DEEP PURPLE Rekindles The Magic With “SPLAT!”

BAND: DEEP PURPLE
ALBUM: SPLAT!
LABEL: earMUSIC
RELEASE DATE: July 3, 2026
RATING: ★★★★☆

Review by William David Scott

Deep Purple is a band that has survived every catastrophe known to mankind. It’s been the end of the world so many times for this band since 1968, and they just keep coming back stronger. Their new album, “SPLAT!,” is their heaviest album in years and their sixth collaboration with legendary producer Bob Ezrin. On “SPLAT!,” the band gets back to classic-rock basics; playing together live in the studio, as they have done many times in the past.

With “SPLAT!," the ’70s DEEP PURPLE has returned. This record has that “Highway Star”/“Smoke on the Water” feel without Ritchie Blackmore, but he is no longer needed to complete DEEP PURPLE. The mother dough from ’68 is still mixed into the band’s creative force.

Ian Gillan still belts it out when he has to, and guitarist Simon McBride plays like he came straight out of the ’70s hard-rock era. Roger Glover’s bass and Ian Paice’s drums have been rolling off each other like well-oiled ball bearings in a rhythm-section machine for decades, holding the entire thing together. Don Airey sounds like he has always been DEEP PURPLE’s keyboard player.

“The Rider” and “The Only Horse in Town” should be played on the radio right next to the band’s classics, but “Guilt Trippin’” is their best music since “Perfect Strangers.” This is where the band is at its best, grooving together with that classic signature DP sound.

“SPLAT!” succeeds in reviving the classic sound of the band for the modern age. This needs to be part of your DEEP PURPLE collection.