The psychedelic, prog and classic rock legends Deep Purple have returned. And boy, have they come back heavy. The rock legends are best known for their hard rock edge, especially on classics like ‘Smoke On The Water’ (you know the riff), and ‘Highway Star’. With the newest release, SPLAT!, they have re-emerged with that sound, and it sounds great. So, let’s not waste any time with too much preamble, let’s just hear the bloody record (that’s what we’re all here for).

The opening track, ‘Arrogant Boy’ just throws us in the deep end, hard riffs, rapid beat, and that organ slamming is great. With Ian Gillan’s vocals, it doesn’t sound like the band have lost their shine. And Simon McBride does a great job on guitar; it really does sound like the 70s Deep Purple are back. ‘Diablo’ keeps on with that classic hard rock sound, but especially that organ from Don Airey, it’s such an iconic noise, and it certainly still holds up well today. And once again, the guitar work from McBride is shining through. Two great tracks to get the album going. ‘The Rider’ sounds menacing, the riff is unrelenting to begin with. The lyrics are a bit odd, “I want some Heel Clickers/After my Doughnut/A couple of Lip Lickers” but luckily the band are carrying the track strong with the instrumentals, so the attention on sweet treats is minimal. McBride has another fun solo in this one too, always a pleasure for the ears.

‘The Lunatic’ is a cool, badass sounding track. the riff, both organ and guitar, sounds like something out chase scene, it’s suspenseful and unyielding. Towards the end of the track, both McBride and Airey have a bit of a duel with the organ and guitar, and it sounds great. ‘The Only Horse In Town’ is one of those sluggish, clunky riff tracks, one you’d imagine a Hell’s Angel biker gang turning up to a bar and it’s playing from a radio. It’s a little bit lacklustre compared to the other tracks so far, but McBride still manages to give it some shine with a great solo. ‘Sacred Land’ starts with some interesting sounding keyboard, before it all kicks off with that thumping beat from Ian Paice. It sounds almost like light prog, especially with that keyboard solo in the middle, followed by McBride playing his heart out.

‘The Beating of Wings’ is another slow burner, the riff is greasy, the keyboard organ is pure 70s rock, it sounds brilliant. It’s just a cool track, Gillan gives a great vocal on it too. ‘Guilt Trippin’ starts with some melodic piano from Airey, before being joined by this serenading guitar from McBride. Then the song explodes, heavy Deep Purple make their return. Gillan and Bob Ezrin with backing vocals, both making the track scream. And Airey is going for it big time on the keyboard. McBride provides some great guitar work towards the end too, an all round great track. ‘Scriblin’ Gib’rish’ is next, and it carries a menacing riff and beat to start with. It appears to be some commentary about modern slang, how everyone is talking rubbish essentially. It does have some fun keyboard work and great guitar again from McBride. The next title is a questionable one, ‘Jessica’s Bra’. It starts with an almost sea shanty sounding melody, before switching back to that clunky rock riff pattern. It’s a bit catchy. And the outro is great, Airey jamming out on piano.

‘Third Call’ starts with some almost prog sounding organ, before turning into this slow, cool sounding classic rock tune. McBride provides possibly his best sounding guitar work on the album too, it’s brilliant. ‘My New Movie’ is another classic sounding track, the keyboard and guitar providing that 70s rock sound. It feels like Deep Purple from the past have time travelled and this is the result. It’s a proper rocker track, and a good one at that. The final track ‘Splat!’, feels like a theme tune. The riff is creeping low, the beat is slowly pumping, the organ trails along in a similar pattern. It is a good track to close the album to, feels like the credits are rolling as this blasts out the speakers.

And that brings the end Deep Purple’s latest entry into rock history, SPLAT!, another album that doesn’t fail to satisfy fans of the band and of rock in general. It showcases the great talent of Simon McBride on guitar and Don Airey’s fantastic keyboard playing, along with Ian Gillan’s vocals providing that classic rock voice, even if it is sightly aged. If you like Deep Purple, and classic rock in general, you will love this album.

Deep Purple: SPLAT! – Released 3 July 2026 (earMUSIC)

PURPLE – ARROGANT BOY (Official Video)