Deep Purple have announced a new album titled Splat!, with a world tour to follow later in the year.
The legendary rock band, led by vocalist Ian Gillan, will release their 24th studio record on 3 July.
Splat! is described as one of the group’s heaviest albums in several years.
“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,” Gillan told NME.
“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. Deep Purple is in a great place right now.”
The band are also heading out on an extensive 86-date world tour later this year, which kicks off in Finland on 11 June and wraps on 19 December in Mexico City.
French and British dates are in November, including two nights in London on 24th and 25th.
Last year, Gillan revealed he was losing his eyesight and said that retirement was “not far off”.
“It’s one of those things. I’ve only got 30 per cent vision,” he told NME at the time.
“That won’t get better. It makes life mysterious. The hardest thing is working on my laptop. I can’t see anything on the screen unless I use my peripheral vision – I pick up a line by looking at it sideways. But you find a way. You adapt.”
