When AC/DC stopped touring about a year or so ago, they were Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose, drummer Chris Slade, rhythm guitarist Stevie Young, and lead guitarist Angus Young. Stevie took the place of his deceased uncle Malcolm Young, Slade took the place of longtime drummer Phil Rudd who left in 2015, and Rose took the place of Brian Johnson who left in 2016. Bassist Cliff Williams, who left in 2016, was not replaced.
Then the rumors began this year. Johnson was back on vocals (not really a rumor), Williams was back on bass, Rudd was back on drums, and there's a new record on the way. In a new interview with Consequence Of Sound, Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash seems pretty confident that all the aforementioned is true.
“Where do I start? AC/DC is bar none, with the exception of the Rolling Stones, the greatest rock‘n’roll band ever. The Stones will always come first for me and then AC/DC. There are no other bands that actually play that brand of really 50s-influenced straight-up rock‘n’roll like AC/DC. I love them for that.
“I think Phil Rudd is one of the best drummers of all time. So any time he was not in the band, I was always disappointed. But it’s great that Cliff Williams is going to be back because I remember being backstage with those guys at the end of the last tour and him saying that he was gone and that he was retired.
“So it’s great that everybody’s back, but it’s especially awesome that Brian Johnson is back.”
No official announcement has yet been made by AC/DC, but these rumors are certainly piling up.
