Angus Young of the Australian rock outfit, AC/DC, has cleared up rumors about his older brother, Malcolm Young, appearing on the upcoming "Power Up" album, due out November 13th.
Since the announcement of the new album, fans have ben speculating about the personnel who will be responsible for recording the new album. Days after it was announced, AC/DC confirmed that long-time vocalist, Brian Johnson, would be returning to the fold, amongst other fan favorite AC/DC alumni.
Drummer Phil Rudd, who rocked the kit for the band between 1975-1983, and again from 1994 to 2015, saw a slew of controversy that led to his departure from the band a second time. Phil returned to the sticks in 2018, replacing drummer Chris Slade (unbeknownst to him at the time).
Joining Phil and Brian is classic AC/DC bassist, Cliff Williams, who held the rhythm down between 1977 and 2016, taking a brief two year hiatus after the Rock or Bust touring cycle, citing that AC/DC was "a changed animal." Following the departure of Malcolm, due to struggles with dementia, Phil Rudd's legal troubles and eventual exit from the band, and Brian Johnson's hearing loss that was threatening his very music career, Cliff decided to retire from music altogether in 2016, only to be brought back into the fray in 2018 when the original members returned.
Something though, has been on the minds of fans all over the world: Is Malcolm Young's playing or written material going to be on the record? Angus Young spoke with El Pirata of the Spanish RockFM radio station; "I chose not to do that because I felt Malcolm himself wouldn't like me trying to splice his guitar work." states Angus Young, killing the notion. "Malcolm and myself, a lot of what we had done through the years, we'd make notes with the tracks," he continued. "Some might be a little bit rough here and there, and I polished them up. In other cases, Malcolm might have done just a small bit and then I would do the next verse. The bulk of the contribution of Mal is mainly musical."
Angus continued to praise the contributions of Guns N' Roses vocalist Axl Rose for stepping in when Brian Johnson had hearing troubles; "[...] it was a case of, 'We'll get through those shows [that we had committed to]. But how do we go about that?' And Axl Rose, he had said to us, he had got a message to us, if he could help us in any way finish those commitments, if it didn't interfere with what his own project was, he would help us get through that. So with Axl, he participated with helping us get through that tour, and that's something we'll always be grateful for, 'cause he'd done a really good job. So everyone appreciates that he did that."
"Power Up" will be available on November 13th, on digital and hard copy, as well as with limited edition. The limited edition? A collector's "Power Up" box, a love-letter package to the fans. The box has a button on the side that lights up the AC/DC neon logo, and plays the opening bars from lead single, "Shot In The Dark," from an internal speaker.
Inside the box, you'll find a soft-pack of CD's, with a 20-page booklet that features exclusive band photos and a USB charging cable, allowing the box to remain "powered up", for display purposes. The vinyl LP will be pressed on 180-gram vinyl and housed in a gatefold jacket. Limited-edition versions of the LP will be available at select retailers, as well as the band's online store. The album will be available on all digital platforms, so you can enjoy the new album as soon as it drops on your favorite music media apps and websites.
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Written by Steve Knudsen
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