. And the playing is close to perfection. The mythical tracks never stop, with the savage and electrical "Shoot to thrill" or the staggering hit "You shook me all night long", guarantor of the ancient spirit that was so important to Bon Scott. No, the band is not dead with its great singer, Angus and Malcolm still manage to create stunning rhythm sections and inventive solos quite as good as on Highway To Hell.

This album is a jewel of homogeneity, alternating tornado songs with imposing riffs like "What do you do for money honey" and "Shake a leg", with very class tracks such as "Rock'n' roll ain't noise pollution". The album also has tracks that could have been on previous albums, like for example "Let me put my love into you" and "You shook me all night long". And "Back in black", the title track, still remains one of the highlights of the band, thanks to this bluesy touch that perfectly accentuates the catchy riff... No doubt that this is one of the three greatest tracks of ACDC.
To sum up, Back In Black is a monument, a pearl that must be owned at any price. Fully dedicated to Bon Scott, this album manages to equal the quality of Let There Be Rock and Highway To Hell. It also celebrates a renewal that has been lasting until nowadays.