Dee Snider has claimed AC/DC’s new album has some "jaw-on-the-floor surprises" from late band member Malcolm Young.
Brian Johnson previously revealed he had been back in the studio with his bandmates working on a new record after he was forced to quit the group in 2016 on doctor’s orders due to progressive hearing loss, with Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose filling in for him on tour.
And now, former Twisted Sister rocker Dee has revealed the 72-year-old singer shared with him what the legendary group have been working on, and he described the new material as "AC/DC as we know and love them".
Speaking on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation, he spilled: "I had dinner with [AC/DC singer] Brian [Johnson] recently, and we talked about [the band’s return to activity].
"He told me a lot of stuff, and a lot of stuff that I don’t wanna say.
"But we know from the photos, and Brian confirmed it, they’ve been in the studio, they’ve been recording.
"The original — I don’t say the ‘original’ guys, because a lot of ’em are gone, but I say the ‘classic’ lineup is back together and there are some surprises, which I can’t talk about, regarding Malcolm Young that just had my jaw on the floor.
"I will say he will be present. So this is AC/DC as we know and love them."
Last year, American band Terrorizer shared the news of a new record after meeting Brian – who joined AC/DC in 1980 following the death of previous singer Bon Scott – in an airport.
Writing on their Facebook page, the band said: "We ran into Brian Johnson from AC/DC at the airport today after the flight home. We asked him about the rumours of him being on the new AC/DC album and he said ‘yes’ and that he is ‘sick of denying it.’ So that was a cool surprise ending to the tour."
Late rhythm guitarist Malcolm – the older brother of lead guitarist Angus Young – died in November 2017 after retiring due to early onset dementia, and it was previously reported that the ‘Highway To Hell’ rockers would release "hundreds" of unreleased songs that featured Malcolm and Brian on "vocals".
A source claimed: "Turns out, five years prior to the ‘Black Ice’ LP, AC/DC’s 15th studio release, Angus and Malcolm Young lived together where they literally wrote hundreds of songs, many were recorded and have been stashed away until now.
"Angus has decided to selected [sic] the best tracks from those recordings that Malcolm played on and is now back in the studio recording and mixing them with fellow band mates Phil Rudd, Cliff Williams and yes, Brian Johnson on vocals."
Rumours of the band working on their first record since 2014’s ‘Rock or Bust’ begin back in August 2018.
Brian and estranged drummer Phil Rudd were spotted at Vancouver’s Warehouse Studios, where the ‘Hells Bells’ rockers previously recorded several albums.
Their engineer Mike Fraser was later seen at the same studio and teased they were up to "something".
Dee Snider: AC/DC’s new album features Malcolm Young ‘surprises’
