Angus Young and Brian Johnson of AC/DC join Zane Lowe on Apple Music to discuss their 17th studio album, Power Up, due out this Friday. They tell Apple Music about deciding to release the album now, vocalist Brian Johnson’s return after suffering hearing loss, being grateful to Axl Rose for filling in, and wanting to perform live. They also reflect on Malcom Young and Bon Scott and their ongoing influence on the band.

Watch the video below, and read an excerpt below, courtesy of Zane Lowe on Apple Music.

Angus Young on making new AC/DC music: "I get very excited with doing something new and going, 'Well, it's AC/DC, but it's got a little bit of a different angle on it.' That's always, for me, the big puzzle, finding something that's AC/DC, but it's something you've not heard AC/DC done before. You try to look for new ways of doing riffs and you experiment a little bit with those, but then when you get something, you go, 'That's definitely AC/DC,' and you know that you've cracked the puzzle there. That gives you a little bit of excitement and a little bit of a rush. Then I go, 'Okay, you've done that now. Onto the next thing,' and then find another song idea that you can go, 'Right. I've got to now get better than what I did with the one before.' So it's a constant puzzle."

AC/DC on deciding to release the album now…

Angus Young: :Well, we depended mainly on what record company... They were the ones giving the advice and they said, 'We can do it now.' Because originally we had geared up for it, as Brian said. It was going to come out early, we had done all promo, video stuff for it, and as he said, we were even planning maybe if we do some shows, if it worked. We were geared up to go earlier, but the virus thing kicked in big time, and so it was a case of leaving it up to them. When they thought they had the clearance when putting into the production and getting CDs and whatnot, if they had all the tools to do that. And they said, 'We should be able to do that.' At this point, we were depending on them. And that's when I said, 'Well, if you believe you can do it, we'll do our best to help you promote it.'"

Brian Johnson: "I think we waited until the world hit a misery level, a limit of misery with this thing, and just said, 'Right, time to cheer it up.'”

The limited edition, one-of-a-kind deluxe Power Up box is the ultimate fan package. Hit the button on the side of the box and watch the flashing neon AC/DC logo light up while the opening bars of “Shot In The Dark” blast out of the built-in speaker. Inside the box is the full CD package in a soft-pack with a 20-page booklet that features exclusive photos and USB charging cable allowing the box to remain powered up and on display.

Watch an unboxing video:

The Limited Edition Deluxe Lightbox, CD, Vinyl and Digital Download editions of Power Up are available for pre-order here. The official AC/DC store also has an array of pre-order options, which can be viewed at this location.

Power Up is AC/DC’s 17th studio album. For Power Up, the band reunited with producer Brendan O’Brien who helmed the double-platinum Black Ice in 2008 and the gold Rock Or Bust in 2014. Charged up for the next decade, AC/DC cut twelve new tracks for the album, proudly maintaining their signature sound and all of its powerful hallmarks.

The AC/DC lineup of Angus Young (lead guitar), Brian Johnson (lead vocals), Cliff Williams (bass guitar), Phil Rudd (drums), and Stevie Young (rhythm guitar) is firing on all cylinders once again.

Tracklisting:

"Realize"
"Rejection"
"Shot in the Dark"
"Through the Mists of Time"
"Kick You When You're Down"
"Witch's Spell"
"Demon Fire"
"Wild Reputation"
"No Man's Land"
"Systems Down"
"Money Shot"
"Code Red"

"Realize":

"Shot In The Dark" video:

"Shot In The Dark" behind the scenes:

"Demon Fire" teaser:

Trailers: