Review: Only good thing about 2020 may be a new AC/DC album

AC/DC, 'œPower Up'ť (Columbia)

A new AC/DC record may well be the only good thing to happen in 2020.

The legendary Aussie rockers are back with 'œPower Up,'ť the latest in a long line of electricity-themed albums that not only talk about power but bristle and crackle with it.

It's been 40 years since AC/DC released arguably the best heavy metal album of all time with 'œBack In Black,'ť but these guys still sound as good as they did back then.

For some, that's a bit of a problem: Decades of AC/DC albums have tended to sound like each other, and that's the case with at least part of 'œPower Up."

The opening track, 'œRealize,'ť uses almost the same 'œah-ah-ah-ah'ť chant that served as the foundation of 1990's 'œThunderstruck.'ť Another new track, 'œWitch's Spell,'ť uses a similar-sounding guitar line.

'œRejection'ť uses the same four-chord pattern as 1979's 'œShot Down In Flames.'ť And 'œShot In the Dark'ť bears more than a passing resemblance to 2008's 'œRock '~N' Roll Train.'ť

But it's all good. I can eat pizza five nights a week, with it tasting the same each night, and it's still awesome.

Not everything here has been heard before. 'œKick You When You're Down'ť has a funky, catchy riff atop pounding drums, and 'œDemon Fire'ť is a fast-paced boogie with a riff that burns into your brain with just one listen.

After an extended hearing-related absence that necessitated Guns '~N' Roses' Axl Rose filling in to finish an AC/DC tour, lead singer Brian Johnson is back at the mic, and his voice, subjected to so much torture over the decades, sounds powerful again.

And no guitar player anywhere sounds quite like Angus Young; the sound of his fingers sliding up and down the strings is as raw as it is instantly recognizable.