AIRBOURNE – Airbourne (2026) *HQ*

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Australian rockers AIRBOURNE have never been ones to think small. But on their self-titled, upcoming new studio album “Airbourne“, they’ve outdone themselves in the most personable manner ever: recording their latest disc in at Music Farm Studio in “the jungle” outside Byron Bay.
The complex boasts the original Neve console from Alberts Studios, on which bands like AC/DC, ROSE TATTOO and THE ANGELS recorded their landmark early albums. It’s also home to Malcolm Young’s eight-track Neve, which too was recruited for the sessions. There the four-piece battled venomous snakes, deadly spiders, near cyclonic storms and the foibles of vintage analogue equipment (the band insisted on recording to tape) in their quest to create what vocalist-guitarist Joel O’Keeffe says is “the best record we’ve ever made”.
The album includes a contender for ‘collaboration of the year’: a song co-written with Bryan Adams and legendary producer Mutt. The result? Huge!
Driven by the guitar chops and larger-than-life vocal presentation of helmsman Joel O’Keeffe, on “Airbourne” this heavy-hitting flight crew delivers the full-on classic rock experience in all its raucous glory. One can’t help but hear the influence of Australia’s originals AC/DC at nearly every point between the takeoff and landing, only with the lead guitar high-jinks of Angus Young and the vocal chops of both Bon Scott and Brian Johnson occurring in one person.
But to be fair, there is a lot more going on alongside the heartfelt nods to Highway To Hell, Back In Black and The Razor’s Edge here.

Joel’s gravely shrieks often surpass the force factor that normally comes with a vintage 70s rock approach, drawing parallels to the likes of Blackie Lawless, Tom Keifer and even Lemmy Kilmister at times. Likewise, the massive gang choruses that often flank Joel’s gritty lead rival the arena-like bluster of late 80s Def Leppard, and the often busy riff work streaming out of O’Keeffe and rhythm guitarist Brett Tyrrell has a little more of a metallic kick to go with its mostly bluesy swagger, all the while sitting comfortably above a straightforward foundation built out of brother Ryan O’Keeffe’s kit work and Justin Street’s bass lines.

Though a band that makes a point of cutting to the chase, Airbourne manages to land this 747 of an opus with an artful exposition. The opening foray of up-tempo rocking fervor “Gutsy” starts with a well-placed and comparatively quiet lone guitar intro and builds up gradually to an explosion of defiant energy, culminating in the first of a non-stop succession of earworm bangers. Echoes of iconic staples like “You Shook Me All Night Long” and “Thunderstruck” are given a 2020s touch-up and a little extra bite on the mid-paced cooker “Here She Comes”, and one can’t help but hear a less-than-subtle hint of “Back In Black” oozing through the towering fanfare of “Sky High”.

Then again, the air of a quasi-tribute album becomes even more blatant with the fist-pumping anthem “Last Man Standing”, which could all but be chalked up as a shorter and heavier answer to “For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)”. Yet even when these mad Aussies wear their AC/DC influences on their shirtsleeves, there’s enough of an 80s shimmer and more aggressive flavor to the mix that it comes off fresh and original despite the overt familiarity.

Amid the highly straightforward approach that has been taken here, Airbourne isn’t beyond throwing the occasional curveball within their established strike zone. The compact, 80s glam-like punch of “Alive After Death (Last Plane Out)” sounds like a lost track from the glory days of W.A.S.P. with a tasty side order of Mötley Crüe sensibilities, with Joel’s vocal assault often sounding dangerously close to Black Lawless. The innuendo-rich and double-entendre-steeped hooks of “Kid In A Candy Store” and its holiday novelty sister track “Christmas Bonus” also lay on the 80s sonic tropes pretty thick, not to mention match the lyrical gimmickry with some playful musical touches like a partial quote of “Joy To The World” in the guitar solo of the latter.

The aggression factor gets kicked into what can be best described as a groovy second nod to “Back In Black” with a Judas Priest edge in “Bogata”, while “Hell’s Got No Vacancy” lands like a heavier answer to “If You Want Blood (You Got It)” and the mercilessly catchy “Who Put The Rhythm In You” listens like its own brilliant amalgam of AC/DC’s greatest hit with Bon Scott at the helm and reinterpreted through a mid-80s arena template.

It can’t be stressed enough that Airbourne is not merely a glorified tribute band reworking the old classics and presenting them with a shinier post-90s coat of paint, yet the best way to describe their sixth and eponymous studio album is as a full-on tribute to style and every preceding titan of the craft that laid its foundation. This is perfectly summed up in the closing song “Take Me To Rock ‘N’ Roll Heaven”, which stands as the most straightforward offering of the bunch, yet lyrically recalls the accomplishments and passing of prominent figures like John Bonham, Ozzy Osbourne, Malcolm Young, Bon Scott, Lemmy Kilmister, Eddie Van Halen and others in a song as ripe for rock radio as they come.

It’s a bittersweet reminder of the amazing accomplishments of the past, and also a call to arms to continue the legacy that has been laid by taking things a step further. In essence, that is what this album represents: a time-honored tradition that is being carried into the future, and it does so via a collection of songs so well polished and refined that the LP carrying them could be easily mistaken for a best-of compilation.
Highly Recommended

01 – GUTSY
02 – Alive After Death (Last Plane Out)
03 – Here She Comes
04 – Kid In A Candy Store
05 – Sky High
06 – Who Put The Rhythm In You?
07 – Christmas Bonus
08 – Last Man Standing
09 – Rock ‘N’ Roll Ya
10 – Bogota
11 – Hells Got No Vacancy
12 – Send Me To Rock ‘N’ Roll Heaven

Joel O’Keeffe – vocals / lead guitar
Brett Tyrrell – guitar
Justin Street – bass
Ryan O’Keeffe – drums

Pre order:
www.amazon.com/Airbourne/dp/B0GY5FBBRP