Take a look around the hard rock landscape ever since the early '90s, and there has been an unmistakable lack of "manly metal bands." But with the emergence of acts like
Airbourne, the aforementioned genre has certainly been given new life. All you need for proof is to inspect the front cover of the group's 2010 effort, No Guts. No Glory., which features beefcake lead singer/guitarist
Joel O'Keeffe shirtless, muscles bulging, screaming, fist clenched, with Gibson Explorer held high, and of course, the obligatory scantily clad babe (among doodles of a roaring Mack Truck, a tornado, etc.). And the music certainly fits the bill to boot -- think of the slightly slick anthemic rock of
Razor's Edge-era
AC/DC and you have a good idea of where the
Airbourne boys are coming from. Despite countless groups of the past finding it pretty darn daunting to slay the "sophomore slump" beast,
Airbourne borrow a page out of their fellow Aussie heroes' handbook by following the same exact sonic game plan laid out on their debut, 2007's Runnin' Wild. The group easily recaptures the roar of its debut throughout No Guts. No Glory. From the get-go,
Airbourne tear the roof off the sucker, especially on such loud 'n' proud rockers as the first single, "No Way But the Hard Way," as well as "Blonde, Bad and Beautiful" and "It Ain't Over Till It's Over." Elsewhere, tunes such as "Overdrive" are reminiscent of
the Darkness' more straight-ahead rockers -- minus the over-the-top histrionics or playfulness of
Justin Hawkins and company. Looking for a testosterone-heavy rock album that is 100 percent ballad-free?
Airbourne have created quite an offering -- in the form of No Guts. No Glory. ~ Greg Prato