Metal Anarchy

Axl Rose (Guns N’ Roses) officially commented on his new gig as AC/DC’s new singer. The vocalist is taking over for Brian Johnson, who was risking “total hearing lost” by performing with the group.

Rose told BBC News the following:

“I called the day I read about it in the news, that there was a situation going on with Brian’s hearing.”

“I called a guy who’s their production manager right now… because I knew there was going to be a problem with having dates on sale and dates sold and stuff like that. So if I could help, and if I was able to do it, and they were interested, I’d love to help. And that’s how it started.”

“I wasn’t looking at it like, ‘I’m singing for AC/DC.’ I was looking at it like, ‘Y’know, if I can, and if they think I’m able to do it.”

Rose also added the following about how he feels about tackling the band’s set:

“A lot of the ‘Back In Black’ stuff is really challenging. I’m not here in any way out of any disrespect to Brian. I can’t take anything away from his singing at all.”

“He’s a great singer and it’s really challenging to sing it. I’m just trying to do it justice for the fans.”

“I’m happy and excited in one sense, but I think it would be inappropriate to be celebrating, in a certain way, at someone else’s expense.”

“That’s not what I’m here to do. It’s an unfortunate situation.”

Angus Young also added the following about Johnson:

“In his heart he wanted to finish [the tour], but because of that hearing factor he had to make the decision.”

“It’s a hard thing to do, and he’d had the problem since we kicked off touring. It was his call. It was a shock to us too.”

“The last thing you want to do is walk away from something, but you don’t want someone in a tragic situation; being deaf, or any other affliction.”