![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/paice1.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/morse.jpg)
Billy couldn’t read or write
The first single from the upcoming new album Splat! is supposed to be landing on May 12, 2026, at 6:00pm BST, and little birdie tells us that it may or may not be Arrogant Boy.
Thanks to Tim and the little birdie for the heads-up.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Purple are doing this – keeping us in suspense – the most intriguing way 😃
The secs I’ve heard sent me right back to the time when I first heard In Rock
May 12th, 2026 at 04:51☺️
Looks like something leaked, and it seems that all the lyrics from the new Deep Purple album are already here: https://genius.com/albums/Deep-purple/Splat
— including the one about… Jessica’s Bra:
“And if you want to know what happened to the the funny little fella
He’s being educated at a session in the cellar
And if you’re still a’wondrin’ where on earth you are
Tell your friends you’re having the time of your life… In Jessica’s Bra
In Jessica’s Bra”
🙂
May 12th, 2026 at 09:48One Polish web radio is engaged in the promotion of “Splat!”, so they played “Arrogant Boy” an hour or so ago. A very good track, seriously packed with tasty bits – weird how much one can cram with a knee and an elbow in 3 mins 17′ 😉 Sounds a bit like Deep Purple attempting speed metal and giving Alcoholica a bit of the run for their money (giggle). Only better, less strained vocals than James’s. 🙂 I liked it much more than 1st potato from “=1”, although sound production ringed alarmingly alike to the predecessor. I hope I’m wrong on this.
May 12th, 2026 at 13:39@2
May 12th, 2026 at 15:13..and we’ll hear another terrible production from the much-lauded Mr. Ezrin… Fantastic!! 😡
Sorry the mine
May 12th, 2026 at 15:35was for @3
AndreaA, with statements like these, better watch your head!
https://i.makeagif.com/media/5-31-2015/IThTb8.gif
Your Auntie Alice (a very good friend of Bob E.)
May 12th, 2026 at 16:57Dear Purple People 😊
The Danish people are often being characterized by the phenomenon of being “brokke hoveder” – in english: complainers or grumblers..
I do agree because in Denmark, well let me give you an example:
With ‘normal’ summer temperatures, a lot of people are mad and/or sad about the cold weather!
(There is no cold weather! There is only wrong clothing! Dress accordingly to the temperature 😃)
And people, I promise you this is true: the second the temperature rises just above 20 C, the same people complain about how ‘unbelievable hot’ it suddenly has become, and ‘everyone’ runs around with multiple water bottles, sighing and wiping off imaginary sweat from the forehead (if you are reading here Jan, don’t you agree?) and LONGING for colder weather and rain!
Ok, where do I wanna take this?
Personally I am thrilled above my wits about the new album from Deep Purple, the musical love of my life 💜
And I promise you dear people, that if it was recorded in an old barn just outside some village where the electricity was coming and going and you could hear some cows mooing, a rooster saying kykeliky (sorry 😁 I don’t know the English word for what a rooster strutting around proudly is saying) and a little happy pig sniffing in the soil – even with all that I would still just be so happy that my musical heroes again have made beautiful music.
To put in other words: I don’t give a tiny rodents behind for how this is coming to us, because I know in my heart of hearts that it will be magnificent!
Is it the last album from Deep Purple?
I sincerely hope not. I hope and pray that they will continue to thrill us all with their tunes 🤩
(And no MacGregor, I’m not being payed for writing this 😄)
I acknowledge that some of you have serious concerns and issues! Me, I’m wired somewhat differently in the head, I just look forward to hear Ian singing again, and the rest of the band playing their instruments 😃
And now I will enjoy the new single from Purple 😃💜🙏🏼
Thank you all 😃🤗
May 12th, 2026 at 17:08I LOVE THIS NEW SINGLE 🤩😃
Oh man it is lovely 🥰
May 12th, 2026 at 18:06Like it!! Great tempo and none of that mid tempo shite. production sounds fine to me! only complaint is too short.
