If 2024’s =1 represented a significant return to relevance for Deep Purple (now firmly entrenched in their Mark IX incarnation), then Splat!, their 24th studio album, confirms beyond question that they’re currently enjoying yet another golden age.
Inevitably, time’s passage has to be respected. Ian Gillan made a conscious decision to eschew screaming at the very peak of his range at 60, and in the intervening 17 years he’s cannily fine-tuned the subtler qualities of his instrument to excellent effect. Today’s Gillan is a true exemplar of refined rock vocal maturity: his rich, confident tones masterfully suggest searing passion in lieu of ripping his voice box to shreds while shattering every single spectacle lens in the front five rows.
That said, some of Purple’s more spectacular and lengthy excesses don’t entirely translate outside their pomp; the key question isn’t so much whether one could sing Child In Time in 2026 as whether one should. Technically speaking, instrumentalists customarily enjoy a far longer shelf life, and the remainder of the Purps, not least the evergreen Ian Paice, remain at the top of their game. Simon McBride continues to add a contemporary virtuoso flavour to his blessedly concise guitar work, while Roger Glover (bass) and Don Airey (keyboards) provide driving rhythmic power and ingenious melodic interest with equal unfailing aplomb.
As with Alice Cooper, the often unsung hero of latter-day Purple’s arguably unlikely return to vintage form is =1/Splat! producer Bob Ezrin, a commercial-eared past master of astute editing who’s pretty much untouchable when it comes to steering stalled rock careers out of instinctively self-indulgent cult status and into the mainstream
Where Splat! ultimately improves on =1 is that while compounding the impression of a new, improved Mark IX Purple (freshness, concision, engaging narrative lyrics seasoned with Gillan’s sometimes surrealistic wit and imagery), it’s also laced with unmistakable echoes of Mark II and III. Of Splat!’s 13 tracks there’s barely a stumble. Jessica’s Bra with its laboured titular pun is possibly a wee bit too 20th-century for its own good, but hey, who among us isn’t? Elsewhere it’s only a succession of highlights: Arrogant Boy is a compelling second cousin to Highway Star, Diablo as gloriously mad as a tree, and Splat! itself an irresistible groove.
In many ways, Splat! captures the very best Purple one could possibly expect to hear in 2026. Pretty good cover as well. They’ll go far.
Deep Purple discuss the making of Splat! in the new issue of Classic Rock.