Deep Purple has announced Splat!, a new studio album due July 3 via earMUSIC. The 13-track record is described as the heaviest Deep Purple album in many years, recorded with the band playing together live in the studio — their longstanding approach to tracking.
Once again teaming with producer Bob Ezrin — whose credits include Kiss, Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, and Alice Cooper — the current lineup of Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Don Airey, and Simon McBride has delivered what the band is billing as a direct continuation of the spirit that defined their classic early-1970s run.
Gillan said, “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 ’70s.”
On the album’s musical DNA, Gillan 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.”
The album’s conceptual framework was developed by Gillan. Rather than treating the end of humanity as an outright catastrophe, Splat! frames it as a transformation — a metamorphosis beyond physical existence. Further details around the concept will be revealed in the weeks leading up to the July 3 release.
To support the album, Deep Purple will extend their already substantial 2026 touring schedule with 86 shows across 28 countries on three continents. Gillan summed it up simply: “Deep Purple is in a great place right now.”
Splat! will be released in the following formats: CD (digisleeve); standard black 2LP gatefold (180g); limited purple 2LP gatefold (180g); limited transparent yellow 2LP gatefold (180g); and digital. A limited box set includes the 2LP gatefold, a CD digisleeve, a 12-page vinyl-sized booklet, three exclusive 10-inch vinyl records featuring live recordings from the band’s 2024 tour, and an exclusive 7-inch single of “Guinnesis” — a bonus track not included on the studio album.
Additional items available via the official artist store include a limited 2LP picture disc, a limited cassette, and a signed canvas edition limited to 199 copies worldwide. All LP editions include the 12-page LP-sized booklet with illustrations and full lyrics, available with the first pressing only.
Formed in 1968, Deep Purple has sold more than 120 million albums and toured globally for decades. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 and named the “Fifth Most Influential Band Ever” by British radio station Planet Rock. Splat! follows =1 (2024), Whoosh! (2020), inFinite (2017), and NOW What?! (2013), all produced with Ezrin.
