Band:	Airbourne
Album:	Breakin' Outta Hell
Style:	Hard rock
Release date:	September 2016

01. Breakin' Outta Hell
02. Rivalry
03. Get Back Up
04. It's Never Too Loud For Me
05. Thin The Blood
06. I'm Going To Hell For This
07. Down On You
08. Never Been Rocked Like This
09. When I Drink I Go Crazy
10. Do Me Like You Do Yourself
11. It's All For Rock N' Roll

While the hype had slowly worn away over the years since Runnin' Wild had hit the scene nearly a decade earlier, Airbourne kept plugging away at their AC/DC-derived rock 'n' roll with scant regard for critical acclaim. It is here on their fourth release Breakin' Outta Hell that the hype has faded away and you see the band without the veneer that had obscured the truth some had denied for years: that the band were average at best.

Is Breakin' Outta Hell fun? Of course, its straight-up no frills rock 'n' roll that you have heard and danced to for years by this point. Does that absolve the album of its shortcomings? No, ultimately it's just another album in the same vein and not one that I would reach for in a rush again. While it won't make you want to put it down for disliking it, once it's finished you find yourself trying to reason with yourself why you should put it on again rather than it being self-evident why you want to hear it again and again.

While no song is bad, none of them are anything other than average either. Some songs show promise, but they prove to be false dawns and ultimately become just another forgettable album track. "Thin The Blood" starts out with a burst of life but doesn't keep it going for long, while "I'm Going To Hell For This" threatens to build into something before turning into another by-the-numbers rocker. Where AC/DC avoided blandness through unique and catchy riffs that most of their songs were centred around, Airbourne's songs are centred around generic rhythms that do little to make each track compelling.

That said, Breakin' Outta Hell isn't a bad album per se; you will get some level of enjoyment out of it and while it doesn't make you want to crank the volume up, it doesn't make you want to hit the mute button either. Tracks like "Down On You", "Get Back Up" and the title track go well with a can of beer, giving you something to nod along to rather than headbang to. The album just fails to do any more than that, quite a drop off from what was a good album in Black Dog Barking.

The band are much their usual selves behind their instruments; while they don't craft as memorable riffs on this album, Joel and Roads do a good job behind the six strings. Ryan and Street keep to their spots holding the rhythm and anchoring the track, not with flair but with a level of charm at the least. Marlette does a good production job, Breakin' Outta Hell sounds solid and gives the band a tight sound that gives them the chance to build a vibrant record (that the band don't take the offer up of).

It boils down to what you want in a record really, if you want something to tap your feet to and that won't cause a stir if you pop it on then Breakin' Outta Hell will have you covered. If you want more of what the band had offered to this point, something that compels you to get up on your feet and rock, then stick to any of the prior three offerings by the band.