Kinda sounds like Ozzy’s I Don’t Know – Simon’s playing that is
May 12th, 2026 at 18:10Ah yes , all too short , all things there , all we love – trademark duelling of keys and banjo , quite offending lyrics , yet another clever use of Big Ian`s remaining vocal , thanx boys.
May 12th, 2026 at 18:14Sounds, well er..ok to me. Good playing but IP isn’t doing much. Another ELP moment in the middle. Not much melody in the verse. We were promised the “heaviest “ in a long time. Not sure that’s correct but these are only first impressions.
May 12th, 2026 at 18:26LOVE IT!!!
May 12th, 2026 at 18:29The YT sound mix is much better than the compressed brick the radio put out. The song is gorgeous. I could expand it a bit in few places with light and shade and more emphasis on doubling down the tempo, but it’s up to us psy-fans to make a decent covers to show’em how it’s done (end credits, and a satan’s laugh from Gillan’s take of “Black Sabbath”) 😛 😀
May 12th, 2026 at 18:35Heard Arrogant Boy for first time and very much enjoyed it. Good pace, lots of tasty guitar and good melody. Not totally sold on lyrics, but not a deal breaker either. Good song.
May 12th, 2026 at 18:40Wonderful, even exciting track. I’m generally fan no fan of this extremely speedy stuff, but this is nice.
May 12th, 2026 at 18:47Listened to the new single: super appreciation!! Ezrin too! 🤣☺️
May 12th, 2026 at 18:57I took a bait and read the lyrics of the album. They are as much Gillanesque as it gets. I might have my issues with the guy, but as it comes o his “scribbling gibberish” – he’s insane and amazing. I fully give him that.
My favourite is in the title track (although there a certainly few more absolutely brilliant blasts):
“I lit up a wrong end
Set my rocket in reverse
It blasted a hole
Through the centre of the universe
I had a good spin around
In a sycamore plane”
I did spat! some saliva against the tablet when read this, bursting into laugh….. Gilly, you’re a genius, such an arrogant boy 😀
May 12th, 2026 at 19:06What a great little song. So much energy and that Ian Gillan fellow sounds just great. 1-0 to Deep Purple.
May 12th, 2026 at 19:06Excellent!! Better than anything on =1!!! I’m looking forward to the album!!
May 12th, 2026 at 19:09A very good album opener. It sounds rather heavy. If the rest of Splat is in the same vein it might be a killer. I hope there will be a lot of Hammond organ. Nice switch from hard to light in the middle section.
May 12th, 2026 at 19:11This – at 2:17
https://youtu.be/SoSr0sStFaE?is=NyWWtNdM7xc-i-aa
Please help me, I know I’ve heard this before in another tune! 😊
May 12th, 2026 at 19:13“Man this cat can really swing”
May 12th, 2026 at 19:14I was wondering what Uwe Hornung would say, he usually slags off the uptempo rocker. But then again, he has his bias……….I like it, but it does have things in it that have been before. At least it blows the cobwebs out. Cheers.
May 12th, 2026 at 19:19Hello,
May 12th, 2026 at 19:19I listened to this new song and as a die hard purple fan, I was not impressed. After reading the comments, I listened to it again. But, sorry, I still am not impressed. No real melody, good instrumental parts, just an average purple song. I like Gillian’s singing, especially in melodic songs : he writes such great tunes ! But here, it is not the case. On the other side, Simon and Don seem to enjoy themselves and provide us with some nice playing. Greetings from Belgium.
@23
I remember you don’t like Gypsy’s kiss!
So I thought you wouldn’t like this either 😄
Someone, won’t name any names, but someone in this house just grumbled and said: oh it’s just like Gypsy’s kiss…..
well, it is amazing in my head anyway 🤩😍
Have a lovely evening everybody 👋🏼👋🏼
May 12th, 2026 at 19:25@21Karin Verndal 💜
Sounds like “hard lovin’ woman” ?
