They've done it again! The Australian powerhouse of Rock & Roll, AC/DC, is back with their latest production and it's everything that a fan could hope for. "Rock Or Bust" is exactly what the world needed and the six years since their last album "Black Ice" was more than enough time they needed to write and record this beauty. There are so many good things about being on a major record label and for them, Columbia records is working out in a complete symbiosis. This is class music produced by some of the top guns in the industry.

For starters, there was plenty of buzz about this album long before any music actually made it to the public. It is the first album without founder Malcolm Young so there were already a lot of clouds in the air surrounding the band. According to Wikipedia, Brian Johnson admitted that it was difficult to make the album without Malcolm. I was personally saddened when I heard of his mental health fading because I've watched it happen to people in my life. Nevertheless, the band plays on.

Next, I started hearing the first single from this album on the radio and it was easy to tell that AC/DC have a formula and it has been working for decades. "Play Ball" is a great example of how very little has changed over the many years this band has been tearing it up. It's got the energy, the hook, and the killer riff to keep you wanting more.

The title track "Rock Or Bust" has all the hallmarks of what a title track should be. This song is the flagship of the album and how fitting of it to lead it off as the first song. As if to say "get ready to rock because this is it!" this track brings the rock and the rest of the album marches to that exact tune. This album is all about rock and there is no shortage of awesomeness!

So the total playing time for the eleven-track "Rock Or Bust" is around forty minutes and that's okay considering the eleven songs are three and a half minutes or less, but the "short-and-sweet" approach keeps the riffs in each song from going stale. As soon as I was really getting into one song, it was on to the next. This album is honestly full of potential singles and the forty or so minutes it takes to listen through it are spent listening to tons of bending strings, catchy riffs, rockin' solos, crazy cymbal crashes, and the reliable vocals of Brian Johnson and it all seems fresh from song to song.

On a quick note, it's hard to critique this album as a stand-alone. Many times as I was listening to it, I couldn't help but to compare it to the countless other AC/DC songs I've heard. That being said, now that I know my musical journey has a destination, this album sends a clear message, it's ROCK OR BUST!<