Aussie rockers Airbourne are typically thought of as “that band that sounds like ACDC", but that certainly doesn’t stop them from being the quintessence of a damn good time. Sure the similarities are uncanny (raspy vocals, boozy anthems, raunchy riffs, ect), but the fact of the matter is that Airbourne knows how to party like it’s the 70s and they’ve got some damn solid songs to boot. If you have an itching of nostalgia for good old- fashioned sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll, No Guts. No Glory should effectively kick your ass right back to the hay-day of that puritanical rock philosophy that is so missed nowadays.

Honestly, there is not a whole lot to talk about in regards to song by song analysis on No Guts. No Glory. If you have listened to any Brian Johnson era ACDC record, then you pretty much know exactly how this album plays. There are a bunch of raunchy tunes about loose women, drinking, fighting, rocking, and other such mischief, all in the name of rock n’ roll. There are fat riffs, frenetic blues licks, raspy vocals, and gang choruses a-plenty. If Airbourne was trying to replicate the Young brothers’ guitar tones exactly, they came damn close; there is not a single moment on this entire album when their main source of inspiration is even remotely questionable.

I hope that the majority of people will look past Airbourne’s unashamed, unrelenting devotion to the classic sound and embrace this band for what they are; a blast from the past, a reminder of days long past where honest, undiluted rock was to be found in every club and on every radio. However, the unfortunate truth is that the ACDC parallels are undeniable and almost overwhelming at times. The band is from Australia, the two primary forces in the band are brothers (Ryan and Joel O’Keefe), and like many of ACDC’s post Back in Black albums, No Guts. No Glory starts to run out of steam eventually. There isn’t a track on this album which I would consider “weak”, but after the first few songs, you have heard everything this album has to offer. That will most likely be a major turn off for some, especially the strictest of ACDC fans, who will label this album and this band as a whole as nothing more than a bunch of Aussie punks with the audacity to rip of their beloved idols.

Here is my advice: look past the critics, look past the hype, and look past the comparisons. The fact of the matter is that this band and the songs on this album rock. There are truly no surprises, no gimmicks, no deviations; this is classic hard rock, done exactly how the forefathers of modern rock intended it to be, with honesty and passion. It may be a blatant rip off, it may be a bit overdone, but at any rate the boys in Airbourne have the right idea. They are a young band, and whether or not they eventually develop their own sound, they will be a fun band to watch for the foreseeable future. Especially in this sorry state of modern rock from which labels churn out generic, shitty band after generic, shitty band, maybe looking back to the real rock gods isn’t such a bad idea anyway.