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==Musical style== Aside from an early flirtation with glam rock, the group's sound and performance style are based on [[Pub rock (Australia)|Australian pub rock]].<ref name="Kimball" /><ref name="McFarlane" />{{sfn|Cockington|2001|pp=189–190}} That style was pioneered by [[Lobby Loyde]] of [[Billy Thorpe]]'s early 1970s group, [[Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs|the Aztecs]].<ref name="Donovan 2006">{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619044522/http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/lobby-just-wants-to-play-a-couple-more-times-with-mates/2006/06/09/1149815316635.html |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/lobby-just-wants-to-play-a-couple-more-times-with-mates/2006/06/09/1149815316635.html |title=Lobby Just Wants 'to Play a Couple More Times with Mates' – National |first=Patrick |last=Donovan |newspaper=[[The Age]] |date=10 June 2006 |access-date=25 September 2023 |archive-date=19 June 2006 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live }}</ref> Vanda noted "the pub crowd as an audience demanded blood—'or else'." He described wanting to "recreate the real Australian pub sound—'not like that American sound, smooth and creamy, nicey, nicey.'"{{sfn|Cockington|2001}} [[Glenn A. Baker]] felt they played "rib-crushing, blood-curdling, brain damaging, no bullshit, thunder rock".{{sfn|Baker|2010|p=22}} ''[[The Canberra Times]]''{{'}} Tony Catterall reviewed ''T.N.T.'', in which "[they] wallow in the lumpen proletarianism that's the home of punk rock" while comparing them with rivals Buster Brown, which are "more imaginative and musically better".<ref name="Catterall">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110801728 |title=Rock Music – AC/DC: Australia's Best Punk-Rockers |first1=Tony |last1=Catterall |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=50 |issue=14,296 |date=9 February 1976 |access-date=25 September 2023 |page=13 |via=[[National Library of Australia]] }}</ref> Music journalist [[Ed Nimmervoll]] summarised, "If we tried to isolate what has characterised Australian rock and roll from the rest of the world's it would be music that's made to be played live, and gets right down to basics with a minimum of distraction. [...] AC/DC captured that essence not long after it crystallised, and they have continued to carry that creed around the world as their own."<ref name="Nimmervoll" /> Stephen Thomas Erlewine of [[AllMusic]] said AC/DC utilizes "dirty" [[guitar riffs]], "snarling" singing, and "catchy, [[wikt:anthemic|anthemic]]" [[Hook (music)|hooks]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=AC/DC Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More {{!}} All... |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ac-dc-mn0000574772#biography |access-date=2024-12-19 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref> According to ''[[Vulture.com|Vulture]]'' music journalist [[David Marchese]], the instrumental foundation of the band's simple sound was the drummer—Rudd, Wright, or Slade—striking the [[kick drum]] on the first and third [[beat (music)|beat]] of every [[measure (music)|measure]] and the [[snare drum]] on the second and fourth beat; bass guitarist Williams consistently [[downpicking|down-picking]] an [[eighth note]]; Angus performing lead parts that possessed "a clear architecture and even sort of swing, in a frenzied, half-demented way"; and Malcolm's "propulsive" yet nuanced rhythm guitar featuring "little ''chuks'', stutters, and silences that give the monstrous riffs life."<ref name="Marchese">{{cite magazine|last=Marchese|first=David|author-link=David Marchese|date=16 September 2016|url=https://www.vulture.com/2016/09/acdc-axl-rose-tour-retire.html|title=AC/DC Has Improbably Become the Most Poignant Story in Rock|magazine=[[Vulture.com|Vulture]]|access-date=10 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810205129/http://www.vulture.com/2016/09/acdc-axl-rose-tour-retire.html|archive-date=10 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> For the majority of Malcolm's tenure in AC/DC, he used a [[Marshall Amplification|Marshall]] [[JMP Super Bass|Super Bass]] head to amplify his rhythm guitar while recording in the studio. According to Chris Gill of ''[[Guitar World]]'', this amplifier helped define his signature guitar tone: "clean but as loud as possible to ride on the razor's edge of power amp distortion and deliver the ideal combination of grind, twang, clang and crunch, with no distorted preamp 'hair,' fizz or compression", as heard on songs such as "Let There Be Rock", "Dirty Deeds", "For Those About to Rock" and "Thunderstruck". During 1978 to 1980, Malcolm used a Marshall 2203 100-watt master volume head, which Gill speculates may have contributed to a "slightly more distorted and dark" guitar tone on the albums from that period, including ''Powerage'' and ''Back in Black''.