It's a perfect time for AC/DC fans and even better for biographers. The Aussie rockers have released their highly-anticipated studio album 'Black Ice' (the first since 2000s 'Stiff Upper Lip') and follow its release with a mammoth tour taking them to every corner of the world.

Australia has gone AC/DC mad as five of the band's albums have re-entered the charts. And record stores in the UK are littered with t-shirts, books, albums and DVDs. Since the band's entire back catalogue was reissued in remastered form a few years back, AC/DC - who were previously disliked by many highbrow music critics - have become extremely popular with the press. Critics have been kind to the band with early reviews suggesting that 'Black Ice' is the band's best album since the revered 'Back In Black.'

There have been three previous biographies published on AC/DC in the past few years. The best of the bunch is undoubtedly 'Maximum Rock & Roll' by Aussie rock scribes Murray Englehart and Arnaud Durieux. But Malcolm Dome and Jerry Ewing's book is not a biography per ser but, as the title suggests, an encyclopaedia written in A-Z format. The pair's previous book was a similarly formatted tome on Metallica.

These sorts of books are written for the hardcore fan but even so, casual followers will enjoy dipping in and out of the book for little known facts or for further clarification on certain subjects relating to the band. There's information on each band member, past and present plus some of the band's most famous gigs (Donnington et al) and obviously the songs and albums themselves. These sorts of books are for reference rather than a cover to cover read. All in all it's a worthy read.

***½

Review by Neil Daniels

www.neildaniels.com