Album Review — AC/DC

AC/DC — Power Up

AC/DC is back. We weren’t sure we would see them again, but here they are. Brian Johnson is back. Cliff Williams came out of retirement. Phil Rudd has cleared his legal hurdles and has returned. And Stevie Young has replaced his deceased uncle Malcom.

The one constant has been Angus Young, and as long as he is around, AC/DC will still be AC/DC. When we last saw the band, Johnson’s future was uncertain as Axl Rose had replaced him and no one knew if we would get another record. But “Power Up” has now arrived.

AC/DC has always been a relatively simple band so I will keep this review relatively simple. “Power Up” sounds like AC/DC. For most fans, that’s all you really need to know. The huge riffs are there. Johnson still sounds like Brian Johnson. “Power Up” is not “Back In Black”, but it’s all you could hope for from a band that looked like the end had come.

The lead single, “Shot In The Dark”, is vintage AC/DC and is a good representation of the record. No frills, just rock.

I will say that “Through The Mists of Time” really stands out for me. It’s easily my favorite song on this record and probably my favorite AC/DC song in two decades or more.

Other strong tracks include the album opener “Realize”, “Witch’s Spell”, “Wild Reputation” and “No Man’s Land”. They all have that classic AC/DC guitar part that when you hear it you know it’s AC/DC.

There are no fillers here. Every track is quality AC/DC. “Demon Fire” has a little Bon Scott era sound to it. But for the most part, this record reminds me of the 90s version (think Razor’s Edge) of the band.

To keep it simple, it’s an AC/DC record. We didn’t know if we would ever see another one so fans of the band should rejoice and be thankful and enjoy a quality release from one of rock’s most iconic bands.

90 out of 100

Track Listing

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

*Best Songs