ALBUM REVIEW: Breakin’ Outta Hell – Airbourne

AIRBOURNE are back with their fourth studio album, Breakin’ Outta Hell, three years after Black Dog Barking was released. It is the first album the Australian hard rock quartet have released with their new record label, Spinefarm Records, and the recipe from previous records has not changed.

Breakin’ Outta Hell begins with the title track of the same name, and fans of the band will know almost instantly that it is an AIRBOURNE record. From the off Justin Street’s fast paced bass riff sets the tone of the new album, building up in the opening seconds courtesy of David Roads on guitar and the drums of Ryan O’Keefe, before the unmistakeable scream of Joel O’Keefe kick-starts the track.

For much of the album, it is what many fans would expect from AIRBOURNE, it’s hard, fast and loud. There are a couple of songs where they do take it down a notch though, and in a way makes them more melodic, the type of songs you could put on in the background to relax to. Rivalry, the second track on the album, is a very good example of this, a slow build up on percussion accompanied by a simple riff results in a four minute masterpiece.

The last song, It’s All For Rock N’ Roll, is very similar to Rivalry in terms of the overall sound. This track kicks off with a solo intro from David Roads’ guitar – again, nothing too fast, nothing too complex, just a simple riff which is carried out throughout the song. The chorus certainly stands out, the powerful lyrics resulting in an epic finale for the album. If there was one song you could compare it to, then AC/DC’s For Those About To Rock would be a perfect example.

While the sound and much of the band’s influence comes from bands like, as previously mentioned, AC/DC, DEF LEPPARD, and THIN LIZZY to name just a few, there are also a couple of tracks on this new record that appear to have taken influence from STEEL PANTHER, in terms of lyrics at least. One of these tracks is Down On You, which from the title itself gives an idea of what this song is about. Granted, the lyrics are nowhere near as explicit as some of the STEEL PANTHER numbers, and neither are they as obvious, due to the way the track sounds – which is just like most other AIRBOURNE songs. However, when you sit back and listen to the lyrics carefully, then it is clear where they appear.

Another track on the album is the penultimate number, Do Me Like You Do Yourself, again giving a pretty clear indication to what this is about. In all fairness, neither of these tracks are huge shocks to hear in the album, as they fit in with the rest of the other tracks in terms of general sound – much like You Shook Me All Night Long, which featured on Back In Black.

Overall Breakin’ Outta Hell is an excellent album. Fans of the band will not be disappointed with the new record, as AIRBOURNE have stuck with the same method as their previous three records. Despite there only being 11 tracks on the record, each one of them is a hit in their own way, and for anyone who has yet to listen to them, then this is highly recommended.

Rating: 9/10

Breakin’ Outta Hell is set for release on September 16th via Spinefarm Records.

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