A case of the album title being as innovative as the album

Reviewing an Airbourne album, I guess, is a bit like reviewing a Steel Panther album – if the latter'd been a serious band, that is. And yet, while the latter does consequently tap into to a very specific corner of hard rock and heavy metal, they at least have a couple of handfuls of guideline bands for inspiration. Airbourne, on the contrary, has ONE primary such, the name of which I will, by the way, attempt to not drop in this review at all – sorta like a challenge to myself. Not gonna be that guy who states the obvious here.

But anyway. Even though Airbourne do sound like their one primary source of inspiration to such an extent that the expression 'ripoff' could be justified, they also blessedly sound like actual fucking musical instruments and amplifiers, which, in this day and age, is so welcome that exactly the expression 'blessedly' is also more than justified. You can hear it from the very first second of opener "Gutsy" on this, their self-titled album: This is the sound of an actual fucking guitar plugged into an actual fucking amplifier and actually fucking played by an actual fucking human being. Not some wall of compressed digital plastic that's been artificially generated on a laptop by algorithms.

As much as Airbourne sound like aforementioned primary source of inspiration, they also do sound like themselves. However, I do not mean that in the sense that originality is anywhere near the equation. On the contrary, the opener's entire buildup seems like a carbon copy of their biggest hit, "Runnin' Wild", bass guitar pedal point and everything. And here is where we enter the big, ongoing chasm between downright lack of originality on one hand, and on the other, an irresistibly infectious energy.

That 1-2 drive is perfectly savage. And yes, those bass figures do sound like those of this one little bass guitarist, name of Cliff Williams. And yes, those vocal lines do sound like those of this one little vocalist, name of Brian Johnson. However, frontman Joel O'Keeffe performs said lines utilizing what I'm just gonna refer to as a blowtorch technique, making his singing fierce enough to border on downright black metal and, for that matter, on this one little band, name of W.A.S.P.

Nothing bad about either from this signature. On the contrary, it only makes the band's already ferocious attitude even more ferocious. I think "Gutsy" might be a single, but that's hardly decisive in any regard, because these guys have one purpose in life, namely to burn this mother down as though the world depended on it. And that's exactly what's going on right here.

Any verdict of this material is a simple matter of what has the most value for the listener: Energy or originality.

That Blackie Lawless kinda vocal expression is also evident in the more mid-tempo follow-up "Alive After Death (Last Plane Out)". However, this is also where the band's aforementioned primary source of inspiration becomes even more apparent, with a verse sounding like this one little 1977 ditty, name of "Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be", and the bridge sounding like this little 1975 ditty, name of "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll).

And yes, there is also a certain similarity to this one little 1976 Blue Öyster Cult ditty, name of "Don't Fear the Reaper", in the intro to "Here She Comes". However, it's a matter of seconds before it morphs into something much more akin to this little 1980 ditty, name of "You Shook Me All Night Long", and even incorporating a hammer-on/pull-off guitar figure in the style of this one little guitar player, name of Angus fucking Young.

… And the riff in "Kid in a Candy Store" sounds exactly like something that his tragically deceased older brother Malcolm could have played in virtually any of his songs from the 70s. The chorus lead-in also sounds like something from another little 1980 ditty, name of "Shoot to Thrill". And "Sky High" sounds like an entire other one of those, namely the title track on this one little album, name of "Back in Black".

I could go on and on naming examples like this. And coming back to that aforementioned chasm, the whole thing is shamelessly derivative, but it is just as tangibly alive with a stormy passion that could not possibly be faked by anyone, the whole question of originality notwithstanding. So, then, that leaves us at a point where any verdict of this material is a simple matter of what has the most value for the listener: Energy or originality.

Airbourne has always been, and perhaps will always be, an enjoyable, preemptive replacement for whenever the real deal has to retire in a handful of years.

Personally, while I could never rate something like this downright poorly due to my heartfelt affection for Airbourne's primary inspiration source, I still start to disengage a bit around halfway. Althoutgh, to be fair, side 2 does see a couple of minor standouts, namely the slide guitar-based "Bogota" and the holiday-themed and jingle bell'ed-up "Christmas Bonus".

The latter is also an example of the band's lyrics being pretty dead-on, with a line like, "You're so damn good, you make Santa come twice". Gems like these are prevalent – say, "If you're looking for love, you're shit out of luck / I strike like lightning, and you've been struck". Or how about what I'm supposing is a small reference to this one little 1984 Deep Purple ditty, name of "Knocking at Your Back Door": "It's not the chase, it's the thrill of the kill".

In spite of any and all well-executed elements here – and there are many – I still cannot bring myself to rate an album like this any higher than what corresponds to two out of three. If this had been released 50 years ago, it would have become legendary overnight. Even on the first Airbourne album, this would have had a higher level of hit quality. Today, at best, this remains what Airbourne has always been, and perhaps will always be: An enjoyable, preemptive replacement for whenever the real deal has to retire in a handful of years.

While not composing any future classics, the band achieves exactly what they set out to do, and it still sounds so much like real, honest, human rock'n'roll that I might have granted them an extra half grading point if I had been in an extraordinarily good mood. However, September is here, and that means the weather is kinda shitty in Denmark where I happen to currently be.

Knowing fully well, though, that this band is quite capable of writing better songs than simply generic copies of that primary inspiration source of theirs, I will gladly give them the benefit of the doubt and try to review their next album, whenever that comes out, on a sunnier day, if possible. Also, I will add that while you should, of course, prioritize catching Airbourne's main source of inspiration live whenever you get the chance, then still, if you have not seen Airbourne yet, you also damn well should – they're a wicked fucking live act.

Rating: 4 out of 6

Genre: Hard rock
Release date: 4/9/2026
Label: Spinefarm
Producer: Brian Howes et al.

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