Wal-Mart announced that the latest album of the legendary rock band AC/DC will be available only in its stores. People will be able to buy the CD starting with October 20, 2008, but pre-orders will be accepted starting with Monday. Wal-Mart will also sell the band's latest DVD, entitled “No Bull Directors Cut.”

The latest AC/DC album comes after 8 years since their last one and is called “Black Ice.” The first single from the album, called “Rock 'n' Roll Train” will debut next week.

The moves comes as part of Wal-Mart's new strategy of getting exclusive distribution deals with the artists that are willing to do so. So far, bands like the Eagles and Journey have signed similar contracts, something that might cool their relation with other music distributors. However, the fact that they decided to sign such contracts and that Wal-Mart is the number one music retailer nationwide at this moment show that they have serious reasons to put their faith in it.

Wal-Mart announced that it will help promote the album and that it is expecting that the come back of the great rock band will generate serious revenues. AC/DC have a contract with Columbia Records, a label owned by Sony. It seems that the guys at Columbia have been the ones who negotiated the deal with the music retailer.

AC/DC released 17 albums so far and their activity has spanned over 35 years. “Black Ice” will be priced at $11.88.