May 12th, 2026 at 19:35@Karin : wasn’t it Ritchie when he played the ninth of Beethoven?
May 12th, 2026 at 19:35Sounds like if you took bits and pieces from Ozzy’s I don’t know, Gillan’s Running white face city boy, a little Smooth dancer, the solo from Cascades, I’m not your lover now and a few other things you have this song. It should be a little longer but sounds great!
May 12th, 2026 at 19:36Well done Purple!!! A great little song….speedy and tasty. Nice interplay between Don and Simon. Big Ian is great in his lower register. Little Ian and Roger doing fine yeoman duty holding it all well together. Intriguing lyrics. This one’s a winner, and it bodes well for a great album overall. Anticipation: High!!!
May 12th, 2026 at 19:40Oh yes amazing
May 12th, 2026 at 19:44I do miss Deep Purple but I’m very much looking forward to this ” Gillan, Glovers and friends with very special guest …Mr Ian Paice ! ” …its a poor substitute…but I do like Gillans solo albums .
I see the first song we hear from the new solo album is a re working of that old Purple tune ” Hell to Pay ! ” lol
May 12th, 2026 at 19:49@Thorsun
It sounds most like a… Frank Zappa. That “Oops” at the end of each verse is exactly the kind of thing Frank Zappa might have done – to create a contrast between cosmic philosophy and dry humor.
I think I’ve finally figured out what IG meant by going back to the old musical days – was he referring to Frank Zappa… and that rarely played live track from Machine Head? 🙂
May 12th, 2026 at 20:01It’s suitably shreddy, but I can live with one or at maximum two songs like that per album, that was always Judas Priest’s dosage. Too many of them and I’m easily bored. I was too old for speed metal even when I was young. It doesn‘t get any body parts of mine moving.
The arrangement does indeed owe a bit to early Blizzard of Oz, Don must have remembered.
But it is in any case performed with refreshing and endearing gusto.
May 12th, 2026 at 20:06It is very good!!!
(this, having gave up on “new DP” a quarter century ago)
@21
It is a beautiful C Lydian passage, the Lydian mode being very evocative and mysterious.
Although different, personally it reminded me of Toto’s “Hydra” instrumental break (about 3:15 into the song).
Joe Satriani’s “Flying in a Blue Dream” is also in C Lydian.
Best, J.-
May 12th, 2026 at 20:08nothing special about this song at the first listen but it might be a grower.
May 12th, 2026 at 20:36Cool to hear DP playing something so fast and energetic.
Keys and guitar are clearly the stars of the show, as others have said.
Especially during the proggy bits. Some have compared those passages to ELP, and the part with the fast changes does sound like them, or Focus, or Triumvirat. The bits with all the 16th notes are reminiscent of Saga.
Paice seems excited to have a few fills to the forefront rather than merely keeping time. And the sound of the drums is clearer than it was on the last record.
On first listen it sounds like IG’s voice, too, is a little less heavily processed than it has been for awhile.
Initial impression: most enjoyable DP tune in over two decades.
May 12th, 2026 at 20:38Man Alive! Bring it on !!
May 12th, 2026 at 21:24Waow! I have to agree with most of you, what a brillant track !
Great vocals, fantastic guitars and Hammond, those guys never cease to amaze !
May 12th, 2026 at 21:36I would say the song is beautiful.
to make a comparison, Pictures of You (which is my favorite song from 1= ) I consider much better, a precious jewel, and I feel that this song does not exceed the level.
I like the melody, even BigIan’s second voices are an enrichment, and then finally a fast piece (at 80 years old!!!!), and the great work of Simon both as rhythm and as soloist.
even the drum sound finally satisfies me after years and absurd drum mix records
What don’t I like?
Unfortunately, in the mix I find Roger’s sound awful, not very defined with a ton of bass, but I think it’s all done for the damned Dolby Digital.
As for the song, I honestly expected more from Don: from the beginning to the solo he does nothing that creates interest (since Simon is busy with his constant rhythm).
