If Chris Slade is no longer the drummer for AC/DC, someone ought to let him know.

A renowned hired gun who's worked with dozens of major artists in his career, Slade is best known for the time he spent with AC/DC from 1989 - 1994 and for playing drums on the band's watershed Razor's Edge album in 1990.

Slade returned to AC/DC in 2015 for its 'Rock or Bust' tour, but he admits that it's unclear whether he's still on the payroll or not.

AC/DC is famously staid when it comes to communicating with the media, but Slade gives the impression that the band takes more or less the same tact when it comes to communicating with him.

Although there's lots of evidence suggesting that Phil Rudd will be part of whatever AC/DC does next, Slade hasn't heard anything from the band.

"To my absolute knowledge — and this is me being absolutely honest — I am the current drummer in AC/DC," he told Rolling Stone with a laugh. "It may sound deluded to some people. I've said that before in interviews and people have gone, 'The man is deluded. He's lost it. He doesn't know what he's talking about.'"

But Slade, aware of the rumors about AC/DC's forthcoming new album, says he has complete clarity on the issue:

"Nobody has ever called me and said, 'By the way, you're not the current drummer' or, 'By the way, Phil's been in the band for three years,'" he added. "Nobody has ever said that. As far as I'm concerned ...God, I'm philosophical enough to realize that Phil may well be back in the band. I have no idea. I had no idea last time when they called me before 'Rock Or Bust.' I'm open to all possibilities. That's the way people should be, open-minded."

Two years ago, the members of AC/DC's last touring outfit, Angus Young, Stevie Young and bassist Cliff Williams, were spotted at a recording studio in Vancouver with Rudd and longtime frontman Brian Johnson (who was replaced by Axl Rose on the 'Rock or Bust' tour due to health problems).

People close to the band have confirmed that there is indeed a new album, which was built around unreleased guitar parts recorded by the band's late-co-founder Malcolm Young.

Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider, a close friend to Johnson, recently said that the new album will be a "miracle of technology," reuniting the classic lineup of the band for one final album.

Slade has been left out of the loop, seemingly, since his last day on tour with AC/DC.

When he was asked by Chris Jericho in the summer of 2018 if AC/DC planned on making a new album, he replied, "Angus knows what's going to happen, and he's the only person, to my knowledge, who knows this stuff."

Photo: Getty Images

Coe Lewis

About Coe Lewis