It has been a while since we heard rumblings out of the AC/DC camp, but it looks like that's about to change. In a new interview, singer Brian Johnson divulged the group's plans for the year, which involve a new album, their first since 2008's 'Black Ice.'

Johnson gave a call to 98.7 the Gater, where he's taking part in the Palm Beach Grand Prix. About six minutes in, he spilled the beans to Andy Preston. "Well, you'll be the first one to know," he said. "Really, because we've been denying anything, 'cause we weren't sure...But I think we'll be going into the studio in May in Vancouver. Which means, we should be getting ready."

Along with the new album news -- and we're assuming a bit, but if there's one group that seems determined to stick to the album format instead of recording stand-alone singles, it's them -- came word that the band are looking to put together a special tour to celebrate their 40th anniversary. "It's been 40 years of the band's existence," he continued. "So I think we're gonna try to do 40 gigs, 40 shows, to thank the fans for their undying loyalty. I mean, honestly, our fans are just the best in the world, and we appreciate every one of them. So, like I said, we'll have to go out, even though we're getting a bit long in the tooth. You know what?! It's been four years [since we last went out on the road], and I'm really looking forward to it."

One of the reasons for the delay was that one of its members had suffered some serious health issues a few years ago. Neither the identity of the musician nor the illness was disclosed. Last March, bassist Cliff Williams said that Malcolm and Angus Young had started to write new material.