Review Summary: This album at foremost is for AC/DC fans trying to bridge the gap in between releases. If you are not a real big fan of this type of music, you may find something enjoyable, otherwise this is a lackluster release and this band is not destined to be the ne
The land down under has had some recent success when it comes to Hard Rock bands. First Wolfmother hit United States with their single “Woman”, and now Airbourne is trying to make a name for themselves with their single “
Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast” off their debut full-length
Runnin’ Wild. Being signed to Roadrunner has either been a success, if they could earn money off the band, or a failure, if they could not. Having a song on nine video games, a commercial for another, and having a song picked as a WWE PPV and wrestler theme song shows that Roadrunner feels they can market this band as the next big thing. The question is, how could this band be the next big thing when they sound like a modern AC/DC?
Very rarely do the guitars sound like you would not find them on an AC/DC album. Only at the very beginning on the album (“
Stand Up For Rock ’N’ Roll”) do they sound unique. The vocals also fit into the AC/DC realm, with the vocalist sounding close to Dave Evans, Bon Scott, and/or Brian Johnson. The vocals also have that raw energetic style that AC/DC has on every album. You really have to stop and think, “Are these guys trying to copy AC/DC?” Regardless of the answer,
Runnin’ Wild is a fun listen and should hold off AC/DC fans until the new album drops.
What if you are not an AC/DC? Then you might still enjoy the album. The second single “
Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast” is a fun catchy song that would get anyone in the mood to drink and party all night. Not to mention the guitar solos thrown in at times are good but not great. The drums do lack though as their pretty much basic. The bass rarely leaves the pattern of the drums to stick out, but when the bass player does, it is not that great. In addition, the lyrics deal with al the classic rock/metal gems. You have your share of alcohol, drugs, and sex, as found on the track “
Diamond In The Rough”.
Overall, Runnin’ Wild is a mixed bag of tracks. “
Fat City” works mainly because it is slower then the rest but has a guitar solo that fits the mood of the song. “
Blackjack” does not work that great because it has the feeling of a catchy song, but there is no hook. If this band was not in the AC/DC clone category then this album could’ve been so much better, but thus this is not so. To get a feel of this album you should listen to the songs “
What’s Eatin’ You”, “
Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast”, and “
Diamond In The Rough”.
This was a difficult album to review. At first, I just was not grabbed in like most of the other CDs I have reviewed or in the process of reviewing. Maybe it was because they sounded so familiar to AC/DC and I am not as big of a fan of AC/DC as other people are. It has taken me three weeks but this album finally grew on me enough to review it. This album at foremost is for AC/DC fans trying to bridge the gap in between releases. If you are not a real big fan of this type of music, you may find something enjoyable, otherwise this is a lackluster release and this band is not destined to be the next Wolfmother.
2/5