<ref name="AutoJ4-50">{{cite magazine|last=Gill|first=Chris|date=2 January 2018|url=https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/acdc-thunderstruck-secrets-behind-malcolm-young-guitar-sound-tonal-recall|title=The Secrets Behind Malcolm Young's Guitar Sound on AC/DC's 'Thunderstruck'|magazine=[[Guitar World]]|access-date=9 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810072525/https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/acdc-thunderstruck-secrets-behind-malcolm-young-guitar-sound-tonal-recall|archive-date=10 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In a comparison of AC/DC's vocalists, [[Robert Christgau]] said Scott exhibited a "blokelike croak" and "charm", often singing about sexual aggression under the guise of fun: "Like [[Ian Hunter (singer)|Ian Hunter]] or [[Roger Chapman]] though without their panache, he has fun being a dirty young man".{{sfn|Christgau|1990}} Johnson, in his opinion, possessed "three times the range and wattage" of a vocalist while projecting the character of a "[[bloke]] as fantasy-fiction demigod".{{sfn|Christgau|1990}} By the time Johnson had fully acclimated himself to 1981's ''For Those About to Rock We Salute You'', Christgau said he defined "an anthemic grandiosity more suitable to [the band's] precious-metal status than [Scott]'s old-fashioned raunch", albeit in a less intelligent manner.{{sfn|Christgau|1990}} ===Influences=== AC/DC's influences include the Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, Billy Thorpe, the Easybeats and Vanda & Young.<ref name="Kimball" /><ref name="McFarlane" /><ref name="Torres News">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article255509185 |title=ABC TV - ''A Long Way to the Top'' |newspaper=[[Torres News]] |issue=460 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=24 August 2001 |access-date=25 September 2023 |page=28 |via=[[National Library of Australia]] }}</ref> The impact of Australian pub rock on AC/DC was documented on ABC's ''[[Long Way to the Top]]'' (2001).<ref name="LWttT 4">{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021015221720/http://www.abc.net.au/longway/episode_4/ |url=http://www.abc.net.au/longway/episode_4/ |title=''Long Way to the Top'', Episode 4: 'Berserk Warriors' |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] (ABC) |access-date=25 September 2023 |archive-date=15 October 2002 }}</ref> Angus reflected on his playing style: "A lot of it was nerves at first. It was George that told me if you get on stage and play guitar you want to let people know you are doing something. When I started in the band I was shy and had to push myself forward. [...] [Patrons] would be throwing beer cans and I thought 'just keep moving' and that's how it all started."<ref name="LWttT 4" /> George had taught both Malcolm and Angus "how to play guitar, and playing them classic rock and roll and blues records until that music was like blood in their veins."<ref name="Nimmervoll" /> According to ''Long Way to the Top''{{'}}s writers, "[t]he hardships of the Australian road would complete AC/DC's training. [Scott] revelled in the lifestyle. Somehow he rose above all the substance abuse to become the ultimate rock and roll front man."<ref name="LWttT 4" /> ===Genres=== AC/DC's music has been variously described as [[hard rock]],<ref name="Baker History of">{{cite journal |first1=Glenn A. |last1=Baker |author-link1=Glenn A. Baker |editor-last=Heatley |editor-first=Michael |editor-link=Michael Heatley |year=1984 |journal=[[The History of Rock (magazine)|The History of Rock]] |title=''High Voltage'': The Positive Charge of AC/DC |publisher=Orbis Publishing |location=London |volume=10 |page=2227}}</ref> [[blues rock]],{{sfn|McParland|2018|pp=57–58}} and [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]],<ref name="Morse">{{cite news |first=Steve |last=Morse |date=6 January 1982 |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article126869893 |title=AC-DC, the Biggest Seller |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=56 |issue=16,902 |page=11 |access-date=6 February 2024 |via=[[National Library of Australia]]}}</ref> but they have referred to themselves as "a [[rock and roll]] band, nothing more, nothing less".