I still don’t like its organ sound either, the synth part in the solo’s run is better as a sound.
the break at 1.47″ reminds me more of an Airey passage in the Morse records, and I think we could have removed it or disguised it better, even if live it will get the audience applause.
maybe also considering Simon starts directly with the rhythm, I feel the lack of a real keyboard riff at the beginning.
However, in the Morse era I heard much inferior pieces (without blaming good Steve, this concerned the writing of the whole band)
I hope the next singles are better than this one, which could have been much better, but anyway it’s a good preview
#21 Karin:
I don’t remember in particular, but in general it’s a typical Morse style passage of notes.
#11 David:
May 12th, 2026 at 22:04IP isn’t doing as much as you say, but he’s definitely playing faster and doing more stuff since Bananas all the way up to Whosh!!
I haven’t heard him like this since Abandon!
#31 Steve:
maybe Hell to Pay had the grit and that little bit more BPM that Arrogant Boy has!
HTP is the classic Morse era song that makes me angry because of its limp pace, and too much r’n’r, a missed opportunity to make a (great) hard rock piece.
May 12th, 2026 at 22:21Karin @7 My enthusiasm and happines could not be better expressed than put in your words.
May 12th, 2026 at 22:28Karin @8 I DO TO!
Fast as Highway. Unbelievable. The legend keeps growing and growing.
(And @3 @4, although not being a professional or musician in any manner, I like very much the production of Ezrin, great sound in all of the albums. Which is not the case in Rapture, The Battle and others. Besides, him (God bless) being maximum responsible for their reborning and staying on top since 2013.)
Skippy knows Triumvirat. Unfuckingbelievable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRVDP_87yBw
May 12th, 2026 at 22:30@ 33- “It doesn‘t get any body parts of mine moving.” Ha ha ha ha, oh dear oh dear. Are you sure about that Uwe, come on, you can admit it here, of all places. There is a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on! Not even the smaller bits? Cheers.
May 12th, 2026 at 23:15Yes indeed the drums do sound much clearer and with much more punch too, hope that is a stayer on the cd etc. About time. Agree re Gillan’s voice too, a little more ‘natural’ for want of a better description. McBride will always have a heavy 80’s influence in his playing, that is only natural. @ 25- I presume you are thinking of someone else Karin. I don’t very recall saying I didn’t like Gypsy’s Kiss. The faster songs on DP from 1984 on I have always enjoyed. Dead or Alive is a personal favourite too and off TBRO album, A Twist in the Tail. Hey Cisco from Purpendicular also. Cheers.
May 12th, 2026 at 23:56There is a new rule book to Purple compositions: Don’s ABBAesque piano flourishes, often ascending or descending. Whenever I hear them, I see Benny A bobbing from side to side …
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/uy7IHojZimw
And that’s a good thing. Jon would have been embarrassed playing something that poppy. But Don is lovably shameless! 😂
May 13th, 2026 at 01:21Hi @21. Im hearing snippets of Steve’s “Well dressed Guitar” live version.
May 13th, 2026 at 03:19Lydian mode speed metal in a Purple tune?!!!
By gosh boys, I’ll take it!!
The riff sounds like Ritchie on Steroids, the instrumental speed bits sound like Steve Morse in his prime, and just as technical and proggy. Gillan and Paice may complain about all the prog Steve brought to the band, but all Simon and Don have done is put the proggy bits overtop simpler, driving riffs and rhythms – a wonderful balance between the Morse and Blackmore eras!
Production is a hell of a lot better, instruments are clearer (Don is finally back in the mix compared to =1) and Paicey’s drums are nice and clear this time round, and still with a more modern, compressed sound. It reminds me of the drum sound on Turning to Crime, which I very much enjoyed! My only complaint with the mix?
Gillan’s vocal’s would be a touch louder and clearer for me – I ahve trouble discerning his words compared to previous records, and Roger’s bass could be more present for me.
