With zillions of records still spot welded in players worldwide, AC/DC hardly need to worry about their place in rock'n'roll history. That's why they don't. And obviously they haven't been in a hurry for the last 7 years. Such gap between studio albums means an eternity for most rock bands nowadays. Most would form, sell-out, fall flat and die out in 7 years, you know? Even their younger contemporaries already look like fat bald hobbits, while AC/DC grow older graciously. Time means nothing when you stay true to yourself. AC/DC fans never worry about the quality of the next album, neither they tremble with fear whether their heroes will sport bizarre hairlines, mascara or piercings. Everything is solid, unbreakable, monolithic. "Black Ice" is what everybody expected- a stomping, steaming rock'n'roll machine leading 15 heavyweight wagons that need to be unleashed through your bedroom sound speakers. In this new album AC/DC are practically the same- chugging guitars, raucous thumping beat and the gutsy raucous Brian's voice all over the place. Songs are chopping and direct. According Angus the opener, "Rock'n'Roll Train" is "...about a train" which actually, irony aside, is the best way to explain what axactly AC/DC care about after almost four decades of rocking and rolling, because there are no words (sensible enough) left to describe such sound. There are riff monsters in "Black Ice" like "Spoilin' For a Fight" and "Skies On Fire" that can make you 10 years younger and greasy future classics ("She Likes Rock'n'Roll", "Money Made" and "Rocking All The Way") worthy every second of your air drumming. Wait a minute, we have something here, something that in AC/DC's dictionary might be called ballad. "Rock'n'Roll Dream" is a beautiful track, although a little bit far from the standouts. In the end, while not as consistent as their classic efforts, "Black Ice" is far better than "Ballbreaker" and can easily be called one of the last truly great records of our time, for not many of us (to be honest) can actually see who's going to fill the old Ausssies's shoes, when they leave the stage.