When we last heard from Deep Purple, they’d just released their heaviest album in recent memory, =1, and got our comment section, both on here and Facebook alike, all up in arms over us branding them a metal band (What else could they be? A polka act?!). The nitpicking of chronically online music elitists and my smartass retorts aside, Purple, armed with their latest six-string sensation, Simon McBride, have decided to take the next logical step in their musical evolution, embarking upon an album that was lauded for months leading up to its release as “their heaviest in many years”. Their words, not mine! Take that you, “PuRpLe IsN’t MeTaL” nerds!
Admittedly, Splat!, the 24th studio album in the Purple canon, isn’t a “heavy for the sake of heaviness” affair along the lines of 1970’s masterpiece Deep Purple in Rock. Rather it’s musically heavy to compliment the album’s heavy subject matter: A pseudo-concept album chronicling mankind’s eventual physical end, albeit with the hope of a metaphysical rebirth, or something like that. I’m not sure how some of these tunes fall into said narrative, but at the end of the day, that’s for Ian Gillan to know and us to ponder under the glow of blacklight and a cannabis-scented haze, as if it were the heavy ’70s all over again.
Although heaviness doesn’t always equal greatness, Splat! is an album on which its strongest moments happen to be its heaviest. The opening “Arrogant Boy” comes storming out of the gate like a ripping proto-speed metal rager straight out of ’71. Like I said regarding =1, McBride’s playing style is much closer to Ritchie Blackmore than Steve Morse, resulting in the traditional hard and heavy sound synonymous with Purple. Don Airey’s keys match the frantic intensity of the guitars, while the unshakeable rhythm section of Roger Glover and Ian Paice keep things smooth and steady amidst this musical maelstrom. At 80, Gillan makes due with what he’s got, which is unmistakable tone and lyricism that’s more gloriously daft than ever before (more on that momentarily).
The front half of Splat! bounces between songs which do the band’s nearly 60 year legacy proud, like the Perfect Strangers-tinged “The Rider” and mesmerizingly exotic “Sacred Land”, but also moments that could pass as Morse era leftovers at best (“The Only Horse in Town”, “The Beating of Wings”). It isn’t until my choice cut, the forceful “Guilt Tripin'” (on which Gillan dusts off his Born Again vocals for one more go-around), that the album really takes a turn for the dramatic, rampaging, and, well, heavy. As absurdly titled as “Scriblin’ Gib’rish” and “Jessica’s Bra” are, they genuinely come off as modernized reimaginings of the Mk. II days, similar to the approach of fellow Brits and tourmates, Judas Priest, on their recent albums (old school formula, new school production aspects). “Third Call” packs a more subtle metallic thud, à la “Diablo”, which is almost derailed by the cocktail lounge maneuvers of “My New Movie”. Thankfully, the closing title track brings the album to am intense, swaggering end, at some points almost sounding Mk. III-esque (Don’t tell Gillan and Glover!).
From top to bottom, I’m digging Splat! roughly as much as every other Purple album of my lifetime, and certainly those I’ve reviewed during the duration of this site. These cats can still play their instruments and write a kickin’ heavy rocker or two, even if there are a handful that I could personally do without. With that being said, the highs on Splat! are higher than those on =1 (Those were some HIGH highs!), and I hope future releases hone further in on this classic Purple-hued metal sound. And before you say, “But Joe, this band boasts two octogenarians! Isn’t it way too soon to be talking about ANOTHER album?”, Ian Paice would beg to differ. This “Fireball” of a band simply cannot be stopped.
7 out of 10
Label: earMUSIC
Genre: Heavy Metal/Hard Rock
For fans of: Uriah Heep, Blue Öyster Cult, Black Sabbath
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