Angus Young On Why He Didn't Include Malcolm's Guitar Tracks On POWER UP

Despite Twisted Sister vocalist Dee Snider teasing last year that AC/DC's upcoming album POWER UP would feature the late Malcolm Young's guitar work, brother Angus has explained why that's not actually the case.

The rock legend told El Pirata of Spain's RockFM (via Blabbermouth) that he realised that Malcolm wouldn't want him weaving together different musical ideas that he had come up with before his death in 2017.

"I know a lot of people have been saying, 'Did Malcolm actually play, is it his instrument on the new album?'" Angus says. "I chose not to do that because I felt Malcolm himself wouldn't like me trying to splice his guitar work."

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Of their prior creative process together, Angus continues, "Malcolm and myself, a lot of what we had done through the years, we'd make notes with the tracks. Some might be a little bit rough here and there, and I polished them up. In other cases, Malcolm might have done just a small bit and then I would do the next verse. The bulk of the contribution of Mal is mainly musical."

Malcolm is credited as a writer on POWER UP, while the album features a now-solidified AC/DC line-up of Angus and rhythm guitarist (and Malcolm's nephew) Stevie Young, plus returning members Brian Johnson (vocals), Cliff Williams (bass) and Phil Rudd (drums).

And the record is also a tribute to Malcolm, with Angus explaining in a video last week: “I know Mal’s not with us anymore, but he’s there with us in spirit. This band was his baby, his life. He was always one [to say], ‘You keep going.’ His big line always, every now and again, he’d go, ‘If you’re a musician, it’s a bit like being on the Titanic. The band goes down with the ship.’ That’s how he viewed it.”

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