Airbourne – Black Dog Barking

Love them or hate them  Airbourne are here to stay and if they keep making albums as strong as Black Dog Barking then their future is safe. I’ve been a fan since the release of Running Wild in 2008, seen them many times and they have always destroyed whichever indoor venue or outdoor festival i’ve been to.Their debut album  Running Wild is as raw and in your face as their live shows but i thought the 2010 release of following album No Guts, No Glory lacked their usual spark but on May 20th 2013 Airbourne’s finest album will be unleashed via Roadrunner Records.

It contains 10 Airbourne classics played in their usual way, heads down and belt it out. The naysayers who dismiss them as AC/DC copyists will probably have a field day over the album but Airbourne fans will be blown away and it  contains their best song ever in my opinion! That song is album opener Ready To Rock and it sounds like they have taken the riff and chorus from the song of the same name off  the Australian only release of their debut of the same name from 2004 but changed the lyrics,some of the time changes,filled it with a load of  “whoa oh oh’s” and gave it a thumping drum sound like King Kong beating his chest! It is the perfect set opener to get any audience ready to rock!

The following 9 tracks surge along in the same Airbourne adrenaline rush  but other highlights are the Rolling Stones vibe intro to 2nd track Animalize. No One Fits Me (Better Than You) contains some risque tongue-in-cheek lyrics and a huge chorus reminiscent of Shake Me by Cinderella. Back In The Game rides along on a heavy,sleazy,grinding riff. Another contender for song of the album is Live It Up. It’s shimmering intro riff is backed by an air raid siren sample which leads into an archetypal Airbourne slammer portraying their lifestyle, including a lyric of   “Hellraiser,risk taker,full speed ahead till i’m dead in the fast lane”. Cradle To The Grave is a killer mid paced stomper with yet another huge chorus and the album ends in style with the title track with some interesting time changes.

So there you have it,in my humble opinion Black Dog Barking is a welcome tour de force and any of these 10 songs will slay in a live setting. Airbourne are currently on tour in the US and Canada,then moving onto Europe and they will be making an appearance at Download Festival in the UK on Sunday,June 16th.

Airbourne band line up :-

Joel O’ Keeffe – Lead vocals/lead guitar.

Ryan O’ Keeffe – Drums.

Dave Roads – Rhythm guitar/backing vocals.

Justin Street – Bass guitar/backing vocals.

Album track listing :-

Ready To Rock.

Animalize.

No One Fits Me (Better Than You).

Back In The Game.

Firepower.

Live It Up.

Woman Like That.

Hungry.

Cradle To The Grave.

Black Dog Barking.