Airbourne Album Review – Breakin’ Outta Hell

Summary: Airbourne Album Review – Breakin’ Outta Hell: Aussie/DC just released a new album and it’s loud, dumb and extremely drunk. That’s not an insult; much of it is glorious.

When I saw Airbourne on my Spotify Release Radar playlist about a month ago I passed over “Breakin’ Outta Hell” and “Rivalry” until yesterday. I didn’t have much interest as their last album Black Dog Barking had a total of zero songs I enjoyed vs. their previous No Guts No Glory which had some great tracks; I never skip “No Way But The Hard Way” for example when it pops up on shuffle.

Holy mackerel. This album is pure lunacy. By track ten, you will have a blood alcohol level of insanity, Gonorrhea, and a hangover. It is best to disconnect your brain stem prior to pressing play. I don’t have the liner notes but Steel Panther must’ve co-written most of these songs. The album cover looks like a 2nd grader’s attempt at drawing Eddie from Iron Maiden.

I don’t usually do a track-by-track review but the source material is too good to pass up. Here’s a few highlights. Plus I’m going to share some quotes from Ryan and Joel O’Keeffe of Airbourne breaking down the album courtesy of Metal Hammer.

“Down on You”: There’s no innuendo here at all; the chorus is “I’m going down on you, I’m gonna eat you up!” Frontman Joel O’Keeffe, quite aggressively, proclaims himself the Cunnilingus King and how much he enjoys “kissing between the knees.” Rude! At least Brian Johnson has enough class to be polite and at least asked “Let me Put My Love Into You” and “could I come in you please?” in “Thunderstruck.” And we also have “Do Me Like You Do Yourself” in which Joel doesn’t ask but demands his lady to fornicate using the same level of skill she does when diddling her honeypot.

“Thin The Blood”: Completely psychotic drinking song. “If you listen to the song in the car, I hope you’re a good driver because you’re potentially going to crash. Or at least get a fine” – (Ryan) If you were wondering what happens after, don’t worry, there’s two sequels: “When I Drink I Go Crazy” and “Get Back Up.” I assume from a pool of their own piss. “When I Drink I Go Crazy” has the lyrics “I’m in the middle of the road directing traffic like a ninja.” Not only has that sentence never been uttered in the history of the Earth but I may take a trip to Australia just to see it in action.

“Rivalry”: This is the first track that pulled me in. It’s structured like KISS‘s “I Love It Loud” with the chants and verses and even has the lyrics “Ain’t no compromise.” It’s not a ripoff at all, it just has the vibe. This is from a band who named a track “Animalize” on their last album. “It’s also the law of the jungle; there’s a rivalry between the lion and the guy with the gun. I fucking hate the guy with the gun. I’m all about sticking up for the lion.” – (Joel) Or background music on SportsCenter.

“Breakin’ Outta Hell” & “I’m Going To Hell for This”: We’ve got a Hell double shot folks! Airbourne escapes and then goes back to hell on the same album. Incredible.

Wow. There is certainly some filler but most is killer and a return to form. I definitely want to catch these guys live again. I’m going to stop typing now as continuing to analyze this album would require me to think and ruin the album. In summary, I’ll have Joel break it down: “Ultimately, we just wanted to make a great drinking record,” says frontman Joel O’Keeffe. “That’s what this album is about: no ballads, no bullshit, just hard rocking songs that help you break out of hell.”

Airbourne Album Review Rating – Breakin’ Outta Hell: 3.5 Fosters out of 5

Gateway Drugs:

Breakin’ Outta Hell

Rivalry

Thin The Blood