Album
Black Ice
Black Ice is AC/DC's fifteenth studio album, released on 17 October 2008 after eight years of silence, the longest wait between any two of their records. Brendan O'Brien produced it, and the sessions took place in Vancouver in spring 2008. The delay owed something to an injury to bassist Cliff Williams and the band's move from Elektra to Sony.
O'Brien steered the group back towards the rawer rock of their early days rather than the bluesier feel of Stiff Upper Lip, and most songs were played live in the studio with only light overdubs. It topped the charts in 29 countries, including the UK and US, and "War Machine" won a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance. It is also the last AC/DC studio album with Malcolm Young on rhythm guitar, which gives it a quiet poignancy. Reviewers liked the classic sound, though some found it long.
Black Ice: tracklist, credits and charts
15 tracks · 55:39Tracklist
- 1Rock 'n' Roll TrainAngus Young and Malcolm Young4:20
- 2Skies on FireAngus Young and Malcolm Young3:34
- 3Big JackAngus Young and Malcolm Young3:57
- 4Anything GoesAngus Young and Malcolm Young3:22
- 5War MachineAngus Young and Malcolm Young3:10
- 6Smash 'n' GrabAngus Young and Malcolm Young4:07
- 7Spoilin' for a FightAngus Young and Malcolm Young3:17
- 8WheelsAngus Young and Malcolm Young3:31
- 9DecibelAngus Young and Malcolm Young3:34
- 10Stormy May DayAngus Young and Malcolm Young3:09
- 11She Likes Rock 'n' RollAngus Young and Malcolm Young3:53
- 12Money MadeAngus Young and Malcolm Young4:16
- 13Rock 'n' Roll DreamAngus Young and Malcolm Young4:41
- 14Rocking All the WayAngus Young and Malcolm Young3:22
- 15Black IceAngus Young and Malcolm Young3:26
- Produced by
- Brendan O’Brien
- Recorded at
- The Warehouse (Vancouver)
- Recorded
- 3 March – 25 April 2008
- Mixed by
- Mike Fraser
- Engineered by
- Billy Bowers, Mike Fraser
- Label
- Columbia
- Length
- 55:39
Line-up
- Phil Rudd · drums (drum set)
- Cliff Williams · bass guitar
- Angus Young · guitar
- Malcolm Young · guitar
- Brian Johnson · lead vocals
Singles
- “Rock 'n' Roll Train” · 28 August 2008
- “Big Jack” · 18 December 2008
- “Anything Goes” · 25 February 2009
- “Money Made” · 5 July 2009
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 2008 | 1 |
| US Billboard 200 · 2008 | 1 |
| Argentine Albums (CAPIF) · 2008 | 1 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 2008 | 1 |
| Austrian Albums · 2008 | 1 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2008 | 1 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2008 | 1 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) · 2008 | 1 |
| Czech Albums · 2008 | 1 |
| Danish Albums · 2008 | 1 |
All 31 charts
| Finnish Albums · 2008 | 1 |
| French Albums · 2008 | 1 |
| German Albums · 2008 | 1 |
| Greek Albums (IFPI Greece) · 2008 | 1 |
| Hungarian Albums · 2008 | 1 |
| Ireland 2 · 2008 | 1 |
| Italian Albums · 2008 | 1 |
| New Zealand Albums · 2008 | 1 |
| Norwegian Albums · 2008 | 1 |
| Polish Albums · 2008 | 1 |
| Scottish Albums · 2008 | 1 |
| Slovenian Albums (IFPI) · 2008 | 1 |
| Spanish Albums · 2008 | 1 |
| Swedish Albums · 2008 | 1 |
| Swiss Albums · 2008 | 1 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2008 | 1 |
| US Top Rock Albums · 2008 | 1 |
| Portuguese Albums · 2008 | 2 |
| Dutch Albums · 2008 | 3 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 2008 | 3 |
| Mexican Albums (AMPROFON) · 2008 | 3 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Argentina · 2011 | 2× Platinum |
| Australia · 2009 | 5× Platinum |
| Austria · 2009 | 3× Platinum |
| Belgium · 2009 | 2× Platinum |
| Brazil · 2024 | 2× Platinum |
| Canada · 2008 | 5× Platinum |
| Denmark · 2022 | 4× Platinum |
| Finland · 2008 | 2× Platinum |
| France · 2008 | 2× Platinum |
| Germany · 2009 | 5× Platinum |
| Greece | Platinum |
| Hungary · 2009 | 2× Platinum |
| Ireland · 2008 | 2× Platinum |
| Italy · 2010 | Gold |