{{sfn|Engleheart|1997}} Malcolm recalled honing their craft. "We'd been playing up to four gigs a day. That really shaped the band... It was a mix of screw you, Jack, and having a good time and all being pretty tough guys... The training ground was Melbourne."{{sfn|Jenkins|Meldrum|2007}} In the opinion of [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] of [[AllMusic]], they are "one of the defining acts of '70s hard rock" and reactionary to the period's [[art rock]] and [[arena rock]] excesses. "AC/DC's rock was minimalist – no matter how huge and bludgeoning their guitar chords were, there was a clear sense of space and restraint."<ref name="AutoJ4-66">{{cite web|last1=Erlewine|first1=Stephen Thomas|author-link1=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|date=n.d.|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ac-dc-mn0000574772/biography|title=AC/DC|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=7 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619163125/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ac-dc-mn0000574772/biography|archive-date=19 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> According to [[Alexis Petridis]], their music is "hard-edged, wilfully basic blues-rock," featuring humorous sexual innuendo and lyrics about rock and roll.<ref name="AutoJ4-67">{{cite news|last=Petridis|first=Alexis|date=26 October 2008|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/oct/27/acdc-music-recession|title=Things Really Must Be Bad – AC/DC Are No 1 Again|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=7 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116093704/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/oct/27/acdc-music-recession|archive-date=16 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Music academic Robert McParland described the band's sound as being defined by the heavy rock guitar of the Young brothers, layered [[power chord]]s and forceful vocals.{{sfn|McParland|2018|pp=57–58}} "For some, AC/DC are the ultimate heavy metal act," [[Tim Jonze]] wrote in ''[[The Guardian]]'', "but for others, AC/DC aren't a heavy metal act at all, they're a classic rock band – and calling them heavy metal is an act of treachery."<ref name="AutoJ4-68">{{cite news|last=Jonze|first=Tim|author-link=Tim Jonze|date=14 April 2009|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/apr/15/heavy-metal-music|title=A Handy Guide to Heavy Metal|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=7 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808051647/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/apr/15/heavy-metal-music|archive-date=8 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> On the controversy of categorising their music, McParland wrote:{{sfn|McParland|2018|pp=57–58}} {{blockquote|AC/DC will assert that they are not specifically a metal band. Their music—loud, hard, and guitar-driven—may best be described as hard rock. However, there are people who will say that they are indisputably metal. Therein lies the ongoing problem of categorisation. While AC/DC has referenced the underworld and they have given their listeners 'Highway to Hell' and 'Hell's Bells,' their songs are constructed on straightforward major and minor power chords. They are not modally developed as are a good deal of heavy metal compositions. Their sound is loud and crisp, not muddy or down-tuned.}} With the recording of ''Back in Black'' in 1980, rock journalist Joe S. Harrington believed the band had departed further from the blues-oriented rock of their previous albums and toward a more dynamic attack that adopted punk rock's "high-energy implications" and transmuted their hard rock/heavy metal songs into "more pop-oriented blasts". The band would remain faithful to this "impeccably ham-handed" musical style for the remainder of their career: "the guitars were compacted into a singular statement of rhythmic efficiency, the rhythm section provided the thunderhorse overdrive and vocalist Johnson bellowed and brayed like the most unhinged practitioner of bluesy top-man dynamics since vintage [[Robert Plant]]."{{sfn|Harrington|2003}}
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