AC/DC Tacoma Dome show to salute those about to rock

It’s time to dust off those devil horns.

The de rigueur concert accessory for all AC/DC fans will come in handy when the Aussie rockers kick off the next leg of their “Rock or Bust” tour Tuesday (Feb. 2) at the Tacoma Dome.

Thousands of the plastic, red-glowing head pieces (available at merch booths) will set the tone for the band’s latest concert marathon, featuring songs from the group’s 17th studio album, “Rock or Bust,” released in 2014.

The album’s debut single, “Play Ball,” was released in the fall of 2014, demonstrating the veteran band is still capable of creating guitar-shredding anthems.

The set list for the tour also features such headbanging classics as “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,” “Highway to Hell” and “Back in Black.”

“Rock or Bust” was the first album without co-founder Malcolm Young, who left the band in 2014 after developing dementia and becoming too ill to perform.

The current lineup features Malcolm Young’s brother, lead guitarist Angus Young, and raspy-voiced lead singer Brian Johnson, as well as Cliff Williams, Chris Slade and Steve Young, Malcolm Young’s nephew. Former AC/DC drummer Slade has replaced Phil Rudd, who has had serious legal and personal problems.

AC/DC is one of rock’s most successful bands, with worldwide sales of more than 200 million records — nearly 72 million in the U.S. alone. Band co-founder Angus Young, dressed in his schoolboy jacket and shorts, regularly draws howls of delight from fans with his madcap antics and damn-the-decibels riffs.

In 2012, the band was the subject of a touring exhibit titled “AC/DC: Australia’s Family Jewels.” The exhibit was on display for months at EMP Museum.

In an essay for Rolling Stone magazine, producer Rick Rubin heaped praise on the group, calling AC/DC “the greatest rock and roll band of all time.”

“A great band like Metallica could play an AC/DC song note for note, and they still wouldn’t capture the tension and release that drive the music,” wrote Rubin.

When AC/DC played last April at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., it was the band’s first show in six years (not counting an appearance at the 57th annual Grammy Awards).

The current tour will no doubt draw a new generation of fans eager to experience the metal mania that has entertained legions of their forebears. The classic “For Those About to Rock We Salute You” will sound as if it was written especially for them.

Just in case all those devil horns inspire devilish behavior, the Tacoma Dome is laying down the law. Metal detectors will be used at all entrances, backpacks and large bags will be banned, and bags of any size will be subject to search.