Other than that, Bob seems to have gotten his act together with the mix this time round, of which I’m very pleased – we’ll see if this continues on the rest of the record ( hope so!).
One last note:
It’s amusing to me that so many people say Steve wasn’t the right choice because he was too technical and was just overplaying and lacked Blackmore’s soul, and yet here is Simon being just as technical and proggy and overplaying as Steve was, and people are praising him online. Hypocrisy knows no bounds. We wouldn’t have any of this major prog influence in the band if not for Steve Morse, so please Purple People, give the man his due and quit on the hate!
All in all, a banger of an opener! I can’t wait for SPLAT!!!!
May 13th, 2026 at 03:44Well done,but don’t get excited Euros,let’s hear the rest of t he album
May 13th, 2026 at 05:242026 and still freakin’ the (zepp)elite 😉
Way to go! This made me even more excited for the new album!
May 13th, 2026 at 05:55But it could be that sometime Big Ian says “American” Boy instead of “Arrogant”?
May 13th, 2026 at 06:04Hearing Gillan’s voice always reminds me of past times, in a good way. The song starts off well and Simon’s fast solo part has promise but is frustratingly cut short almost instantly to leave room for one of Airey’s ELP moments, abruptly changing the mood of the song (why?). Ezrin’s need for keeping songs under 3m30 clearly works against them. It makes things sound rushed. The song has promise but sounds underdeveloped to me. Is the focus on the verses or on the instrumental section?
May 13th, 2026 at 06:04@36 – Skippy,
Interesting that you mention Focus in the vibe you hear – but that’s a fine pick! This band is gorgeous, and many of us here like or adore Thijs van Leer and Jan Akkerman (me included, I rate both of them highly). Don Airey surely likes Focus too, in the documentary for =1, in the rehearsal scenes for the Berlin gig he plays some bits of Focus, but I don’t remember if it’s F2 or F3.
The new track is sitting nastily in my head, my only quibble is the too fast cut at the end. Return to the bridge over the slowed tempo, and let ’em out – solo over it… Give the soloists more space. It just feels too forcely trimmed-to-fit.
May 13th, 2026 at 06:38Did any of you (Karin!!! drop the stars, sun and the moon – NOW!!! 😛 ) notice Ian Gillan wearing is shirt inside out – with seams to the surface and buttons underneath to the chest side? Even with such a nuance, he’s giving the watchers Easter egg middle finger. 😀 “Ian had a special trick, he knew what would make punters tick…” LOL. What a guy.
May 13th, 2026 at 06:53Hello.
Well, well, well…
Like André @24, I´m not so impressed, either. What did surprise me, and is the good thing of it, was that the song is kind of uptempo.
But, hey, Mr Paice´s snare! The sound is lame. And ok, Simon and Don are busy with their harmonies, but we have heard this before. With better results. Where´s the beef ?
…The Eurovision Song Contest is approaching (really scary…)… I admit that I miss the times like say…1997. Sweet Katrina and our very own, Mr. Don Airey.
Light and love. I guess we need those more that ever.
And I´m sure, there´s a killer track or two on the forthcoming new DP album. They blow the cobwebs away, just like MacGregor @23 brilliantly put it!
Kippis!
May 13th, 2026 at 07:52In the history of DP the second album of each line-up has always been weaker than the first album. This is a good sign.”Arrogant Boy”a good rocker , I like it more than the first single with ‘=1’ “Lazy Sod”. It will definitely be on the concert setlist, starting the heavy/hard rock block, “Arrogant Boy” has everything a DP song should have (only intro is lacking) energy, melody, guitar-keyboard middle duel, an unmistakable rhythm section, Gillan sings effortlessly. Good start ..
May 13th, 2026 at 08:10Next please
@34
Thank you J 😊
But I am pretty sure I have heard that being played in another song too, exactly as Simon does it.
But for the life of me – memory blank 😐
May 13th, 2026 at 08:47Sounds ballsier than anything on their last album or the one before that and the one before… Let’s see what the rest of the album sounds like.
