Deep Purple is releasing a brand-new album this summer.
The band — Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Don Airey and Simon McBride — will drop their 24th studio album, SPLAT!, on July 3, described in a press release as “the heaviest Deep Purple album in many years.”
“I have to say, now we are very much back in with material that is compatible with ‘Highway Star,’ ‘Smoke on the Water,’ and ‘Lazy,’ the dynamics, the balance, and the fun of the music we made from ’69 to ’73,” says frontman Gillan. “Where we are now with this incarnation of Deep Purple feels very much like a very ‘now’ version of Deep Purple as it was in the seventies.”
The album explores the idea of the end of humanity as a transformation rather than a destruction, with the description noting it sees the end “not in any crude apocalyptic sense but as a metamorphosis beyond physical existence.”
SPLAT! will be released in a variety of formats, including CD, two-LP and a limited box set. All formats are available for preorder now.
Here is the track list for SPLAT!:
“Arrogant Boy”
“Diablo”
“The Rider”
“The Lunatic”
“The Only Horse In Town”
“Sacred Land”
“The Beating Of Wings”
“Guilt Trippin'”
“Scriblin' Gib'rish”
“Jessica's Bra”
“Third Call”
“My New Movie”
“Splat!”