"Back in Black" showcases AC/DC at the height of their popularity. It was the first album featuring singer Brian Johnson, who had replaced Bon Scott, who had passed away five months earlier. In 1979, the band had achieved their definitive international breakthrough with "Highway to Hell", a success that they now effortlessly replicated despite the significant change in line-up. "Back in Black" became, in effect, the blueprint for all subsequent AC/DC albums and for 1980s hard rock. Musically, there was nothing new; instead, the band perfected their sound: riff-driven compositions in a blues scheme, with lyrics revolving around ‘real men’s themes’: women, alcohol, heaven and hell, rise and fall, and rock ’n’ roll. If you set aside the well-known tracks ‘Hells Bells’, ‘Back in Black’, "You Shook Me All Night Long" and "Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution", what remains is run-of-the-mill AC/DC. From today’s perspective, it’s almost unintentionally comical in its clichéd nature, but clichés are an integral part of hard rock culture. Even if the music is a bit dull over the course of the album. But if it’s AC/DC, then this album or its predecessor. You really don’t need to know any more than that.