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Black Ice is the Grammy-nominated fifteenth studio album by Australian rock band AC/DC, produced by Brendan O'Brien and released worldwide between 17 and 22 October 2008. AC/DC were known to be working on the album as early as January 2006, with it being delayed because of an injury to bassist Cliff Williams and a change of record labels from Epic Records to Columbia Records. It is their first album since the release of Stiff Upper Lip in 2000, the longest gap to date between two AC/DC studio albums. The band recorded it at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, Canada, the same studio as their previous album Stiff Upper Lip. Black Ice sold approximately 1,762,000 units in its first week. The album went to number one in 29 different countries, including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In its first week, it sold 784,000 copies in the US alone, receiving a three-times- platinum certification in Australia, and selling upwards of 110,000 in the UK. As of May 2009 the album has sold 7.2 million copies worldwide[13] and it is the second-best selling album of 2008 [14]. Rolling Stone magazine also ranked Black Ice number 41 on their list "Top 50 Best Albums of 2008".[15] Black Ice was also named the third best album of 2008 by Metal Hammer. Black Ice received two Grammy nominations; Best Rock Album and Best Hard Rock Performance for the song "War Machine."
[edit] Pre-releaseIn a 2004 interview, vocalist Brian Johnson revealed that he would be writing song lyrics, for the first time since the band's 1988 album Blow Up Your Video, but the album's release disproved that statement, as all songs were again credited to Malcolm and Angus Young. He also said that guitarist Angus Young had written harder riffs than those on Stiff Upper Lip.[16] As of January 2006, AC/DC were working on the album, and according to rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young at the time, "The band are currently writing and recording material for the eagerly anticipated next album, but no release date has been set."[17] In June 2008, Reuters reported that the album would be distributed solely by Wal-Mart stores only in the United States.[18] It was later announced that the album would be produced by Brendan O'Brien and recorded and mixed by Mike Fraser at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[19] On 15 August, AC/DC filmed the video to accompany the first single from the album, "Rock 'n' Roll Train", in London.[20] Three days later, an announcement was made on the band's official website, stating that Black Ice would be released on 20 October 2008.[21] There are several reasons why the release of Black Ice was delayed. AC/DC changed record labels, first to Epic Records and then to Columbia Records. Their bass player Cliff Williams suffered an injury to his hand, cutting some tendons and nerves while trying to clean up an oil lamp that had fallen over and broken. As a result, Williams couldn’t play bass guitar for 18 months[22]. After Williams recovered, it was Malcolm Young who decided when the band was ready. "Malcolm and Angus had been writing music for quite some time and came to the conclusion that they had a lot of great tunes. So they decided it was time to record the album."[23] Music photographer Guido Karp, who previously had toured with AC/DC during their "Stiff Upper Lip" World Tour, was tapped to take the booklet and promotional photography in the Gibson Castle Studios near London, UK, in August 2008.[citation needed] [edit] Release"Rock 'n' Roll Train" was released on 29 August. Also on that day came a brief appraisal of the album by Rolling Stone magazine, saying "Brian wails about skies on fire, blood in his eyes, storms raging, lightning flashes, hard rain and pretty women... Angus Young shreds throughout... Malcolm Young, Cliff Williams and Phil Rudd — are solid as a rock." They also note that Angus Young uses a slide on the song "Stormy May Day". The magazine also named several tracks before the official release of the track listing.[24] Several days after the original version of the album was made available for pre-order, the band's website store listed two variations of cover artwork (a yellow logo and a silver logo) available for the CD in addition to the original red logo. All three versions feature the exact same music and content. However, the grey designs behind the band's logo are different on each of the two variant covers. There is also a hardcover "Deluxe Edition" (blue logo) available, which contains a 30-page booklet with exclusive new illustrations, studio and live photographs of AC/DC as well as lyrics to the songs.[25] The first 10 tracks were played on radio station network Triple M in Australia at 9pm Monday 3rd and again at 1pm the next day. Those tracks can now be previewed along with interviews with Angus and Brian on the Triple M website.[26] With the North American release of Black Ice on 20 October 2008, Columbia Records and Walmart created "Rock Again AC/DC Stores" with the new album holding centre stage. It was the first time in the history of Walmart that such a large area of floor space was designated to celebrate the release of a new album. In October 2008, MTV along with Walmart and Columbia Records created "AC/DC Rock Band Stores" in New York, at Times Square, and Los Angeles, cities without actual Walmart retail locations. "Black Ice" trucks were also dispatched on the streets of these cities after the release of Black Ice, playing AC/DC music aloud and making various stops each day to sell merchandise.[27][28] The album was also released as a vinyl LP on two 180 gram discs, in a heavy gatefold package featuring the standard red lettering artwork on the front. The LP was sold through the band's website, and was also made available through independent record shops in the United States. The band also released a 7" vinyl single that featured the song "Rock 'n Roll Train" on Side A, and "War Machine" on Side B. The 7" single came in a sleeve with its own unique artwork. The 7" vinyl was also made available in the United States through some independent record shops.