Back in Blah - AC/DC is back with a brand ‘new’ single.

The Band, The Legacy

Like many people AC/DC was pretty special to me throughout my life, growing up my father would blast Bon Scott era classics like “Big Balls” and eventually the Back in Black album, which was still a relatively new addition to their catalog when we got it for $1 from Columbia House. I would inevitably become a wild and unruly teenager, shotgunning wine coolers to Stiff Upper Lip and knowing that I had all of life figured out (SPOILER ALERT: I did not).

“...what do you do with a one-trick pony that is so proud of itself every time it finishes the trick...are you really gonna get mad at a pony?”

So let's talk first about the exceptions I'll make for AC/DC: I get it guys, they’ve never been big on reinventing themselves, Back in Black came about out of necessity but ever since Razor’s Edge they have essentially been making the same album over and over again trying to get the perfect iteration (Black Ice is an exception), if only there wasn’t such an air of self-awareness in their material I would be madder about this, but what do you do with a one-trick pony that is so proud of itself every time it finishes the trick...are you really gonna get mad at a pony?

Exceptions I can’t make: If you are going to do the same thing over and over again, at least do it well, and I mean REALLY well. Unfortunately, AC/DC hasn’t done that with this latest single. The main riff is so lazily “generic-Young” that you wonder if the band has finally fallen completely out of love with making music. Angus Young is often referred to among the greats, an iconic guitarist who delivered such timeless guitar riffs such as those found in “Hells Bells”, “Thunderstruck”, “Money Talks”, and let’s not forget “Back in Black”.

Bottom line is, AC/DC HAS had a pioneering spirit (if only within the scope of their patented sound) and if there was ever a time when we as fans, needed to hear that spirit, perhaps it's now that we need it the most, instead we get bland “just add water” AC/DC - and it simply isn’t good enough.

Wait, what did You Say ?

At first glance, our hook “A shot in the dark beats a walk in the park” seems to be a cautionary tale for playing it safe, but on closer investigation I’m pretty sure this is a song about knowingly giving someone an STD:

You got a long night comin'

And a long night pumpin’

You got the right position

The heat of transmission

Either way, it is unpleasant and gives off some big John Holmes energy that I don’t think I’m down with.

Some early leaks of lyrics for “Money Shot” (track 11) and “Through the Mists of Time” (track 4) don't offer much more hope, and if you are going to serve up 12 songs as dilapidated as “Shot in the Dark” you are stealing innocent people's money, and you should feel bad for it.

“Through the Mists of Time” (leaked lyrics)

See dark shadows

On the walls

See the pictures

Some hang

Some fall

-------------------------------

I’ll be curious to see where that goes, there could be some Zeppelin vibes here that I might really dig, but that’s probably optimistic .

“Money Shot” (Leaked Lyrics)

Doctor, what's the antidote?

Lady, try the money shot

Doctor, what's the antidote?

Lady, just try the money shot

Best taken when hot

1st of all if we are just straight up going to pretend that it isn’t a 73-year-old man screaming about a “money shot”, then that’s fine. 2nd of all this just feels gross and sleazy even by AC/DC’s standards and especially at this point in their career.

A deeper look

*From this point forth the Young brothers will be referred to by their first names to avoid confusion

If you’ve read this far it is pretty evident that I am not very happy with the re-hashed sound of this single...that said there is probably a good reason why it sounds that way, so while my professional opinion has been thoroughly stated it's time for y’girl to show some understanding and compassion. AC/DC has been going strong since 1973, and ironically 73 is exactly how old the band’s frontman, Brian Johnson, turned 6 days before I sat down to write this article. He is the oldest member of the band and arguably the one with the most physiologically demanding job, but all things considered, his vocal performance on this track isn’t completely terrible and he isn’t even a major creative force in the band...he is literally just their voice, and a mighty one at that, so let's step back from him for just a second to focus on the main creative contributors in the band; the brothers Young. It’s important to remember that despite the forthcoming PWR/UP and 2014’s Rock or Bust (combined total of 24 tracks) almost no new material has been composed since 2008, and there’s a good reason why.

Rock and Roll and Illness

Malcolm Young was a squarely but not extravagantly built brunette who stood approximately 5’ 5” tall, he was a Glasgow native and the rhythm guitarist for one of the biggest hard rock bands in history. Together with his brother, Angus, he is credited as the writer of EVERY SINGLE AC/DC song to date, while it is true that the brothers didn’t always work completely alone, Bon Scott also received a credit on 7 albums, and Brian Johnson on 4, nobody denies that Malcolm Young was musically and lyrically responsible for shaping the band’s identity over the past 4 decades. Unfortunately, Malcolm's final years were plagued by a series of severe health problems starting shortly before the Black Ice tour. When Malcolm was just 55-years-old he began receiving treatment for dementia, he would also have a pacemaker implanted, as well as a scare with lung cancer during the same tour, by 2014 his mind was too far gone to continue playing. Angus described his brother’s final days on the road saying that he would rehearse backstage for hours before a show just so that he could remember even their most standard songs when the band took the stage.

Digging into the past

Since Malcolm lost the ability to be a creative force in the band, they have composed 2 entire albums made up of scraps he left behind, according to the band themselves some of these pieces date back as far as 2003 or earlier, Angus then fills in the gaps the best he can to make full songs.

Black Ice was a unique and innovative album when held up to the remainder of the band’s catalog, but since then it seems like they have truly been a ship without a captain. The loss of their main creative force and the fact that the band has been stitching together long lost riffs and hooks for the past 10 years explains a bit about why this album SOUNDS like it was made from spare parts, because it was, and the vault has got to be running low.

11/13/20

No matter how many tragedies have befallen this band, they’re worth noting, but they also aren’t an excuse, AC/DC is a band making music in 2020, and as such, they deserve a fair review. November 13th the full album drops and I swear to y’all, I want it to be good, I really do, I would love to be sitting at my computer that day telling all of you how AC/DC has found new life, and that the new material shows real hope for the future, but I’m not holding my breath. In a statement, Angus Young said “This record is pretty much a dedication to Malcolm, my brother. It’s a tribute for him like Back in Black was a tribute to Bon Scott.” Unfortunately, if “Shot in the Dark” is any indication it may be best that Malcolm isn’t around to see it.