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They’re the latest band to roll off the conveyor belt that is classic German rock and the boys from Kissin’ Dynamite wear their metal/sleaze influences on their sleeves.

Packing their cracking major label debut Addicted To Metal with soaring hooks and singalong choruses what’s not to like about the Teutonic trailblazers?

We can’t wait to see them hit the UK very soon – for now check out what teen singer Hannes Braun has to say about all things metal. Read the rest of this entry »

Thirty years ago this week rock and roll received the massive kick in the arse it so desperately needed. It came from the steel toed boots of Brian Johnson and was called Back In Black.

Back In Business would have been more apt.

Never has one band been under so much pressure to deliver the album that proved there was life after death. In this case the death of Bon Scott.

But thanks to a cocksure Geordie, an up and coming producer and the wily old ways of the Young brothers there was never going to be any doubt that AC/DC would return as all-conquering heroes.

Through the mists of time the iconic Back In Black may well have morphed into an even better record than it really is.

And the word hype was made for an album which continues to be discussed in glowing terms by fans and critics alike.

But is there a bad song on the thing?

Four of the 10 are good, rather than great. Let Me Put My Love Into You is a Whitesnake song is disguise and Johnson’s shriek is no substitute for Coverdale’s crooning.

Then there’s Shake A Leg, Have A Drink On Me and What Do You Do For Money Honey. All three tracks are OK but alongside the tunes which populate the remainder of Back In Black they often sound distinctly average.

And that’s because the remaining six tunes on what might be the best rock and roll album ever are stone cold classics. Not simply AC/DC classics – classics of the genre.

Hells Bells and Shoot To Thrill are back-to-back killers and Given The Dog A Bone is Aussie rock songwriting at its simple and effective best.

But the best is yet to come as Side Two (we prefer to judge the original in all of its vinyl glory) kicks off with the globally recognised title track before letting rip with You Shook Me All Night Long.

And then there’s the ultimate set closer in the shape of the raucous Rock And Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution.

AC/DC have never managed to pack so many cast iron winners into one album since. And they never managed to be quite as prolific in the Bon Scott era. Three decades on and Back In Black deserves every plaudit it continues to receive – and more.

Like fine wines, good records get better with age. But is there an album you’ve heard lately which will be the Back In Black of its generation? We’d like to hear from you if there is such a fine body of work but we’ll reserve our judgement for now – and give one of the greatest albums of all time one more nostalgic twirl.

So it was a decidedly damp end to Download 2010 but a little bit of rain (ok, there was quite a lot) wasn’t going to spoil another spectacular weekend of rock and metal action.

We’ll be reviewing all the big names and bringing you news from behind the scenes all this week but before all of that we’re delivering our annual snapshot of the Castle Donington festival.

If you want to know the best and worst of Download 2010 – including the bands that rocked and the acts which rolled – read on.

And don’t forget to stick with rushonrock throughout the summer with High Voltage the next big date in our packed diary. Read the rest of this entry »

AC/DC – Download Main Stage, June 11 2010

The return of AC/DC to Castle Donington 19 years after their Monsters Of Rock triumph was never likely to fail.

And, in truth, the only thing that’s changed in the space of almost two decades is the number of wrinkles appearing on the faces of the main men (more) and the strands of wild hair covering Angus Young’s head (fewer).

Otherwise this is essentially the same hit-laden set – with a batch of Black Ice standards for good measure – and the same high energy performance.

Both Young and Brian Johnson comfortably defy their advancing years and the songs are as sensational as they always were. As expected, AC/DC proved to be the perfect band to close day one of this 30th anniversary Donington rock fest. Read the rest of this entry »

Tonight’s AC/DC setlist just in. According to Spoors The Merrier they were f****n awesome after he’d caught Taylor Hawkins, Anathema, Killswitch Engage and Them Crooked Vultures.

Here’s Love Gun Grierson’s snap review of AC/DC – as expected 11/10

And here’s the setlist courtesy of the the big man:

1.Runaway Train

2. Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be

3. Back In Black

4. Big Jack

5. Dirty Deeds Read the rest of this entry »

All this week we’re focusing on the bands to watch at Download 2010 and there’s no doubting the biggest draw on day one – as AC/DC celebrate their return to Castle Donington!

The Aussies thrilled stadium crowds across the world in 2009 and they’re not in the mood to do it by half at Download this summer – bringing their own stage to the famous Monsters Of Rock site!

Expect the full array of hits and the full arsenal of special effects from the ageless Aussies fronted by a genial Geordie.

For your guide to the greatest rock and roll band on the planet read on! Read the rest of this entry »

AC/DC – That’s The Way I Wanna Rock N Roll (A Young/M Young/ Johnson) b/w Kissin Dynamite (A Young/M Young/Johnson) & Borrowed Time (A Young/M Young/Johnson)

1988

The second single culled from the Blow Up Your Video album, this raucous track is often overlooked by older members of the AC/DC army and yet it’s just as good as any singalong anthem the band has rolled out over the years.

Backed with Kissin Dynamite – the track which inspired the German metal upstarts of the same name – and Borrowed Time there’s plenty of rifftastic action crammed into the That’s The Way I Wanna Rock N Roll 12 incher.

And while we’d put our mortgage on the fact that none of these tracks will make Friday’s Download set, fans can expect more of the same from the Young brothers and BJ in just six days’ time. Read the rest of this entry »

With just two weeks to go until Download 2010 we’re getting very excited and all next week we’ll be counting down to the biggest and best rock and metal festival in the world.

But before we do there’s the small matter of this week to take care of and what better way to kick things off than by bringing you an exclusive interview with SHY/TNT/Serpentine/State Of Rock frontman Tony Mills?

We warm up for Download with an AC/DC classic in our weekly 12@12 vinyl showcase. And there’s a look at punk rockers Against Me! as they rattle through their latest UK tour.

But if classic rock is your thing you can’t afford t miss our detailed review of Magnum‘s new career-defining collection – spanning five discs and their entire career. It’s due for release later this month. And there’s more… Read the rest of this entry »

He hails from County Durham but Stephen Kilkenny is making a name for himself in the USA with Milwaukee-based rockers Major Tom.

With new album A Night On The Lash available now on iTunes and talk of a slew of UK dates to come you could well be hearing more from this Bowie/ACDC/Poison(quite a mix!)-influenced band very soon.

Look out for a full interview and album review on rushonrock very soon but for now we go behind the scenes with the kid they called Killer… Read the rest of this entry »

@ Newcastle Trillians, May 20 2010

Welcome to Rockodile Dundee. Dave Evans is so much a stereotypical Aussie you almost expect a stripe of sun block down his nose, a four pack of Foster’s lying on the amp and corks hanging from his straw hat.

And the music is straight out of the roughest, toughest, mean and dirty bars Down Under. It’s blunt and, at the same time, brilliant. It’s no-nonsense and yet it makes perfect sense to anyone who’s been through life’s ups and downs. Read the rest of this entry »