AC/DC Singer Brian Johnson on Deafness Scare: “It’s Like Being Shot on the Battlefield”

AC/DC is opening up about singer Brian Johnson’s brush with deafness in a new interview in Rolling Stone.

“It was pretty serious. I couldn’t hear the tone of the guitars at all. It was a horrible kind of deafness,” Johnson said. “I was literally getting by on muscle memory and mouth shapes. I was starting to really feel bad about the performances in front of the boys, in front of the audience. It was crippling. There’s nothing worse than standing there and not being sure.”

He continued “The docs said, ‘Deaf is deaf, son.’ Cliff and Angus didn’t want to be responsible for me damaging my ears any further. . . S*** happens. At least it wasn’t terminal. It’s like being shot on the battlefield; it’s just your turn. I’ll be quite honest with you, I went to my office and buried my head in a bottle of whiskey, good whiskey. I didn’t feel too good myself about the whole thing. But that was then. With all bands and things, there are little bumps in the road.”

AC/DC’s new album, Power Up is set for release on November 13th.