Honestly, if you were standing in the mud at a stadium back in 2009, you probably didn’t realize you were watching the end of an era. We all thought AC/DC was immortal. They felt like a law of physics—predictable, loud, and seemingly immune to time. But looking back at the AC/DC Black Ice Tour, it’s clear that this was the last time the "classic" machine was firing on every single cylinder.
It was a beast.
The tour kicked off in 2008 and didn't stop until 2010. By the time it wrapped up in Bilbao, Spain, the band had played 168 shows across five continents. They sold nearly 5 million tickets. Think about that for a second. That's a lot of schoolboy uniforms and devil horns. It grossed somewhere around $441 million, which at the time made it one of the biggest tours in the history of music.
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The Locomotive in the Room
You can't talk about the AC/DC Black Ice Tour without mentioning the train. It wasn't just some small prop. It was a 6,000kg (about 13,000 lbs) steam engine that looked like it had literally crashed through the back of the stage.
The show would start with this cartoon on the big screens—Angus Young as a devil, basically hijacking a train. Then, as the music for "Rock 'n' Roll Train" kicked in, the screens would split apart, and this massive, smoking, fire-breathing locomotive would lurch forward. It was ridiculous. It was over the top. It was exactly what you wanted from a band that refuses to do "subtle."
Designed by the late, great Mark Fisher (the guy who did stuff for Pink Floyd and the Stones), the train wasn't just a static hunk of metal. It had working headlights, it puffed out CO2 smoke, and it even had its own set of light-up devil horns.
Later in the set, the roof of the train would slide open, and a 60-foot inflatable "Rosie" would climb out to straddle the engine. If you've ever seen a giant inflatable woman tapping her foot in time to a blues-rock riff, you know the vibe.
Why the Setlist Hit Different
Usually, when a legacy band tours for a new album, everyone goes to the bathroom during the new songs. But Black Ice was different. It was their first record in eight years, and people actually liked the tracks. "Big Jack" and "War Machine" actually held their own against the classics.
But let’s be real, we were there for the hits. The setlist was a masterclass in pacing:
- Rock 'n' Roll Train (The big intro)
- Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be
- Back in Black (The riff that everyone tries to play at Guitar Center)
- Big Jack
- Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
- Shot Down in Flames
- Thunderstruck
Brian Johnson was still screaming like his life depended on it. Angus was doing the duckwalk across a massive T-shaped catwalk that stuck out into the crowd. And then there was the bell. For "Hells Bells," a 3,000-pound custom brass bell would drop from the rafters, and Brian would jump up and swing from the rope. It’s a miracle the man’s shoulders stayed in their sockets.
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The Weight of Malcolm Young
Here’s the part that gets a bit heavy. The AC/DC Black Ice Tour was the final tour for Malcolm Young.
If Angus was the engine, Malcolm was the tracks. He was the rhythm guitarist who basically invented the band's "tight-as-a-gnat" sound. Most people in the crowd didn't know it yet, but Malcolm was already starting to struggle with the early stages of dementia during this run.
There are stories from the road about him having to relearn his own riffs before shows. But if you watch the Live at River Plate DVD (recorded in Buenos Aires during this tour), you can't tell. He’s a statue of solid rock. His timing was still perfect. When the tour ended on June 28, 2010, it marked the last time he’d ever perform on stage. Knowing that now makes those old clips feel a lot more poignant.
Money, Walmart, and the Critics
It’s worth noting that the way this tour happened was kinda controversial at the time. The Black Ice album was sold exclusively through Walmart in the US. People called them sellouts. Critics whined that the album was too long—15 tracks, which is a lot for a band that uses about four chords.
But the fans didn't care. The album went to number one in 29 countries. The tour sold out almost instantly everywhere. In some cities, they had to add three or four extra dates just to keep up with the demand. It proved that even in the digital age, there was still a massive appetite for "high voltage" rock and roll that hadn't changed since 1974.
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Technical Madness Behind the Scenes
The logistics were a nightmare. They had two identical stage setups traveling at the same time just so they could leapfrog across Europe and North America. It took dozens of trucks to move the train, the 12 cannons used for the finale of "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)," and the massive wall of Marshall amps.
Most of those amps were actually "live," too. A lot of modern bands use "dummy" cabs for the look, but AC/DC always preferred the actual roar of the vacuum tubes. It’s why you could hear the show from three miles away.
How to Relive the Experience
If you missed it, or if you just want to feel that ringing in your ears again, you have a few options.
- Watch "Live at River Plate": This is the definitive document of the AC/DC Black Ice Tour. The crowd in Argentina is absolutely insane. They look like a literal sea of humans moving in unison.
- Listen to the "Black Ice" Vinyl: Brendan O'Brien produced the record to sound a bit cleaner and more "classic" than their 90s stuff. It holds up surprisingly well.
- Check out the Gear: For the real nerds, companies like Märklin actually released a scale model of the "Rock 'n' Roll Train" locomotive. It’s a weird crossover between model train enthusiasts and metalheads, but it exists.
The AC/DC Black Ice Tour wasn't just a concert series; it was the final victory lap for the most consistent lineup the band ever had. It was loud, it was sweaty, and it was unapologetically simple.
Next time you’re listening to "Shoot to Thrill," just remember that for a few years in the late 2000s, five guys from Australia reminded the entire planet that rock and roll ain't noise pollution. It's actually a pretty good way to spend a Tuesday night in a stadium.
To get the full experience, track down a high-quality copy of the Buenos Aires concert film. Turn the volume up until your neighbors start complaining. That’s the only way to truly honor the legacy of the tour that nearly broke the Richter scale.