[29] It is worth noting that on a few copies of the vinyl version, an accidental mispress happened and side 2 of The Clash: Live At Shea Stadium was accidentally included in place of Black Ice side 1B (War Machine through Wheels).[30] It is currently unknown how many copies have The Clash tracks on them, and it is currently unknown as to how widespread this mispress is. This is not the first time an AC/DC album has had another band be mispressed on its albums. However, Brian Johnson has speculated many times that the album is "better than Back In Black", and that "it's the best work we have ever done." Black Ice was nominated at the 2010 Grammy Nomination concert for "Best Rock Album". [edit] Name originAccording to Angus Young, the term black ice refers to playing gigs during the winter in the Young brothers' native country of Scotland. In an interview, Angus said that "it rolled off the tongue" and that it reminds him of "radio warnings up north of black ice."[31] [edit] ReceptionIn an interview, Brian Johnson described the album as the "best one we've done", noting that he felt that while Back in Black was great for the time, Black Ice shows the band's "versatility". For example, Angus plays slide guitar on "Stormy May Day" (for the first time on album since Badlands in 1983), and Johnson recalled feeling a twinge of anxiety when Brendan O'Brien suggested he swap some screaming for a spot of "soul crooning" (singing). O'Brien instructed Johnson that he was a soul singer and had to do what he needed to do. Johnson recalls feeling worried that the rest of the band would think that this kind of singing would not suit their style of hard rock and roll, but the band was quite receptive to the decision.[32] In 2009, Rock 'n' Roll Train was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.[33] Black Ice was not eligible because it had been released too late in the year.[citation needed] It was also nominated for the ARIA Album of the Year Award in 2009.[34]Black Ice was nominated at the 2010 Grammy Nomination concert for "Best Rock Album". [edit] Chart performance and salesOn 20 October 2008, Black Ice was released in the United States, and sold upwards of 200,000 units on the first day.[35] That same day, the album debuted at number 3 on the Australian album charts, but due to the fact that record stores broke the official release date for the album and released it one day early, the chart position was not granted. The following week[36] on 27 October, it debuted at number one on the Australian Aria Album Charts and reached 3x Platinum status in its first week.[37][38] As of 26 October, Black Ice had shipped approximately 5,000,000 copies worldwide,[39] debuting on the UK Album charts at number one (a first since Back in Black),[40] selling "110,000 copies out of the box, a dramatic 777% increase on the initial 14,000 units of its 2000 predecessor Stiff Upper Lip."[41] On 28 October, Black Ice debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 album chart, selling over 784,000 copies in its first week of release[42], the second highest one-week sales of an album in the US of 2008,[43] ranking ahead of Coldplay's Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends and only trailing Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III. It is also the biggest debut ever by a mainstream hard rock album.[44] The album debuted at number one in 29 different countries.[45] As of 8 December 2008, Black Ice had sold over 1.39 million copies in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[46] It has been certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA.[47] As of 31 December 2008, the album has sold just under 2 million copies in the U.S.[48] The album is only AC/DC's second release to top the US charts, sharing the distinction with For Those About to Rock We Salute You, released in 1981. Black Ice has been certified 4x platinum in Canada, shipping 320,000 copies.[13][49] "Black Ice" made history debuting at #1 on album charts in 29 countries and also has the distinction of being Columbia Records' biggest debut album (since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales data for Billboard in March 1991). "Black Ice" has been certified multi-platinum in eight countries, including the U.S., Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Germany and the Czech Republic. Additionally, "Black Ice" has achieved platinum status in twelve countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, UK, Argentina, Singapore and New Zealand) and gold status in four countries (Netherland, Spain, Poland and Brazil).[50] [edit] Supporting tour  The Black Ice World Tour started on 28 October 2008 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and continues through 2009. The stage set was designed by Mark Fisher with lighting by Patrick Woodroffe. The initial North American phase of the tour ended in Nashville, Tennessee on 31 January 2009. The Answer, a band from Northern Ireland, opened some dates the North American tour. It was later announced that the band would return to the United States for the summer, due to popular demand. Five of the songs off Black Ice have been performed on the tour consistently: "Rock 'n' Roll Train", "Big Jack", "Anything Goes", "War Machine", and "Black Ice". Anything Goes was later dropped from the set list on October 25 in Greensboro, North Carolina.[51] AC/DC will be rehearsing new songs during the holidays to add to/replace the original setlist in preperation for their gigs in Australia. [edit] Track listingAll songs written and composed by Angus Young and Malcolm Young.
[edit] Chart performance
[edit] U.S. singles
[edit] Awards[edit] 2010 Grammy Nominations
[edit] Release history
[edit] Personnel[edit] AC/DC
[edit] Production
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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