Blog

Deep Purple has announced Splat!, a new studio album due July 3 via earMUSIC. The 13-track record is described as the heaviest Deep Purple album in many years, recorded with the band playing together live in the studio — their longstanding approach to tracking.

Once again teaming with producer Bob Ezrin — whose credits include Kiss, Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, and Alice Cooper — the current lineup of Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Don Airey, and Simon McBride has delivered what the band is billing as a direct continuation of the spirit that defined their classic early-1970s run.

Gillan said, “Where we are now with this incarnation of Deep Purple feels very much like a very ‘now’ version of Deep Purple as it was in the ’70s.”

On the album’s musical DNA, Gillan said: “I have to say, now we are very much back in with material that is compatible with ‘Highway Star,’ ‘Smoke On The Water,’ ‘Lazy’ — the dynamics, the balance, and the fun of the music we made from ’69 to ’73.”

The album’s conceptual framework was developed by Gillan. Rather than treating the end of humanity as an outright catastrophe, Splat! frames it as a transformation — a metamorphosis beyond physical existence. Further details around the concept will be revealed in the weeks leading up to the July 3 release.

To support the album, Deep Purple will extend their already substantial 2026 touring schedule with 86 shows across 28 countries on three continents. Gillan summed it up simply: “Deep Purple is in a great place right now.”

Splat! will be released in the following formats: CD (digisleeve); standard black 2LP gatefold (180g); limited purple 2LP gatefold (180g); limited transparent yellow 2LP gatefold (180g); and digital. A limited box set includes the 2LP gatefold, a CD digisleeve, a 12-page vinyl-sized booklet, three exclusive 10-inch vinyl records featuring live recordings from the band’s 2024 tour, and an exclusive 7-inch single of “Guinnesis” — a bonus track not included on the studio album.

Additional items available via the official artist store include a limited 2LP picture disc, a limited cassette, and a signed canvas edition limited to 199 copies worldwide. All LP editions include the 12-page LP-sized booklet with illustrations and full lyrics, available with the first pressing only.

Formed in 1968, Deep Purple has sold more than 120 million albums and toured globally for decades. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 and named the “Fifth Most Influential Band Ever” by British radio station Planet Rock. Splat! follows =1 (2024), Whoosh! (2020), inFinite (2017), and NOW What?! (2013), all produced with Ezrin.

The post DEEP PURPLE Announce New Album “Splat!” – Described As Their Heaviest Record In Years – Due July 3 Via earMUSIC appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Frontiers Music [Release date : 15.05.26] There can be few more explosive opening tracks than Von Groove’s ‘Once Is Not Enough’ from their self titled debut, 1992. 30 years later : they’ve got the band back together – Michael Shotton, … Continue reading →

The post Album review : VON GROOVE – Born To Rock appeared first on Get Ready to ROCK!.

Posted on May 6th 2026, 1:33p.m.

Recently, it seems you can throw a rock and hit a book about an overlooked punk rock scene. While punk rock has affected a good portion of the planet, each scene has its traits. While a lot of these traits can be traced back to either the New York or London scene, what’s evident is that a lot of the sentiments from the regionally cultivated scenes are universal. Thomas Michael Swenson’s book, Where’s Next, Columbus?: A Native Punk Mixtape, explores punk rock through a Native American lens. Pulling its title from not only a Crass song but also a Smithsonian Museum Exhibit that celebrated the incorrectly praised explorer, “Where’s Next, Columbus?” questions common assumptions about Native Americans, but it is not the focus. It doesn’t just re-contextualize punk as a whole as it relates to Native Americans, but also how it relates to sub-genres like hardcore, Oi!, and pop punk. 

Born into Alutiiq culture in Kodiak, Alaska, Thomas Michael Swenson gives us his bona fides on how he got into punk rock, starting with a box of records procured by his mom in exchange for controlled substances. In this collection of records, he found the Ramones’ album Rocket to Russia, along with a George Carlin record and lots of rock from the ’60s and ’70s. This, combined with repeated viewings of the punk rock film Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains, a film that featured members of the Clash and the Sex Pistols would provide Swenson’s punk rock foundation. While his mom was working, He would make mixtapes with tracks off these records. Something he continues to do at the beginning of each chapter, resulting in a playlist that makes reference to punk bands like The Germs and OFF!, but also makes room for Native American punk bands and their relation to punk rock as a whole whether they sound traditionally punk or not.

Swenson goes over what sets his region’s punk rock scene apart from others, such as James Cook’s monument, the colonial history, and their looming presence over the Native Americans who live in Alaska.  A show from Canadian Hardcore band DOA kind of set the scene on its path. It’s relatable as each region has that show or band that lit the powder keg, whether it be the Ramones first playing England or the Stooges playing for the first wave of punks. His arguments for punk rock are simple: punk is definitely political, and being born native is to be born into politics given the government’s treatment of Native Americans and the shrinking sovereignty they are experiencing.

Each chapter’s connective tissue is a little too transparent, but serves as a decent preview for what’s to come and even if each section’s thesis is stated too bluntly. Whether this is on purpose or not, it feels a little clunky mechanically, but works as a bit of a highlighter rather than a deterrent. While the text may be dense, as is par for the course on a lot of academic books, this keeps a reader from getting overloaded. In general, the actual mixtapes from each chapter are pretty cool. A good portion of these chapters center around a non-native setup, then provide their arguments using examples from Native American punk scenes across the country. Swenson shouts out a good number of bands, from old-school hardcore punks Skate Death, who played with DOA at that fateful show in Alaska, to Sub Pop artist Ya Tseen, and pop-punkers Friends of Cesar Romero.

While there have been a few academic books that seem to stretch their material, Where’s Next, Columbus?: A Native Punk Mixtape is not one of them. Each point is argued thoroughly without overdoing or repeating itself too much. Swenson’s experience and assertions regarding punk rock are more than valid and should translate well into other aspects of life and art, much like punk rock in general. If you are one of those people who feel like punk doesn’t have much to say, then you’re looking in the wrong places. Swenson’s book is a good place to start. Where’s Next, Columbus?: A Native Punk Mixtape by Thomas Michael Swenson is available through The University of Oklahoma Press.

Don Broco are hitting the road across the UK & EU this year, and they have announced the bands that are going to be joining them.

Kicking off in Antwerp on June 04, their European dates will see them team up with Snayx and Slay Squad.

After a well-deserved break, they’ll be back for those UK shows in September, where they’ll be joined by Unpeople and Ando San.

SEPTEMBER

28 – LINCOLN Engine Shed
29 – SHEFFIELD Octagon

OCTOBER

01 – EDINBURGH Corn Exchange, Edinburgh
02 – MANCHESTER Academy, Manchester
03 – LIVERPOOL Guild of Students
04 – NEWCASTLE City Hall
07 – BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy
10 – NORWICH UEA, Norwich
14 – BRISTOL The Prospect Building

These shows will be the first chance to see some of the songs from Broco’s latest album ‘Nightmare Tripping’ live.

If you still need to brush up on the lyrics, Rock Sound have an exclusive transparent green cassette edition of the album for you. Limited to just 300 units worldwide, you can pick yours up now – here.

The post Unpeople, Ando San & More To Support Don Broco On UK/EU Tour appeared first on Rock Sound.