These young Aussie upstarts are definitely out to take the world by storm with their brand of tried and true high energy party rock and roll that bleeds AC/DC from every fibre of its being. Brothers Joel (vocals/guitar) and Ryan ) O'Keeffe along with bassist Justin Street and drummer David Rhoads make up the line-up of Airbourne. Although the AC/DC style has been incorporated into the sound of many bands over the years (more recently with bands like Jet), no-one thus far has produced an album that is so full of bonafide AC/DC anthems that many would not seem out of place on any AC/DC album, especially the Bon Scott era of 1974-1979.

With their Krokus inspired logo, this band is out to put the fun back into rock and roll and give the listener something that they can crank up in the car, party to or just plain enjoy it for what it is; a no nonsense good time! The sound of Airbourne, especially the guitar sound is right out of the Let There Be Rock, Powerage era of AC/DC complete with the same major power chords and the same riff patterns with Joel O'Keeffe pulling off amazing Angus Young like solos on just about every track on this album. Big gang choruses grace tracks like Stand Up For Rock 'N Roll, What's Eatin You, Girls In Black, Cheap Wine and Cheaper Women and the track that's being played to death on FM radio, the first single Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast. Elements of other bands like fellow Aussies Rose Tattoo as well as hints of Jackyl, Quiet Riot and Cinderella also emerge with Joel O'Keeffe having the same kind of raspy voice as Blackie Lawless (W.A.S.P.) or Tommy Keiffer of Cinderella. Nods to bands like Humble Pie with the track Diamond In The Rough and the Led Zeppelin inspired opening riffs of Cheaper Wine And Cheaper Women certainly show that this band's heart and soul is firmly entrenched in the hard rock and metal of the late 70's and early 80's. The tempos to the tracks vary from driving mid tempo anthems to full blown barn burners like the title track Runnin' Wild, Girls In Black, Hellfire and the absolute killer Blackjack.

Initially, I wasn't all too thrilled about a band so blatantly ripping off AC/DC until I actually threw this on in the car and cranked it up. It's a bit of nostalgia for me as I vividly remember cranking up and partying to Let There Be Rock and Powerage back in high school in the 70's. These were albums that were staples of any party and were the permanent soundtracks in one of my friend's cars. This album relives those glorious times when rock music was supposed to be fun and not meant to be overly thought provoking and depressive. If your going to go the distance to try to copy another band's sound, you had better do it right and these guys really have managed to pull it off. Very catchy and easily better than the last couple of AC/DC albums, Airbourne's Runnin' Wild is a more than worthy quick fix for AC/DC fans who are anxiously awaiting their new album. No need to wait any longer, its practically all here!!