Is It Time for AC/DC to Retire?

2025 has been one of the worst years of my life and throughout this hell, music has been my saving grace, especially AC/DC’s music. Their simplicity and disinterest in changing their sound brought me comfort during a time where my life has been filled with nothing but change. Because they’ve helped me through such difficult times since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, AC/DC will always hold a special place in my heart. However, please forgive me when I say that AC/DC are not a good live band anymore. Ok, let me rephrase that because lead guitarist Angus Young and rhythm guitarist Stevie Young (along with the “new guys,” drummer Matt Laug and bassist Chris Chaney) play great together musically, but vocalist Brian Johnson sounds absolutely terrible! Heck, he can’t even hit the low, bluesy notes that used to come so naturally for him on “Stiff Upper Lip.”

It’s no surprise that Johnson isn’t the greatest singer in the world. His voice has been rapidly declining since the Fly on the Wall (1985) era. However, the band found a way to accommodate his aging voice on later albums from Blow Up Your Video (1988) all the way till their latest studio record, Power Up (2020). Even on the latter album, Johnson still sounds like he has a dead frog that’s been stuck in his throat for centuries, but at least he’s singing on-key, thanks to the magic of studio production. Yet, recording songs in a studio setting is very different from performing them live because the artist can’t fix their mistakes when they’re in front of an audience. If they suck, they suck and there’s nothing the artist can do to erase those painful notes from the listeners’ ears. 

Personally, I prefer the Brian Johnson era over the Bon Scott era of AC/DC because I like that gravely and uneven tone to Johnson’s voice, and oddly enough, he sounded even better on the Bon Scott classics like “Highway to Hell” “T.N.T.,” “The Jack,” “Let There Be Rock,” and “Shot Down in Flames,” etc. Nonetheless, I wasn’t dumb enough to notice something odd about Johnson’s vocals when it came to one of my favorite AC/DC songs ever, “Thunderstruck.” Even during The Razors Edge (1990) era, the frog was already dead for a few years, but the problem with “Thunderstruck” is it’s a very demanding song with a lot of screeching and upper register notes, which became a big problem in the band’s later years. To be honest, Johnson sings it best during The Razors Edge era and we’re left with watching him suffer on the following tours. In fact, I was watching the No Bull (1996) Blu-ray release last night and still believe that “Thunderstruck” was the worst song out of the entire set. Ok, not the worst because the energy was incredible, but Johnson was struggling big time! I used to think the problem was Johnson smokes way too many cigarettes. But now, I think the problem was he strained his vocals because he set himself up on such a high pedestal that it was impossible for him to escape those high expectations, so he continues to croak uncontrollably, hoping he’ll regain the ballsy voice he once had during his glory days. 

In late June, while attending a graduation party at the Hawaii Prince Hotel, I talked to a guy that attended AC/DC’s show at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on April 18, 2025 for their current Power Up tour and he said the sound quality wasn’t very good. He also saw them at the Power Trip festival on October 7, 2023 in Indio, California (with bassist Cliff Williams), almost two years ago, and said they were much better at that show. He went on to say that nowadays, they’re either a hit or miss and it really depends on Johnson’s vocals. Not going to lie, I was considering buying tickets for the Power Trip festival, but passed because I wasn’t familiar with the venue or the location. I also considered buying tickets for the Power Up tour when they announced a Las Vegas date for April 2025, but I passed that one, as well, because my mom was recovering from knee replacement surgery. But after watching clips of that Las Vegas show, I’m kind of glad I didn’t go because Johnson did not sound good at all. One review even said that Angus blew Johnson off the stage. I do regret not seeing the Power Trip festival performance, however, because Williams performed with them.

I’ve always believed that AC/DC were more than just Angus. He only plays one part of the band’s sound. They’d be nothing without rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young’s piercing riffs, drummer Phil Rudd’s stomping groove, and Williams’ mighty, yet subtle, bass lines. Malcolm passed away in November 2017, so unfortunately, we can’t do anything about that. Rudd has been in-and-out of the band since 1975, and Williams made it perfectly clear that he didn’t want to tour anymore due to health reasons. The Power Trip performance was a one-time thing. Rudd has his own reasons for not touring with AC/DC and whatever those reasons are, I hope he’s living a nice, calm life away from the spotlight because he deserves it after all he went through previously. Because Williams and Rudd play such integral roles in AC/DC, it seems wrong for the band to tour without them.

The casual AC/DC fans that only came to see Angus probably won’t care, but when I watch current touring footage of the band, it doesn’t even look or sound like AC/DC. They look more like a cover band with a guy who happens to run around and play like Angus. If the band plans to make a new record, and have Williams and Rudd involved, that’s fine, but I don’t think the band should be touring anymore, not without Williams and Rudd. I mean really, how much longer can these guys keep up the touring circus? Johnson is obviously struggling and while Angus still plays great, I can’t get that image of him with gray hair out of my head. You think he would’ve graduated from school by now, but nope, he’s still running around in his schoolboy uniform at age 70. Just to be clear, I’m not criticizing Angus for playing rock ‘n’ roll at age 70, I’m just concerned about how much longer he can continue doing it because I hate to admit it, he’s lost some of that fire he used to have from his glory days.

Despite Johnson’s tone-deaf vocals, Williams and Rudd not performing with the band anymore, and Angus’ questionable touring lifespan, who am I to tell AC/DC to retire? They’re a band that does whatever they want and whenever they want, but they’re also genuinely nice guys. At the end of the day, Angus will make the call on when it’s time to call it quits on the AC/DC rock ‘n’ roll train. Yes, it sucks seeing the band in such a poor and embarrassing state, but I’m learning to hold onto the good memories I have of them because I want to remember them in a positive light. One bad tour (or two, if counting the Rock or Bust tour from 2015-2016) is not going to change the fact that they’ve blessed us with awesome albums such as Let There Be Rock (1977), Powerage (1978), Highway to Hell (1979), Back in Black (1980), For Those About to Rock (1981), Flick of the Switch (1983), and so on. It’s like how I feel about Richie Sambora; I’m frustrated that he hasn’t released the studio album he’s been working on for years, but I can still play Stranger in This Town (1991) and feel like time is standing still. I can still listen to AC/DC and headbang like everything is right in the world. While I do think it’s time for AC/DC to retire, I have no say in that and it’s up to the band to decide when it’s time to call it quits.

If we’re talking about Mötley Crüe, however, this would be a completely different conversation!

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Do you think it’s time for AC/DC to retire? Let me know in the comments down below!

Take care and see ya real soon!

Lana