Engineer Mike Fraser, who worked with AC/DC on their forthcoming Power Up album, recently stated that the record includes several ideas from late electric guitar player Malcolm Young, who passed away in November 2017.
But it’s now been revealed that Malcolm is credited as a writer for every track on the album, including the first single, Shot in the Dark.
As Angus Young says in a new video interview posted to the band’s YouTube channel, “I know Mal’s not with us anymore, but he’s there with us in spirit. You know, this band was his baby, his life. He was always one [to say], ‘You keep going.’ ”
“He would have been proud of this, I think,” adds singer Brian Johnson about Power Up. “He’s not far away.”
Continues Angus, “His big line always, every now and again, he’d go, ‘If you’re a musician, it’s a bit like being on the Titanic, the band goes down with the ship.’ That’s how he viewed it.”
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone (opens in new tab), Angus said several of the riffs on the new album stem from the writing sessions for 2008’s Black Ice.
“There was a lot of great song ideas at that time,” he said. “At that time he said to me, ‘We’ll leave these songs for now. If we keep going, we’ll be overboard. We’ll get them on the next one.’
“That always stuck with me. When I went through and listened to them, I said, ‘If I do anything in my life, I have to get these tracks down and get these tracks out.’ ”
Power Up is out November 13. The album is currently available for preorder (opens in new tab).
