If it wasn't for the coronavirus pandemic, AC/DC's new album would have arrived already.
Angus Young and Brian Johnson told Q104.3 New York's Jim Kerr on Thursday morning that the band was getting ready to start moving again before the pandemic made it clear that plans would have to change.
The new album, PWR/UP, which arrives November 13, has been complete for some time. While it's not clear what the original release date was, after some time in pandemic lockdown, Young says they decided not to keep people waiting any longer.
"We wanted something to hopefully boost everyone's spirits," Young explains. "We had made it before all this pandemic and we were gearing up to do a lot of promo just before the pandemic thing happened. We had all been together, we'd all been playing away ... rehearsing and stuff. We had just finished up doing that. Then a week later, all around the world, the big virus [was] coming in. That put a big delay on a lot of stuff. It affected everyone, you know?"
The new AC/DC album was among the worst-kept secrets in rock, as the band's lineup of Young, Johnson, Cliff Williams, Phil Rudd and Stevie Young was spotted at a Vancouver recording studio in the summer of 2018. Johnson reportedly confirmed privately that the band had gotten back together to work on something new.
People close to AC/DC had been leaking information since the last AC/DC tour in 2016 (with varying accuracy), and there were rumors that PWR/UP would arrive in February or March. Finally, in late-September, the band showed signs of motion. The band leaked photos of the reunited lineup on the set of a music video. About a week later, the band confirmed its new lineup and began teasing the new single, "Shot in the Dark."
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