Brian Johnson discusses the rumours of Malcolm Young's riffs appearing on the new AC/DC album, as PWR/UP finally gets an official release date.
Ahead of the release of their new record PWR/UP on November 13, AC/DC's Brian Johnson and Cliff Williams have opened up about the recording process of album number 17.
The frontman and bassist spoke to Rock 100.5 Atlanta (via Blabbermouth) about how PWR/UP came together, addressing the much-discussed rumours that the late Malcolm Young would feature in some way, with the band allegedly using tracks that the guitarist had recorded while he was alive.
"There's a lot of [rumours] about Malcolm's guitar playing [being on the album], [and] well, of course, that's not true," says Brian. "But what is true is the fact that Angus and Malcolm had done riffs together all their life and really had a big box of them. And Angus said he basically just went through them all and he went, 'Oh, that's a good one. This is a good one.' And he brought them out.
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"So it really is true that Malcolm is on there, basically, in spirit and all of that. And he's such a strong character in life. And I think everybody in the band still felt, especially Angus, his brother, [that Malcolm] is in everything. We're always conscious of that, that he's watching over, 'You'd better do it right. You'd better do it AC/DC style or just not do it at all.' And the songs came in – Angus came in with 'em and all, and worked with Brendan O'Brien, the producer, and I went into just a regular little control room, and we just went for it. And we'd take it back, and Angus would have a listen and see if there was anything that needed changing… But there wasn't much [that needed to be changed]."
The vocalist adds that the idea for a new album was first brought up in 2018, with the entire band – completed by Angus and Stevie Young, and returning drummer Phil Rudd – agreed to it "immediately".
"And, of course, we went off to Vancouver in about August," he continues. "As soon as we walked in, there was this electricity, this bond that had been built up over 38 years since I joined. And, of course, when the boys plugged in, or powered up – if you'll excuse the pun – and they started playing, that was it. It was a great time."
Cliff also later reveals that AC/DC have already discussed the possibility of playing shows together again, but it's obviously been shelved for now due to coronavirus. "But we would love to get out and play live," he enthuses.
Listen to the full interview below:
AC/DC's new single Shot In The Dark is due out this Wednesday (October 7).