| Netherlands · 2009 | Platinum |
| New Zealand | 2× Platinum |
| Poland · 2009 | Platinum |
| Portugal · 2009 | Gold |
| Russia · 2008 | Platinum |
| Spain | Platinum |
| Sweden · 2008 | 2× Platinum |
| Switzerland · 2009 | 4× Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 2008 | Platinum |
| United States · 2008 | 2× Platinum |
| Europe · 2008 | 2× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
76.9
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
4.8k
ListenBrainz listeners
82k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
76k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Also released on 17 October
Every year →
More from AC/DC
Full discography →
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1975
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1975
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1976
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1976
Let There Be Rock
1977
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1978
If You Want Blood You’ve Got It
1978
Highway to Hell
1979
Back in Black
1980
For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)
1981
Flick of the Switch
1983
’74 Jailbreak
1984
Fly on the Wall
1985
Who Made Who
1986
Blow Up Your Video
1988
The Razors Edge
1990
Live
1992
Ballbreaker
1995
Bonfire
1997
Stiff Upper Lip
2000
Backtracks
2009
Iron Man 2
2010
Live at River Plate
2012
Rock or Bust
2014
Power Up
2020
The best of 2008
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Alice in Chains · 1992
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Alice in Chains · 1995
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AC/DC · 2020
Rock or Bust
AC/DC · 2014
But Here We Are
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Alice in Chains · 2016
MTV Unplugged
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p·u·l·s·e
Pink Floyd · 1995
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We Die Young
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Generation Terrorists
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz; also seen: 2008-10-20 (wikidata)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 17 October 2008 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 17 October 2008 | |
| Wikidata | 20 October 2008 | |
| US release | 20 October 2008 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 17 October 2008 | earliest UK or European date |
20 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | DE | Elektra | 1914152313114 | other |
| 2008 | XE | Columbia | 886973837719 | other |
| 2008 | XE | Columbia | 886974174523 | other |
| 2008 | ZA | Columbia | 6007124537232 | other |
| 17 October 2008 | CA | Columbia | 886973923825 | original |
| 17 October 2008 | DE | Columbia | 886973923825 | original |
| 17 October 2008 | XE | Columbia | 886973923825 | original |
| 18 October 2008 | AU | Columbia | 886973923825 | other |
| 20 October 2008 | AU | Albert Productions | 886973923825 | other |
| 20 October 2008 | US | Columbia | 886973837924 | other |
| 20 October 2008 | FR | Columbia | 886973923825 | other |
| 20 October 2008 | US | Columbia | 886973837825 | other |
| 20 October 2008 | AT | Columbia | 886973922323 | deluxe |
| 20 October 2008 | GB | Columbia | 886973923825 | other |
| 20 October 2008 | US | Columbia | 886973837627 | other |
| 20 October 2008 | US | Columbia | 886973382929 | other |
| 22 October 2008 | JP | Sony Records International | 4547366041637 | other |
| 19 November 2012 | XW | Columbia | 886443673342 | other |
| 7 October 2014 | XW | Columbia | 886444890199 | other |
| 14 November 2014 | XE | Columbia | 888750367525 | other |
Cover art sources
itunes · upscaled: minor: best source 1468x1468, upscaled to 1500 (x1.02)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 1468×1468 | upscaled: minor: best source 1468x1468, upscaled to 1500 (x1.02) |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 338×308 | rejected |