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Shot in the Dark (2020) – AC/DC – All about the song…

“Angus and Malcolm have been playing riffs all their lives and they've always had a whole bunch of those riffs recorded! And Angus told us that he just listened to them all: “Oh, this is a good option. This is also good,” and prepared them for recording. So it's really true that Malcolm is with us on the record: it's his ideas, his spirit..."

All about the song "Shot in the Dark" by the rock band AC / DC ...

"Shot in the Dark" is the song by legendary Australian rock band AC/DC, featured on their 17th studio album, Power Up! It was released as a single in the fall of 2020: as a result, “Shot in the Dark” became the first released track of the group in the last 5 years! The creation of hard rock veterans quickly attracted the attention of fans and critics: from the first notes, we can feel the signature sound of AC / DC, with guitars tearing space, a pulsating beat and the guttural howl of vocalist Brian Johnson ... To date, the video for the track has gained 25 million copies! How did the history of the song begin? Let's find out!

Prerequisites…

AC/DC
AC/DC

The band announced their new single a week before its release by sharing a 30-second video on Twitter. The first rumors that AC/DC were working on a follow-up to 2014's Rock or Bust began in August 2018 when guitarists Angus and Stevie Young, vocalist Brian Johnson, bassist Cliff Williams and drummer Phil Rudd were photographed in Vancouver outside the studio. Warehouse Studios. It is worth noting that Williams previously announced his retirement after the end of the Rock or Bust tour. Phil Rudd is returning after legal troubles prevented him from touring six years ago... Johnson was forced to leave the band in March 2016 when doctors told him his hearing problems were likely to get worse, but that's changed for the better !

AC/DC
AC/DC

As for the Power Up album itself, as AC / DC themselves stated, the studio work is inspired by riffs created by rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the group Malcolm Young, who died in November 2017 ...

“Angus and Malcolm have been playing riffs all their lives and they've always had a whole bunch of those riffs recorded! And Angus told us that he just listened to them all: “Oh, this is a good option. This is also good,” and prepared them for recording. So it's really true that Malcolm is with us on the record: these are his ideas, his spirit ... ”, commented Brian Johnson.

About the track

shot in the dark (2020) - frame from the video
shot in the dark (2020) - frame from the video

Now let's talk about the track in more detail... It's probably one of the best late AC/DC singles! At least that's the conclusion most music critics tend to draw... Written shortly before the death of rock and roll co-founder and rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young in 2017, the track was released on October 7, 2020 ahead of the band's upcoming album Power Up. The first single from the album, "Shot In The Dark" is incredibly clean, unbridled, marking a major comeback for the Australian band after a 5-year hiatus...

The track opens with Angus Young's dirty blues guitar playing leading up to Brian Johnson's iconic vocals and Phil Rudd's edgy, furious drumming... A powerful mix of hard rock riffs and bluesy basslines make it clear what "Shot In The Dark" is meant to complete. series of AC/DC classics. In fact, on October 17th, the track debuted at number five on Billboard's popular rock charts, making it the first song from the band to reach this high on the charts in over a decade...

In a time of upheaval and general oddity, "Shot In The Dark" reliably takes listeners back to a time when things were much, much simpler: the mid-80s... Johnson sings:

"Play it on the radio
Share this news on the TV show
Send it all over the wire.
And if I understand something in this, then
Your mission is to have fun
Until dawn.
You have a long night ahead of you
The night is as long as it is groovy.
You have taken the right position…”

His voice rages over a heavy mixture of rumbling bass lines and powerful guitars with chords... And if the lyrics of the track do not correspond to the current situation in the world, then it at least compensates for the nostalgia... With "Shot in the Dark", the band plunges listeners into the midst of debauchery 80 -x and rock mythology, where rock stars spent their nights having fun without worries! Young's soaring guitar shredding on the song's bridge represents the final ingredient to complete a modern classic... Even years later, AC/DC choose to stick to what they know best. Along with this, they fully justify their title of legends of the rock scene ...

A little bit about the album...

Album Power Up
Album Power Up

And finally, a few words about the Power Up album, which, in fact, included the song "Shot in the Dark". Power Up was the 17th studio recording by AC/DC. It was released in mid-November 2020. Much to the delight of diehard fans, Power Up commemorated Brian Johnson, Phil Rudd and Cliff Williams, who left the band for various reasons after the release of Rock or Bust (2014). Power Up is also notable for being the band's first album released since the death of co-founder and rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young... In the words of his brother, Angus, "this album serves as a tribute..." AC/DC's new work was warmly received by music critics, as and listeners: Power Up topped the charts in over 20 countries! In total, about 1.5 million copies were sold (world circulation today). Globally, Power Up became the 6th best selling album of 2020…

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