AC DC will not be welcoming drummer Phil Rudd back into the band after a charge of attempting to procure murder by New Zealand police was dropped last week (ends07Nov14).

Guitarist Angus Young admits he's relieved Rudd's crime has been reduced to one charge of threatening to kill as well as possession of meth and marijuana, but there's no place for the rocker in the band as it plots a new world tour.

Speaking to USA Today, bassist Cliff Williams reveals that he and his bandmates feared Rudd could not be relied upon as they started work on a new album and planned a major trek for 2015, stating, "It put us in a difficult situation. It put us in a spot where we couldn't move forward. Does the guy show up? Is he reliable to do his job in good shape? We've always been a solid, reliable unit."

And Young adds, "He's a great drummer, and he's done a lot of stuff for us. But he seems to have let himself go. He's not the Phil we've known from the past... I can only say, from our perspective, that the guy needs to sort himself out."

Rudd was replaced by drummer Bob Richards for the filming of Ac Dc's new video Play Ball.