The remaining members of AC/DC’s classic line-up have announced a new song, the first from their forthcoming album Power Up.
The track, Shot In The Dark, is their first new music since 2014’s Rock Or Bust album.
Founder Angus Young, 65, has reunited with Brian Johnson, 73, Phil Rudd, 66, and Cliff Williams, 70, for the record, plus recent addition Stevie Young, 63.
‘POWER UP’ OUT NOVEMBER 13. LIMITED EDITION DELUXE LIGHTBOX, CD, VINYL & DIGITAL DOWNLOAD AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER. “SHOT IN THE DARK” AVAILABLE NOW. #PWRUP https://t.co/E1IgKXPCxF pic.twitter.com/TrlgwZJaNI
— AC/DC (@acdc) October 7, 2020
To mark the launch, London landmarks Battersea Power Station, St Paul’s Cathedral, Marble Arch and the Tate Modern were illuminated with AC/DC imagery overnight.
The rockers also reunited with producer Brendan O’Brien, who helmed Black Ice in 2008 and Rock Or Bust in 2014, for the 12-track project.
Tracks include Realize, Demon Fire, Systems Down, Money Shot and Code Red.
The Australia-formed rock band was founded in November 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young, going on to record hits including Highway To Hell and Back In Black.
The band has had a series of line-up changes over the years, including a stint with Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose as lead singer.
Johnson returns to the band after experimental treatment solved a hearing problem that forced him to abandon their Rock Or Bust world tour in 2016.
Doctors had warned him he risked going deaf if he continued to perform, and Rose briefly replace him on lead vocals.
Johnson told Rolling Stone magazine: “It was pretty serious.
“I couldn’t hear the tone of the guitars at all. It was a horrible kind of deafness. I was literally getting by on muscle memory and mouth shapes.
“I was starting to really feel bad about the performances in front of the boys, in front of the audience. It was crippling. There’s nothing worse than standing there and not being sure.”
Speaking about finding a specialist willing to treat him, he said: “It took two and a half years. He came down once a month. We’d sit there and it was boring as shit with all these wires and computer screens and noises.
“But it was well worth it. The only thing I can tell you is that it uses the bone structure in the skull as a receiver. That’s as much as I can tell you.”
Former guitarist Malcolm Young died aged 64 in 2017 after suffering dementia.
In 2014 it had been announced he would not be playing with the rock band any more.
Angus told Rolling Stone: “This record is pretty much a dedication to Malcolm, my brother. It’s a tribute for him like Back In Black was a tribute to (former lead singer) Bon Scott.”
In 2017, AC/DC’s long-standing producer George Young, another brother of Malcolm and Angus, died aged 70.
The band said at the time: “It is with pain in our heart that we have to announce the passing of our beloved brother and mentor George Young.
“Without his help and guidance there would not have been an AC/DC.”
