In a new interview with Rolling Stone, guitarist Angus Young, singer Brian Johnson and bassist Cliff Williams discussed how the AC/DC‘s upcoming album, Power Up, came together. Power Up will be released on November 13.
“This record is pretty much a dedication to Malcolm [Young, late AC/DC rhythm guitarist, my brother,” Angus says. “It’s a tribute for him like Back in Black was a tribute to Bon Scott.”
“Even when I sit at home and pick up my guitar and start playing, the first thing that enters my head is, ‘I think Mal will like this riff I’m playing’. That’s how I judge lot of stuff.”
Brian added: “Malcolm was always there. As Angus would say, the band was his idea. Everything in it ran through him. He was always there in your minds or just your thoughts. I still see him in my own way. I still think about him. And then in the studio when we’re doing it, you have to be careful when you look around because he seems to be there.”
Williams says: “AC/DC without Mal isn’t AC/DC. He’s just there somehow. He’s always here.”
He also said that once drummer Phil Rudd and Johnson were back in the band, it didn’t take much to convince him to return as well. “It was like the old band back together,” Williams said. “It was not like starting over again, but as close to the band that’s been together for 40-plus years as we can possibly make it. I didn’t want to miss that.”
The first single from the album, “Shot In The Dark,” will arrive tomorrow, October 7.
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