Rumors are rife that legendary Guns ‘N Roses frontman Axl Rose and iconic rock band AC/DC are in the recording studio, and so fans, naturally, are asking: Are the rumors true?
Well, technically, the rumors are false. Rose and AC/DC are not actually in the recording studio, although they might end up there pretty soon to continue their spectacular partnership. Their collaboration, oddly enough, began when AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson was forced to retire during the band’s Rock or Bust Tour in 2016 due to hearing loss. With the tour in limbo, Rose stepped in to help AC/DC finish it, and his stand-in job was widely praised in the process. Young also received lots of well-deserved credit for keeping the band afloat during those turbulent times, as he shrewdly brought in his nephew, Stevie Young, to play guitar and welcomed back former drummer Chris Slade.
Recently, well-connected journalist Murray Engleheart fanned the flames on a new AC/DC album with Rose as the lead singer, posting on social media: “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.”
Rose Tattoo singer Angry Anderson believes the same thing, stating in an interview that AC/DC guitarist Angus Young planned to move forward with a completely rejigged lineup that featured Rose on vocals. Young supposedly told Anderson that he is in the midst of writing new material for what would be the band’s 17th studio album.
In the same interview, Anderson also defended Young’s decision to keep AC/DC going sans any of the band’s notable names, notably his deceased older brother Malcolm, the aforementioned Johnson, bassist Cliff Williams, and drummer Phil Rudd.
“Yes, it’s sad that the original lineup aren’t there anymore, but it’s the songs,” Anderson said. “People who have supported them all the way through their career, they want to hear the songs.” And, indeed, the AC/DC catalog has more than its fair share of classics, from the bombastic, Bon Scott-tribute “Back to Black” to the slow, yet hypnotic The Jack”, and the thunderous, vicious-sounding “Thunderstruck”. Even the band’s more understated hits, like “Given the Dog a Bone”, “Rock ‘N’ Roll Damnation“, “Riff Raff”, “Touch Too Much”, and “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)”, are arguably fan favorites as well, and AC/DC broke them out during their Rock or Bust tour with Rose acting as frontman.
Judging by how AC/DC fans overwhelmingly received Rose during his fill-in role for the band in 2016, it might be safe to surmise that they are more than ready to support the fledging Axl-Angus era of AC/DC, which will also feature the younger Young on guitar and Slade back on the drums.
Should AC/DC and Rose, indeed, agree to work together on a new album, the iconic guitarist will have to figure out possible scheduling conflicts with Rose’s original band, the equally legendary Guns ‘N Roses. They are currently on the homestretch of their massively successful Not in This Lifetime tour, and are purportedly thinking about making their own studio album. But if Rose was able to pull double duty in 2016, spending time on both the AC/DC and GNR tours, then working with Angus again might just be feasible.
To get the latest news on the AC/DC-Axl Rose collaboration, be sure to check out our news section here on Unratedmag.com.
