Who better to carry on the legacy of Mötley Crüe, Thin Lizzy and AC/DC than a no-holds-barred Aussie quartet who shamelessly indulge in rock culture excess? Australia's Airbourne have been rocking out in the over-the-top style of their favorite '70s and '80s acts since 2001 and show no signs of slowing down.
Formed in Warrnambool in the early '00s, Airbourne initially consisted of brothers Joel and Ryan O'Keeffe, who played lead guitar and drums, respectively. They were soon joined by rhythm guitarist David Roads and Adam Jacobson on bass. Together, the quartet left for Melbourne and released their first EP: 2004's self-financed Ready To Rock.
Their fanbase expanded as Airbourne opened for big-name acts like The Rolling Stones and Mötley Crüe. In 2006, they traveled to the United States to record their debut album, Runnin' Wild, at Capitol Records with producer Bob Marlette. The album was later released in 2007 via Roadrunner Records.
That same year, Airbourne toured with Kid Rock and Korn and issued a live EP, Live At The Playroom. In 2010, they released their sophomore album, No Guts. No Glory, which was nominated for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album at the 2010 ARIA Music Awards. The next year, Airbourne supported Iron Maiden on the UK leg of their Final Frontier World Tour.
In 2013, the band released their third album, Black Dog Barking, which was produced by Brian Howes and later nominated for another ARIA Award for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album. The next year, Airbourne began recording their fourth studio album, Breakin' Outta Hell, which arrived in 2016.
Breakin' Outta Hell became the group's highest charting album in multiple countries: Australia at No. 13, Austria at No. 3, Germany at No. 3, Switzerland at No. 4, and UK at No. 9. It was also nominated for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album at the ARIA Music Awards in 2017. That same year, founding rhythm guitarist David Roads announced that he would be leaving the band. He was replaced by Matt "Harri" Harrison, who had previously played in Palace Of The King.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Runnin' Wild, Airbourne released a compilation album in 2017 called Diamond Cuts: The B-Sides. In 2019, the band released their fifth studio album, Boneshaker, which was produced by Dave Cobb and broke the Top 10 in Germany and Switzerland. In 2022, they hit the road for a North American tour. Catch this hard-rocking band live when they come to a city near you.
