The Edge is promising a revitalized-sounding U2 for its next studio set. The band will drop its new 40-track Songs Of Survival collection on March 17th — but have already begin plotting their next move, which will feature “big electric guitars.”

During a chat with The Telegraph, the guitarist explained, “I’m not sure U2 are going to turn into AC/DC exactly. I’ll still be trying to find ways to use the instrument that are new and unfamiliar. But I’m absolutely convinced that the guitar is going to be front and center within mainstream music culture in a year or two, and I want to be part of that revival. . . I don’t think there’s any chance of the future drying up! I’ve been working on (other) new stuff in parallel that’s much more vital and requires a U2 band sound to fulfill it.”

The Edge laughed as he touched upon his connection with Bono, which along with the rest of the band, marks one of rock’s most long lasting and dedicated partnerships: “Of course Bono gets too much for me sometimes! I’m sure I drive him mad, as well. If that wasn’t the case, I think we would be doing a disservice to each other, because it’s in the realm where we push each other, challenge each other, annoy the hell out of each other, that you know there’s something going on. If you never get to that place, dude, you don’t really have a proper ­creative relationship.”

Regarding drummer Bram van den Berg sitting in for Larry Mullen, Jr. during the band’s upcoming Las Vegas residency following his back surgery and recovery, The Edge said, “No one is more disappointed than us that Larry won’t be joining us in Vegas. . . We made a commitment. In the history of U2, you can count the shows we’ve missed on the fingers of one hand. . . The people who are going to miss Larry the most, I think, will be Bono, Adam (Clayton) and myself. It’ll be strange to turn around and not see him behind us after all these years. But the shows will be amazing.”

The Edge told us that U2 has never been comfortable resting on its laurels and has always felt most natural when stepping out on a limb: “In some ways that sense of jeopardy is a good thing. I would hate if we ever lost our great ability to screw up. It’s an important part of what the band is. We’ve never fallen afoul to the risks of becoming too professional or, indeed, over-rehearsing (laughs). Those two things we’ve managed to avoid up ’til now.”