For Those Who Still Rock, We Salute You

One of the best hockey arena songs ever written is now 18 years old: "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC. 1990's The Razors Edge yielded the aforementioned classic along with "Moneytalks" and the album's dark, driving title track; it's an uneven album, but it is "Thunderstruck" that hockey fans who weren't yet born when it was recorded know from rinks across the country. When Angus Young's fast-fingered fretwork blares forth from the big arena speakers, you can feel the crowd's energy level spike. Few tracks rival Thunderstruck to fire up a crowd; in fact, many of those similarly effective songs are by this same band ("Back In Black", "Hell's Bells", "You Shook Me All Night Long", etc.). As John Buccigross put it in his recent paean to AC/DC's classic album Back In Black, "AC/DC is the official music act for the sport of hockey." It's been a long time since AC/DC released an album that mattered, and 8 years since they released anything at all. In that time, modern music has yielded fewer and fewer arena rockers (Foo Fighters excepted). Sure, bands still produce interesting and high-energy music, but as much as I enjoy Radiohead, for instance, even their heavier-guitar tracks don't fit the vibe of a hockey game.Well last night AC/DC hit the Phone Booth in support of their new album, Black Ice. As one of the definitive arena rock bands and a band whose catalog is in heavy rotation at rinks around the world -- for example, we heard "Shoot To Thrill" in Moscow -- AC/DC was overdue for an album that would would rise to the occasion . . . a double-entendre that the band would likely appreciate. So how does Black Ice fare in the context of AC/DC's catalog? Well it's actually terrific, their best since For Those About To Rock, We Salute You. Mind you, AC/DC isn't exactly known for being particularly innovative -- but they do what they do, and they do it better than anyone else does. On Black Ice they inject fresh energy into an old formula, and it works as well as it ever has.Despite AC/DC's mildly irritating distribution strategy of selling Black Ice exclusively at Wal-Mart and notoffering online downloads, AC/DC's new album topped the charts with784,000 units sold in its first week, good for the second-best debut of 2008. That's an impressive tally given the economy and the recording industry's continuingdecline. Pretty sweet for a bandwhose first album hit stores 33 years ago. Black Ice is filled with classic Angus Young riffs, Brian Johnson's gargling-nails growls and screams, and the band's classic driving-to-destruction rhythm section. Like Chris Chelios, this band's age seems to have little impact ontheir ability to perform (yes, I know, another double-entendre). A few tracks on the new album stand out as perfect for hockey arenas. "Spoilin' For A Fight" seems custom-written for an/nhl pugilistic highlight reel . . . that, or Donald Brashear's entry music/theme, like some WWE wrestler. The dirty shuffle and wicked slide guitar of "Stormy May Day" is reminiscent of Physical Graffiti-era Led Zeppelin; its title and lyrics ("Storm is ragin' / No one's gonna rescue you") would be ideal for playoff run deep into May.Radio-friendly rockers like "Big Jack" and "Rock N' Roll Train" are also well-suited for hockey; the latter has already made the Capitals' song rotation. And the title track has more going for it than just its hockey-apropos name -- the riff-and-groove jam makes for a menacing prowl of a song that's guaranteed to lodge firmly in your brain. After a prolonged absence, AC/DC is back with a classic album of riffsand roars that stands among their best, still rocking and rolling likepros. So schlep over to Wal-Mart (or their website), crank Black Ice up to 11 in your car, and enjoy AC/DC proving the maxim that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Source