Report: Next AC/DC Album Will Feature Malcolm Young’s Guitar Parts and Cliff Williams on Bass

After months of Axl Rose rumors floating around, it’s looking more and more like AC/DC’s “classic” lineup (with apologies to those who prefer the Bon Scott era) will be playing on the band’s next album.

Reports that former vocalist Brian Johnson and drummer Phil Rudd were spotted at the recording studio with the band first surfaced earlier this summer, and now “a reliable source inside the AC/DC camp” claims Angus Young has mined hundreds of demos he recorded with his late brother Malcolm, who died in December of 2017, to be featured on the band’s next record. Further, the source claims bassist Cliff Williams — who said he’d retire after the band’s 2016 tour — will be playing on the album as well.

The report comes from Jam Magazine:

“AC/DC SCOOP!

“We are hearing from a reliable source inside the AC/DC camp that Angus Young is working on a new AC/DC Album that will be dedicated to his brother, the late Malcolm Young.

“Here’s the exciting part… the new recordings will include Malcolm Young playing rhythm guitar on ALL TRACKS!

“Turns out, five years prior to the Black Ice LP, AC/DC’s 15th studio release, Angus and Malcolm Young lived to together where they literally wrote hundreds of songs, many were recorded and have been stashed away until now.

“Angus has decided to selected the best tracks from those recordings that Malcolm played on and is now back in the studio recording and mixing them with fellow band mates Phil Rudd, Cliff Williams and yes, Brian Johnson on vocals.

“Not sure when the release date will be announced but this should give all the Hardcore AC/DC fans a hard on!”

This report should of course be taken with a grain of salt, but if true — together with the Brian Johnson and Phil Rudd rumors — would certainly be exciting to AC/DC fans. I’d like to posit that it’s possible not all of these men are performing on all of the tracks; i.e. perhaps Johnson is only a guest on one or two. We’ll have to wait to find out.

[via Ultimate Guitar]