The AC/DC album that FLOPPED HARDER Than Expected And Nearly Turned Into A FULL-BLOWN CRISIS

Back in Black is the album everyone knows. It’s the one that sold like crazy and turned AC/DC into a global powerhouse. But not every album had the same luck. Dig through their catalog, and one record quietly stands out for the wrong reasons.

It wasn’t one of their early ‘80s releases, when the band was still figuring things out after Bon Scott’s death.

The album with the weakest sales came much later, during a time when the group was facing a storm of problems both inside and outside the studio.

“Rock or Bust” dropped in 2014. It sold 2.8 million copies worldwide, which sounds impressive until you compare it to the band’s usual numbers.

For a group like AC/DC, those figures were well below expectations. The album was also their shortest, clocking in at just over 35 minutes.

Behind the scenes, things were falling apart.

• Drummer Phil Rudd was arrested shortly before the album came out. Authorities accused him of attempting to arrange a murder.
• Brian Johnson, the band’s longtime vocalist, had to quit mid-tour on doctor’s orders. Continuing to perform could have left him permanently deaf.
• The band brought in Axl Rose as a temporary frontman to finish the tour.

“Rock or Bust” became a symbol of chaos. From legal issues to sudden exits, the album’s cycle was more about surviving than thriving. It wasn’t a complete flop, but it lacked the impact fans expected from the group.

Things turned around a few years later. In 2020, AC/DC returned with Power Up, a record that felt more like the band people remembered. The lineup stabilized, the sound clicked, and critics saw it as a rebound.

Even in rough patches, AC/DC never really disappears. They’ve stumbled, lost members, and hit low points, but somehow, they keep plugging in and moving forward.

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