Fifty years ago, AC/DC released their second studio album T.N.T. — a gritty, electrifying body of work that cemented their pub-rock swagger and spirit which became the band’s trademark.
Recorded at Albert Studios in Sydney, T.N.T. was the first AC/DC album with bassist Mark Evans and drummer Phil Rudd, a lineup change that sharpened the band’s sound considerably. The last two tracks, however, featured George Young and Tony Currenti, both of whom previously appeared on AC/DC’s debut album, High Voltage.
Where High Voltage experimented with sound, T.N.T. favoured a hard-edged, rhythm and blues-based rock ‘n’ roll. It was praised by critics, especially for how crucial it was in that it “marked AC/DC’s definitive break with their now-seemingly heretical glam rock inclinations”.
AC/DC’s original frontman Bon Scott sang about the group’s personal holy trinity on the album — sex, drinking, and rock ‘n’ roll — and when Brian Johnson took the reins after Scott’s death, they kept right on worshipping at the same altar. “We’ve been accused of making the same album over and over 12 times,” guitarist Angus Young once said. “The truth is, we’ve made the same album over and over 15 times.”
The album features now-legendary songs that have become staples in AC/DC’s live sets, including “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll)”, “Rocker”, “The Jack”, “Live Wire”, and the title-track “T.N.T.” — which later featured in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
AC/DC’s rise in the mid ’70s was fast, loud and built from the ground up. Formed in 1973, they started playing pubs and quickly earned a reputation for their relentless live shows. T.N.T. blasted them into the national spotlight, having soared to No. 2 on the album charts almost immediately upon release. Released only in Australia and New Zealand, it went 9x Platinum.
Love Music?
Get your daily dose of metal, rock, indie, pop, and everything else in between.
The album’s songs were later used to create the international version of High Voltage, which was released in 1976. The band broke into the American and British markets in the years that followed, with “Highway to Hell” (1979) reaching No. 17 on the US Billboard 200 and No. 8 in the UK, also earning Platinum status.
Fifty years on, the album still hits like a stick of dynamite, marking a defining moment in Australian rock history. Currently on the Australian leg of their Power Up tour, several tracks from T.N.T. have been revisited, including “It’s A Long Way to the Top”, plus other Bon Scott-era classics like “Jailbreak”.
The tour exploded into record-breaking territory, achieving the biggest single-day concert ticket sales in Ticketek history. Across their two shows in Sydney, the band played to a crowd of over 150,000.
