 However , some reviewers found the album inconsistent , overly long or formulaic . Black Ice was described as a retread of other AC / DC albums without the same inspiration , with Spence D. of IGN declaring that " the band sounds tight , but very few of the songs actually resonate with that sense of classicism found on much of their earlier efforts " , The Austin Chronicle 's Austin Powell feeling that despite " a few cheap thrills " the album lacked " the urgent indecency and iron force that defined the Bon Scott era " , and Allmusic 's Stephen Thomas Erlewine considering that after " Big Jack " the tracks went into a " too @-@ comfortable groove , fueled by too @-@ tight rhythms and guitars that sound loud but not beefy " . Many complained about the lack of variation , made more flagrant by the long track list . Entertainment Weekly 's reviewer Clark Collis wrote that " even 2000 's fairly monochromatic Stiff Upper Lip had more varied material " , Brian Hiatt of Rolling Stone felt that Black Ice " feels longer than its 55 minutes , thanks to a stretch of throwaway rockers " , and Robert Forster of The Monthly thought that a shorter running time would " maximise the album 's impact " , given he found the first four songs and the title track the best for sounding more diverse , while the other tracks were let down by poor songwriting and a " numbing predictability " . 
