AIRBOURNE – HARD ROCK THAT STILL KICKS LIKE A MULE. THE AUSTRALIANS DELIVER AGAIN ON THEIR NEW ALBUM

Seven years. That is exactly how long it has been since the last full-length record by the Australian hard rock wild men. And if anyone feared that Airbourne might have calmed down in the meantime, started thinking about trends or gone looking for a more polished path, they can relax completely. They did not. And thank God for that. On 28 August 2026, Airbourne returned with their sixth studio album, simply titled Airbourne, and the title itself already feels like a clear statement: this is who we are. No apologies, no unnecessary frills and, above all, no brakes.

Airbourne are one of those bands from whom you do not really want any fundamental revolution. You want a riff that hits you right between the eyes, a chorus you can shout after the very first listen, drums like cannon fire, and Joel O'Keeffe sounding as though he is singing every line with one foot on the monitor and the other on the edge of the stage. That is exactly what the new album delivers. And it delivers enough to make its return after a seven-year break feel like more than a reminder of the old days it is proof that this Australian machine still has a full tank.

Opening track GUTSY gives the listener virtually no time to get their bearings. It is exactly the kind of song that could be carved into the Airbourne coat of arms: a straight-ahead riff, relentless drive, enormous energy and a chorus made for a concert hall. No warm-up. The album simply kicks the door in.

Alive After Death (Last Plane Out) hits even harder. This is more than just another loud hard rock charge. The song pays tribute to the immortality of music and to the legends who are no longer physically with us, yet come alive again every time we play their music. In the context of a band that has never turned its back on its roots, the moment works with surprising force. Airbourne know how to be loud, cheeky and fun, but here they remind us that behind all the beer, sweat and decibels there is also a genuine love of hard rock.

Here She Comes and Kid In A Candy Store take the album straight back into that unmistakably Airbourne world where nothing is made more complicated than it needs to be. The latter is exactly the kind of infectious, slightly shameless rock track that has your foot tapping within moments. And yes, someone can once again pull out the inevitable AC/DC comparison. But after all these years, debating who Airbourne remind us of is almost beside the point. Their own signature has long been unmistakable. They take classic Australian hard rock, pour in their own over-the-top live energy and let it off the leash.

Sky High does not let up for a second, while Who Put The Rhythm In You? shows that alongside the heavy riffing, the band can also pull out a seriously swinging groove. It is in the middle section of the album that you can hear most clearly that although Airbourne are not changing the basic recipe, they know how to play with tempo and mood just enough to stop twelve songs from melting into one long rock template.

Christmas Bonus is a chapter of its own. Christmas with Airbourne was obviously never going to look like carol singers holding candles. It is loud, mischievous and exactly as over-the-top as you would expect. On paper, a track like this could sound like a joke that wears thin quickly, but among the rest of the songs it works as a brief change of pace and another reminder that this band has never taken itself too seriously.

Then comes Last Man Standing, one of those songs with defiance written directly into its DNA. Airbourne have always been at their strongest when they sing about refusing to step aside, refusing to give up and carrying on even when everything around them is already burning. This is not sophisticated poetry, and it is not trying to be. It is a hard rock kick up the backside exactly as it should be.

Rock 'N' Roll Ya makes it perfectly clear from the title what is coming next. It is almost a manifesto for the whole band: volume, guitars, life on the road and unconditional devotion to hard rock. Bogotá then brings in a slice of life on the road and reminds us that Airbourne are, above all, a live animal. Even in a studio recording, you can feel the movement, the club, the arena, the stage and the crowd. These are not songs built for quiet headphone listening while you work. They want to be out there, loud, and preferably in front of several thousand people.

Hells Got No Vacancy is one of the hardest-hitting moments in the album's closing stretch. It has exactly the swagger that makes Airbourne work so well: no overthinking, just riff, rhythm and a chorus that takes up residence in your head immediately. The production also serves the entire record extremely well. Brian Howes returned to the band after Black Dog Barking, with the experienced Mike Fraser also involved in the sound, while Zakk Cervini handled the mix and Ted Jensen the mastering. The result is massive without losing the dirt and live feel that Airbourne need. The guitars cut, the drums carry real weight, and Joel's voice tears through everything like an engine revving just short of the redline.

Final track Send Me To Rock 'N' Roll Heaven is exactly the ending this album needed. Alongside the loud celebration of hard rock, it also carries a remembrance of those who helped shape its history. Lemmy, Bon Scott, John Bonham and the other names are not just posters on the wall for Airbourne they are part of the musical DNA the band has drawn from throughout its life. The ending therefore does not feel like a sentimental brake; it feels more like a raised glass pointed towards rock heaven.

Is there anything revolutionary about Airbourne? No. And that is exactly the point. This band has never needed to prove that it can play everything. It has needed to prove that it can play its own hard rock in a way that makes you believe every second of it. And Airbourne makes that easy to believe. After seven years, they do not sound tired, cautious or like a band returning simply because it is time to release another record. They sound hungry. They sound alive. They sound like a gang that would happily finish recording by kicking down the studio door and running straight onto a stage.

Airbourne have delivered again. And I say that as someone who genuinely likes this band perhaps that is exactly why I expected a lot from the new album. But the result is a perfect reminder of why I like them in the first place. This is not music pretending to be something it is not. It is direct, loud, infectious and bursting with the joy of hard rock. If you want experimentation, look elsewhere. If you want guitars, sweat, shouting, choruses that drill their way into your head and the feeling that someone is about to go flying straight through an amplifier, you are in the right place.

Airbourne may not have reinvented hard rock. But they do not need to. All they have to do is plug in the guitars, turn the volume to the right and remind us why this genre can still be so damn entertaining. And their self-titled sixth album does that extremely well.

Until next time and in the meantime, keep that volume turned to the right. Because if Airbourne have reminded us of one thing on this album, it is that hard rock is definitely not ready for retirement.

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