Report: AC/DC Will Continue with Axl Rose on Vocals, New Album Planned

AC/DC made big headlines a couple of years back when longtime vocalist Brian Johnson exited the band due to hearing loss and Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose stepped in to help the band finish off some touring commitments.

Now it seems like that tour wasn’t just a special, one-time occurrence: Murray Engleheart, a respected Australian music journalist and noted authority on AC/DC, has said publicly that the band plans to continue with Rose for years to come. Here’s his statement, which was posted to his Facebook page over the weekend:

“Speculate all you want but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: AC/DC will continue with Axl on vocals – new album, touring, the whole nine yards. What was a massive gamble by Angus turned out to be an equally enormous triumph that has set the scene for the future.”

That’d be pretty rad, wouldn’t it? Reports from those who saw Rose with AC/DC were mostly positive with all but the most staunch purists saying he pulled off the role admirably. What’s more, as anyone who saw Rose on the seemingly never-ending Guns N’ Roses reunion tour will tell you, not only are the guy’s pipes still in good shape but he seems to have turned a page on his infamous timeliness issues. And with that tour finally ending later this year, Axl will presumably have time for other projects.

None of this has been confirmed with anyone in either Rose or AC/DC’s camps, so take it all with a grain of salt… but Engleheart is as reliable a source on AC/DC as any, so we wouldn’t be surprised if it bore out to be true. And that certainly wouldn’t be a bad thing. What’s more surprising is that the band would choose to continue on without rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young, who died last year… but that’s a topic for another day which I’m sure we’ll see endlessly debated online if these Rose rumors turn out to be true. Stay tuned.

[via Alternative Nation]