Label: earMusic
Release date: July 3, 2026
Genre: Hard Rock / Art Rock
Production: Bob Ezrin
Album length: 50.24 min
Rating: 8.0/10
The hard rock patriarchs Deep Purple are among us once again with a new studio album, “SPLAT!”. With it they carry on a more-or-less established tradition of the past twenty years: goofy titles that we very much hope aren’t the various ‘morning sounds’ of individual members of this long-lived British band. Interjections and digital hieroglyphics (the previous album from 2024 was called “=1”) have obviously become their way of poking fun at typical members of the younger ‘digital’ generations, who can’t concentrate for more than three seconds and can only communicate in emoticons. According to vocal dignitary Ian Gillan, “SPLAT!” is the first-ever ‘deep purple’ pseudo-concept album, on which they play, in a typically unserious and cynical way, with possible scenarios of what would remain/emerge after the end of our world.
The lyrics this time have hit a new level of waggish clowning, which starts to get seriously tiring at times and doesn’t always come off as charming or particularly funny. It’s honestly hard to tell when the nearly 81-year-old Gillan is deliberately jumping, in these goofy lyrics, between the role of the good soldier Švejk, who mocks authority while purposely playing dumb (“The Lunatic” and “Scriblin’ Gib’rish”), and Benny Hill, who has just entered a third puberty while stalking young girls with ample curves (“Angry Boy” and “Jessica’s Bra”).
Those often dopey lyrics nevertheless don’t spoil the very solid musical picture of the album, which should leave no longtime fan disappointed. The old pals are still keeping their distinctive mix of hard rock, heavy metal and progressive rock, with more or less obvious bluesy touches, alive and kicking. Musically, this is one of the heaviest and rhythmically most wound-up albums in Deep Purple history, which you can hear already on the aforementioned opener “Angry Boy”, straight out of Gillan’s special handbook for third adolescence. You can tell right away that Simon McBride, on “SPLAT!”, a second album as a Deep Purple member, has become a much more confident guitarist and, besides ‘chasing’ iconoclastic phrases under the influence of both famous predecessors, indulges in some seriously slick solos. Legendary producer Bob Ezrin was behind the board again, though this time he contributed no songwriting assistance.
“Diablo” is a prime example of a representative track that could have turned up on any Deep Purple album of the last thirty years: cynically tinged vocals from Gillan, McBride’s ‘retro’-spiced guitar phrases, Airey’s playfully seasoned organ passages and the unmistakable sparkle of the legendary Glover-Paice rhythm section. “The Rider” is a lighter, more carefree number, while “The Lunatic”, which features a bravura organ solo, wades into gloomier, more ambient waters. Gillan lets off steam on it with vocal experiments and by playing different roles. Airey’s trademark Hammond organ sound is front and center on “The Only Horse in Town” too, while the biggest positive surprise is McBride’s solo in the second half, which completely changes the ambient nature of the song. “Sacred Land”, with a slight touch of Middle Eastern rhythms, has enough fun organ and guitar passages, despite its relatively short length, to come off as pleasing as a whole.
“The Beating of Wings” has a pronounced bluesy undertone and a thoroughly classic main guitar phrase that could have been written in any era of their rich history. “Guilt Trippin’” is among the more entertaining experiments on “SPLAT!”, with a cynical, witty vocal dialogue from Gillan between God and Charles Darwin on the topic of ‘which of us is more to blame for humanity going down the drain’. The legendary vocal champ also delivers the highest-reaching singing performance in quite a long while, though understandably it’s far from the standards of those screeching feats of younger years. The central motif is a very clever one too, and (intentionally or not) it’s a bit reminiscent of the main theme from the cult film trilogy ‘Back to the Future’.
On “Scriblin’ Gib’rish” Gillan slips back into the clownish role of the good soldier Švejk, while Airey and McBride once again shine with fun solo moves. The rhythm section hits at full tilt again, especially when it comes to Paice’s drum fills, which makes this one of the punchier tracks on “SPLAT!” The all-around lyrical blandness of “Jessica’s Bra”, where you can’t help thinking ‘what kind of perverted old geezers’, is rescued by the central, slightly Celtic-Irish-flavored motif, which is obviously McBride’s tribute to Northern Irish roots.
On “Third Call” too, the deep purple grandpas prove they can still be unusually punchy and fast when they want to be, and that there’s still enough youthful sparkle in them for some crafty solo feats. “My New Movie” is one of the less inspired moments on “SPLAT!”, where you can feel the band starting to run a little short on songwriting inspiration. The title track, on the other hand, comes off as a bit more fun, though it’s yet another pretty ‘typical’ and ‘cautious’ creation, which means it’s not among the better closing moments in the long and turbulent story of this indestructible band.
As a whole, “SPLAT!” is a very decent album that lands somewhere in the ‘golden middle’ of the vast Deep Purple discography, which will surely please all the longtime fans who aren’t hung up solely on the ‘golden era’ (the first half of the seventies). From the very first listen it’s clear this is a somewhat more mature effort than its predecessor “=1”, especially thanks to McBride’s newly found confidence and less worry about the long shadows of both legendary predecessors. By the way, right while this review was being written, sensational news went around the world: Ritchie Blackmore joined Deep Purple on stage during a show in New York on August 12, 2026, after 33 years, and took part in a performance of the evergreen “Smoke On the Water”. Miracles obviously do happen, and let’s hope Blackmore and Gillan, both past eighty (both born in 1945), have finally come to their senses, buried the hatchet and forgotten the old grudges and intrigues.
Author: Peter “Dr. ProgRock” Podbrežnik
Track list:
1. Arrogant Boy
2. Diablo
3. The Rider
4. The Lunatic
5. The Only Horse in Town
6. Sacred Land
7. The Beating of Wings
8. Guilt Trippin’
9. Scriblin’ Gib’rish
10. Jessica’s Bra
11. Third Call
12. My New Movie
13. Splat!
Line-up:
Ian Gillan – vocals
Roger Glover – bass guitar
Ian Paice – drums
Don Airey – keyboards
Simon McBride – guitar
Guest musicians:
Keith Urban – guitar on track no. 2
Bob Ezrin – backing vocals
