Review Summary: History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme
Much like Back in Black bursting into the eighties with the rock world’s most definitive phoenix maneuver, AC/DC entered the nineties with renewed purpose on The Razors Edge. New blood was brought in with Chris Slade making his sole album appearance with the band and Aerosmith/Bon Jovi mega-producer Bruce Fairbairn giving their tried and true sound a little extra polish. Blow Up Your Video pointed the way forward and judging by the metrics selling at their highest in a decade, the gambit seemed to pay off.
There’s no better way to kick off a comeback than with an opener like ”Thunderstruck.” this track is pure concentrated adrenaline as its surprisingly fluid structure features the introduction’s crowd chants on top of that signature tapping frenzy, pummeling chorus riffs, and an especially electrifying solo. It’s the stuff of stadium rock perfection, arguably their best opening number ever and threatens to be their greatest song of any era. I may have my soft spot for “Gone Shootin’,” but my two brain cells have been looping the “THUN-DUH” chants for hours now.
Thankfully the band has learned from sins past and keep that glorious start from overshadowing the other songs. “Fire Your Guns” is the speedy exercise that “Put The Finger On You” should’ve been complete with some cool guitar panning, but “Moneytalks” is the other major player. It’s a candidate for one of the band’s catchiest songs ever as the intro riff and bass thump lures you in, the verses and pre-choruses pile on top of each other with enthusiasm against the driving beat, and the chorus is infectious as hell. Throw in some rare post-Bon wit in the lyrics about attempting to lure in a trophy wife and you’ve got another major winning staple.
Looking beyond those two reveals even more monsters around the corner. The title track is their most apocalyptic entry this side of “Hell’s Bells” with its darker guitars, flashier drum spots, and borderline creepy backing vocals. “Are You Ready” and “Shot of Love” play up lighter contrasts, the former features an almost atmospheric intro paired with another potent singalong and the latter’s pulsating beat is tailor made for cruising not unlike something Judas Priest would’ve pulled out just a couple years beforehand.
Alas, old habits die hard as a twelve-song total enables some slipping back into filler territory. “Mistress for Christmas” is just silly enough to get a pass (and also apparently about Donald Trump’s affairs) and the chorus of “Let’s Make It” is catchy enough to make up for its half-assed construction. On the flip side, “Got You By The Balls” retreads the “Moneytalks” theme with lesser results and the closing “If You Dare” comes off as directionless with its seemingly constant ‘come outside and play’ leering.
While The Razor’s Edge has a couple tracks keeping it from bonafide classic status, its success in giving AC/DC some newfound vigor is commendable. It’s the second best album of the Johnson era by default as the musicians have true fire in their playing and the strongest songs could go toe to toe with any of their best. It isn’t quite a Back in Black for the nineties (Metallica could be the ones to deliver that the following year), but it’s great to hear them play around with contrasts in light of the often one-note albums from this era. Not many bands can pull off a second wind, it’d pretty damn impressive for AC/DC to squeeze out a third.
