Brian Johnson and Angus Young at an AC / DC concert on February 28, 2016 in Kansas City, Missouri.Jason Squires /
Neither Bon Scott nor Malcolm Young are there, but the others make up the classic AC / DC line-up: Brian Johnson (England, 73 years old) on vocals, Cliff Williams (England, 70 years old) on bass, Phil Rudd (Australia, 66 ) on drums, Stevie Young (Scotland, 63) on guitar and, the leader, Angus Young (Scotland, 65), on lead guitar.
It is the best possible lineup of the group, the one that recorded
Back In Black,
the best-selling rock album of all time.
Only Malcolm Young, who died in 2017, is replaced by his nephew, Stevie Young.
Singer Bon Scott died in 1980.
AC / DC is back, just when the world needs them most.
It is surely the most beloved rock band, the one that manages to bring together grandparents with grandchildren, some classics that guarantee to sell out stadium tickets in hours.
When they started, in the mid-seventies, the
bad guys were
listening to Australians
;
today, they are enjoyed as a family.
The new song is called
Shot in the Dark
(curiously Ozzy Osbourne has another song that is titled the same) and it is all the good you can expect from the group, a piece with the keys to their music: a playful
initial guitar
riff
, the Rhythmic bass / drums pounding, Brian Johnson's strangled vocals, a sticky chorus, and Angus Young's edgy guitar solo.
The usual AC / DC formula.
Why change if it works.
“I'm sick of people saying that our eleven albums sound exactly the same.
Actually, there are 12 records that sound exactly the same, ”Young said wryly a few years ago, when the band reached that number.
Now they will release their 17th studio album, where, indeed, they do not exhibit major stylistic changes.
AC / DC had not released an album for six years, when they released
Rock or Bust
in 2014. The song
Shot in the Dark
is included in an album called
Power Up,
which will be on all platforms and in stores on the 13th. of November.
"This work is a tribute to my brother Malcolm, just as
Back In Black
was dedicated to Bon Scott," said Angus Young.
The meeting has not been easy.
The main goal was to get Brian Johnson back, who left music in 2016 due to hearing problems.
“I am devastated by this more than anyone could imagine.
The emotional experience I feel now is worse than anything I have ever felt in my life before, "the singer said in a statement when he retired.
But AC / DC didn't stop.
Angus Young surprised and angered fans in equal measure when he decided to replace Johnson with Axl Rose, the controversial leader of Guns' N Roses.
AC / DC's 'Back In Black': How Out Of Catharsis The Best-Selling Rock Album Of All Time Was Born
The tour continued although not a few fans returned the tickets as they were not convinced to see their favorite group with Rose at the helm.
The concerts were not as disastrous as anticipated and the Axl Rose stage with AC / DC was saved.
Getting the message, Angus Young went to work to win back the most beloved members.
Johnson was the first, having overcome his hearing problems.
Phil Rudd was next.
The battery spent a period of house arrest for drug possession and accused of hiring hitmen to carry out a murder.
That's how murky Rudd's life was.
Detoxified and cleared of the death threat case, Rudd seems fit to pick up the drumsticks again.
Cliff Williams remained.
The bassist decided to retire "to lead a quieter life" at the end of the
Rock or Bust
tour
in 2016. He also argued: "The band has undergone many changes in recent years."
But Angus Young's call has convinced him.
The goal after launching
Power Up
on November 13 is to go on tour when the pandemic allows it, with more chances of being in 2022 than in 2021. Australian specialists announce that this would be the last chance to see the group live.