AC/DC have done a masterful job of creating interest in their new album. A solid first single, a long time away, and a return to their older style has a lot of people celebrating the "return" of AC/DC. Unfortunately, this hype has clouded most people's view of this album as considering "Black Ice" to be great. While it doesn't suck by any standard, "Black Ice" is little more than an average album that will find it's place alongside of "Stiff Upper Lip" and "Ballbreaker" collecting dust on the shelves of fans that will still pull "Back In Black" and all the Bon Scott era releases to listen to.

Granted, "Rock N' Roll Train" is one of the best songs to come out of AC/DC since 1990. It might even be the best song they've done. That being said though, the rest of the album is fairly lukewarm, at best. Songs like "Skies On Fire" and "Rock N' Roll Dream" showcase the slow tempoed, fairly dull sound and style that AC/DC have presented in 2008. Musically, it's clear that the pre-release rumors that Malcolm and Angus Young agonized over writing this album were valid. It's clear they didn't have a ton to work with creatively. When they do take some risks, such as on pathetic poppy "Anything Goes", they fall flat. This song, which is basically a direct ripoff of "Moneytalks", showcases how little there was in the creative tank this time.

Fortunately for AC/DC, they aren't exactly expected to reinvent themselves ever. A very positive feature of "Black Ice" is the rebirth of the backing gang vocals that had disappeared on the last two albums. It definitely enhances songs like "War Machine" and "Big Jack". For their part, the Young brothers, drummer Phil Rudd and bassist Cliff Williams do sound solid as they crank out these standard Rock tracks.

The sad truth to AC/DC these days is the same as it's been since "The Razor's Edge". That is the deterioration of the vocal ability of vocalist Brian Johnson. You almost hate to say this since he's such a likeable frontman and clearly has made AC/DC his own after the death of one of the most charismatic frontmen ever, but it is what it is. These days, Johnson's ripped up throat, even with eight years of rest, still sounds warbly. He sounds as if he's singing with a throat full of phlegm throughout, rendering songs like "Money Made" and "Wheels" to feel like what they are - a shell of past greatness from a band past their prime.

Overall, "Black Ice" is listenable, but not spectacular by any stretch. The hype on this album, and people's love for this band, has clearly outweighed most people's ability to actually listen to it and identify the many flaws that make up "Black Ice". For me, I'm turning it off, filing it away, and pulling out "Flick Of The Switch" to remember how great this band used to be. Even an album like that which is widely regarded as a flop from the band features more interesting material than this album. Sad, but true.