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'77

High Decibels

Written by: PP on 05/01/2012 02:14:05

If you thought Airbourne were the best AC/DC revival band, think again. '77 are Spain's answer to the Aussie legends, but unlike Big Ball, Hardbone, or indeed Airbourne, they have no qualms about being called a clone band. On the contrary, they seem to light up when they're being compared to Angus Young & company, which shouldn't be all that surprising considering even their name matches the particular era of AC/DC they are referencing.

"High Decibels", their latest album, is as close as you'll come to the Bon Scott era of AC/DC from 1974-1980. Their vocalist has even been hailed by many to be the reincarnation of Mr Scott himself due to how closely rock'n'roll expression follows the timeless pipes of the legend. But it doesn't stop there: everything from the guitar tone and the solos through song structure and a rowdy rock'n'roll vibe is directly, unashamedly lifted off AC/DC repertoire. This is worship as pure as it comes, and if you didn't know better, nobody would blame you for mistaking them for being an AC/DC jam band specializing in covers of their lesser known material.

Now that means two things: AC/DC fans have another dosage of classic rock'n'roll they can use while we wait at least half a decade more for the next AC/DC album to surface, if it ever will. It also means those who only enjoy the most famous AC/DC songs will instantly recognize the sound purveyed by the band here, but will mistakenly think they're listening to some AC/DC record that didn't go multiple platinum. But it also means there's virtually no originality present here, and the question needs to be asked: why would you listen to (inferior) songs by '77 when you can hear the real deal? But I guess Airbourne is selling loads of copies so I don't see why these guys should be not invited to the cash-grab party, though I get the feeling that where Airbourne is monetizing on the AC/DC sound shamelessly, this band is more about re-creating the classic sound for their own sake.

Download: High Decibels, This Girl Is On Fire
For the fans of: AC/DC, Big Ball, Airbourne, Hardbone
Listen: Myspace

Release date 01.11.2011
Listenable Records