Article Contributed by SRO
Published on 2026-05-06
OUT JULY 3 ON earMUSIC
DEEP PURPLE will release their new studio album SPLAT! on July 3 via earMUSIC. The band — Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Don Airey, and Simon McBride — has once again teamed up with renowned producer Bob Ezrin (KISS, Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, Alice Cooper) to craft what they describe as their heaviest album in many years. Pre-order starts today; click HERE.
Recorded with the band playing together live in the studio — the way DEEP PURPLE have traditionally worked throughout their legendary career — SPLAT! draws on the sound, attitude, dynamics, and chemistry that defined the band’s classic early-'70s era.
“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 Ian 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.”
At the heart of SPLAT! is an idea conceived by Gillan himself. Rather than treating the end as destruction, the album imagines it as transformation, exploring the end of humanity not through apocalyptic imagery but as a metamorphosis beyond physical existence.
Additional details surrounding the album concept are expected to emerge in the coming weeks, with new music from SPLAT! arriving soon.
To celebrate the release, DEEP PURPLE will continue an enormous 2026 touring schedule featuring no fewer than 86 shows across 28 countries and three continents. The run includes appearances at Hellfest, Montreux Jazz Festival, and extensive North American, European, South American, and UK arena dates.
With more than 120 million albums sold since forming in 1968, DEEP PURPLE remain one of the defining forces in hard rock history. Rather than simply preserving their legacy, the band continues to expand it more than five decades into their career.
Ian Gillan sums it up simply:
“DEEP PURPLE is in a great place right now.”
SPLAT! Track Listing
Side A
1. Arrogant Boy
2. Diablo
3. The Rider
4. The Lunatic
Side B
5. The Only Horse In Town
6. Sacred Land
7. The Beating Of Wings
Side C
8. Guilt Trippin'
9. Scriblin' Gib'rish
10. Jessica's Bra
Side D
11. Third Call
12. My New Movie
13. Splat!
SPLAT! will be available in multiple formats, including limited edition vinyl variants, deluxe box sets, picture discs, cassette editions, and exclusive merchandise bundles. The deluxe box set includes three exclusive 10-inch live vinyl records from the DEEP PURPLE Tour 2024 and an exclusive bonus single, “GUINNESIS.”
ABOUT DEEP PURPLE
There simply aren’t enough superlatives to properly acknowledge DEEP PURPLE’s contribution to rock music. Having sold more than 120 million albums and filled arenas around the world for decades, the band were named the “5th Most Influential Band Ever” by Planet Rock, received the “Legend Award” at the 2008 World Music Awards, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.
The celebrated MKII lineup of Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Jon Lord, and Ritchie Blackmore helped create many of the defining hard rock albums of the early 1970s, including Made in Japan, widely regarded as one of the greatest live albums ever recorded.
The band’s recent studio releases — NOW What?! (2013), inFinite (2017), Whoosh! (2020), and =1 (2024) — all reunited DEEP PURPLE with producer Bob Ezrin, continuing a late-career creative resurgence that now leads into SPLAT!.
MAD IN EUROPE TOUR DATES
11 JUN 2026 – Espoo, Finland – Espoo Metro Arena
12 JUN 2026 – Tampere, Finland – Nokia Arena
14 JUN 2026 – Kristiansand, Norway – Dirty Old Town Live – Odderoya Amfi
18 JUN 2026 – Clisson, France – Hellfest – SOLD OUT
20 JUN 2026 – Meppen, Germany – Emsland Open Air
24 JUN 2026 – Mönchengladbach, Germany – SparkassenPark
27 JUN 2026 – Coburg, Germany – HUK Coburg Open Air, Schlossplatz
28 JUN 2026 – Ulm, Germany – Klosterhof Wiblingen
02 JUL 2026 – Vigo, Spain – Conciertos de Castrelos, Auditorio Castrelos
04 JUL 2026 – Gredos, Ávila, Spain – Músicos en la Naturaleza
05 JUL 2026 – Pamplona, Spain – Navarra Arena
07 JUL 2026 – Valencia, Spain – Jardines de Viveros
09 JUL 2026 – Marbella, Spain – Starlite
10 JUL 2026 – Cádiz, Spain – Tío Pepe
13 JUL 2026 – Montreux, Switzerland – Montreux Jazz Festival
16 JUL 2026 – Pisa, Italy – Pisa Summer Knights – Piazza Dei Cavalieri
17 JUL 2026 – Este, Italy – Este Music Festival – Castello Carrarese
19 JUL 2026 – Munich, Germany – Tollwood Festival
SPLAT! WORLD TOUR DATES
04 AUG 2026 – Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater
06 AUG 2026 – Memphis, TN – Memphis Botanic Garden
08 AUG 2026 – Clearwater, FL – The BayCare Sound
09 AUG 2026 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Casino
12 AUG 2026 – Wantagh, NY – Jones Beach Theater
13 AUG 2026 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
15 AUG 2026 – Halifax, NS – Scotiabank Centre
17 AUG 2026 – Laval, QC – Place Bell
18 AUG 2026 – Toronto, ON – RBC Amphitheatre
19 AUG 2026 – Ottawa, ON – Canadian Tire Centre
21 AUG 2026 – Detroit, MI – Pine Knob
22 AUG 2026 – Salamanca, NY – Seneca Allegany Casino
24 AUG 2026 – Indianapolis, IN – Everwise Amphitheatre
25 AUG 2026 – Highland Park, IL – Ravinia
27 AUG 2026 – Prior Lake, MN – Mystic Lake Casino
29 AUG 2026 – Winnipeg, MB – Canada Life Centre
31 AUG 2026 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome
02 SEP 2026 – Abbotsford, BC – Abbotsford Centre
04 SEP 2026 – Lincoln, CA – Thunder Valley
05 SEP 2026 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre
06 SEP 2026 – Highland, CA – Yaamava Theatre
08 SEP 2026 – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
10 SEP 2026 – Las Vegas, NV – Planet Hollywood
11 SEP 2026 – Long Beach, CA – Long Beach Amphitheater
12 SEP 2026 – Sparks, NV – Nugget Event Center
Tickets and Album Information Available Here
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