Purple - SPLAT!

Why transform humanity when we could simply accept it? This question haunts Splat!, the 24th studio album by Deep Purple, released on July 3, 2026, on earMUSIC. Beyond a simple collection of songs, this album presents itself as a snapshot of a band in the midst of change, where the end is no longer envisioned as a brutal, apocalyptic destruction, but rather as a transformation beyond physical existence. It is Ian Gillan who imagines this central concept: instead of mourning the fall, the band chooses to write about the transformation. To achieve this, they opted for a radical approach, abandoning any pre-established plan from the beginning of the creative process between 2024 and 2026.

Heavy & Libre: A tribute to classics through improvisation without a plan

Listening to this album immediately reveals a return to the powerful, heavy sound that characterized the band's golden era, reminiscent of Highway Star, Smoke on the Water, or even Lazy. This return to their roots is not just a nostalgic gesture, but the result of an organic process based on long sessions of live improvisation. Produced by Bob Ezrin, a legendary figure who has worked with Alice Cooper, Kiss, and Pink Floyd since Now What?! in 2013, the production draws its power from this freedom of execution. The album was recorded at Sound Studio in Nashville after a pre-production phase at Soudcheck, before being mixed at Anarchy Studios in Nashville and Toronto, ensuring a sound quality suitable for this return to the fundamentals of hard rock.

Arrogant Boy, Diablo, Guilt Trippin': the three singles launched in 2026

The album's promotion followed a precise and ambitious schedule starting in May 2026. The first single, Arrogant Boy, was released on May 12th, along with its music video, serving as a visual and auditory hook for this new chapter. Two weeks later, on June 5th, Diablo was released, followed by Guilt Trippin' on June 23rd, each also accompanied by its respective music video. These three tracks form a launch trilogy that prepares the listener for the density of the album. They illustrate the group's ability to maintain a narrative tension while also offering tracks with immediate energy. This gradual release strategy allows the audience to gradually embrace the concept of transformation before the official release of the album, which officially came out on July 3rd after its announcement on May 6th.

Splat!: A group photo between Nashville and physical formats

The album follows Chill Out, released the previous year, and marks the second studio album produced with this new lineup, thus consolidating a renewed band dynamic while maintaining the stylistic coherence initiated by its predecessor, 1. Deep Purple's trajectory here demonstrates how the integration of a new instrumentalist harmonizes with the central concept envisioned by Ian Gillan, transforming the end of humanity not into a destructive event, but into a metamorphosis beyond physical existence. The promotional strategy was implemented with surgical precision starting in May 2026, three weeks before the official release of the album. The release of video clips for Arrogant Boy, Diablo, and Guilt Trippin' served as a direct visual interface between the listener and the concept of transformation, creating a narrative bridge even before access to the raw recordings made in Nashville. This approach allows the audience to gradually engage with the themes addressed on track 13, Splat!, which concludes a total journey of 50 minutes and 30 seconds. The album is distinguished by its dense sonic architecture, where each track, from the first to the last minute, contributes to an organic exploration born from long improvisation sessions without a predetermined plan. The production of Splat! is part of a historical continuity marked by the return of Bob Ezrin as producer, a key collaborator who has accompanied the band since the Now What?! album in 2013. This collaboration with the rock legend is not insignificant: Ezrin is known for his work with giants like Alice Cooper, Kiss, and Pink Floyd, bringing here a proven technical expertise to a project that explicitly aims to regain the balance and pleasure characteristic of the 1969-1973 period. The artistic approach is entirely based on live improvisation, without a predetermined plan in advance, a process in which Ian Gillan has established himself as the guiding force for the entire vocal performance within a raw material generated during long recording sessions. The album was designed as a conceptual metamorphosis rather than an apocalyptic narrative, exploring the end of humanity through a prism of transformation beyond physical existence. After a pre-production phase at Soudcheck in Nashville, the recording sessions took place at Sound Studio in the same city, before mixing at Anarchy Studios in Nashville and Toronto. This dense sonic architecture spans thirteen tracks for a total duration of 50 minutes and 30 seconds, offering a journey from the opening track Arrogant Boy to the closing track Splat!. The album is available in various physical formats, including a limited edition box set including recordings from the 2024 tour and a 7-inch CD containing the previously unreleased track Guinnesis, highlighting the band's ambition to maintain a tangible dimension despite its status as an active player in the contemporary hard rock scene. Beyond the ephemeral tracks, Splat! stands out for its physical presence and sonic architecture. The album features thirteen tracks for a total duration of 50 minutes and 30 seconds, offering a coherent listening experience that extends from the opening track Arrogant Boy to the closing track Splat!. This work is offered in a multitude of physical formats: double black, violet, or transparent yellow vinyl, digisleeve CD, picture disc, and cassette. For the most demanding collectors, a limited edition box set is available, including recordings from the 2024 tour as well as a 7-inch CD containing the previously unreleased track Guinnesis. This diversity of formats testifies to the band's ambition to maintain a tangible and artisanal dimension, even in a musical context dominated by digital media. With this twenty-fourth studio album, Deep Purple confirms its status as an active player, proving that it can still surprise by reinventing its own history without falling into nostalgia.

Technical specifications

- Release date : July 3, 2026 - Label : earMUSIC - Tracks : 13 (50 minutes 30 seconds) - Opening / closing : Arrogant Boy / Splat! - Previous album : Chill Out (2025)