Deep Purple Announces 24th Album SPLAT! for July 3

Deep Purple, the British hard rock pioneers formed in 1968, announced their 24th studio album, SPLAT!, set for release on July 3 via earMUSIC. Described by the band as their heaviest effort in many years, the record reunites them with producer Bob Ezrin and features the current lineup of vocalist Ian Gillan, bassist Roger Glover, drummer Ian Paice, keyboardist Don Airey and guitarist Simon McBride, who joined in 2022.

Recorded with the band playing together live in the studio, SPLAT! draws on the raw energy of Deep Purple's early 1970s sound. Gillan, who conceived the album's central concept, said, "I have to say, now we are very much back in with material that is compatible with Highway Star, Smoke on the Water, Lazy, the dynamics, the balance, and the fun of the music we made from 69 to 73." He added that the album explores the end of humanity not as destruction but as transformation into something beyond physical existence, with further details to be revealed before release. Gillan also noted, "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," and summed up the band's outlook: "Deep...