I’m with you Uwe, 1 or 2 speed metal type songs on an album is enough for me too. I never got into the speed metal thing either or a lot of the other sub-genres of metal. Though I’ve always loved Unchain Your Brain; especially live versions of it.
Not a link to Unchain Your Brain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_Dbpv1lpDc
May 13th, 2026 at 08:47Reminds me a bit of Back to Bedlam in a way that to me it is a very good jam but the song structure is somehow missing. Verse and chorus don’t impress with a memorable melody.
May 13th, 2026 at 09:20However, i really like the sound and love the guitar – keyboard interplay in the middle section.
Compare new Purple song at 2:17 with this at 3:40
May 13th, 2026 at 09:28https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ciNZ8RpMdA&list=RD_ciNZ8RpMdA&start_radio=1
@53
“Karin!!! drop the stars, sun and the moon – NOW!!! 😛”
– I’ll let you in on a little secret Thorsun!
It will be A COLD DAY IN HELL when I let anyone tell me what to do or not to do! Ok?!
If I am so annoying then feel free to not read my posts 😊😉
May 13th, 2026 at 09:35@26
AndreA, “Hard loving woman”?
Have just been listening to this wonderful tune again – cannot hear in that what I’m hearing in “Arrogant Boy” 2:17…
And I seem to remember having heard SMcB playing the brilliant stuff in another tune.
Played them after each other, but no, it’s not ‘Hard loving woman’ 😊
But thank you 😊
May 13th, 2026 at 09:44@27
André – “Ritchie when he played the ninth of Beethoven?”
Wait a sec….
You’re thinking of this masterpiece?
https://youtu.be/vodWKgp71os?is=cVjTpYCd3UjdOB6v
Have heard it 4 times now, and don’t think it has the element in it as the notes Simon is playing in ‘Arrogant Boy’ 😊
May 13th, 2026 at 10:16But ohh man, RB was magnificent 😊
@59
I get what you mean Homer, but – well the thing is that SMcB is way more poetic in his way of playing than GM.
Or at least in my head he is 😃
Thanks for the link, have never seen or heard Phil L with GM before. But ok, haven’t heard that much with any of the guys 😊
May 13th, 2026 at 10:21@41
Johnny, you’re right:
“Fast as Highway”
And then I just have to say: what a brilliant guitarist SMcB is!
I’m blown away with his solos 😍
He might be the kid, but oh he lives in Purple in his own right 😃
And I agree on your sentiments re BE:
May 13th, 2026 at 10:27“being maximum responsible for their reborning and staying on top since 2013.)”
I am not at all in any way able to read notes, nor able to play any instruments, but I sure do know what sounds nice, and this is very very nice!
@44
“@ 25- I presume you are thinking of someone else Karin. I don’t very recall saying I didn’t like Gypsy’s Kiss”
– huh!?
Ok, you may know better than me what you like or not like, but I do have a somewhat ok memory, and I recall we were talking about ‘someone’ in my house who really hates ‘Gypsy’s Kiss’ and also ‘Twist in the Tale’ – (and I have to say two of my all time favourite songs with Purple), and then I remember you said MacGregor that when people mature they don’t like the faster songs.
May 13th, 2026 at 10:36‘Someone’ is actually 6 years younger than me 😁 but he really hates those two songs and walks right out if I’m playing them loudly (which I of course do now and then but I listen often to them in my headphones when I’m not home alone)
Well, I just had the notion that you didn’t like them either, but I’m glad I was wrong about that 😊
@46
Jaytee, “Im hearing snippets of Steve’s “Well dressed Guitar” live version”
– thank you, will listen to that immediately…..
Ok just checked, there are several “WDG” on YT, I listen to them all then 😊
This:
May 13th, 2026 at 10:50https://youtu.be/lZrOxrP0ds0?is=1hGQ0lfsN9-bchLX
(7:07 ->)
It sounds lovely, and reminds me of AB, but, no not that….
It’s way to heavy compared to the tune I’m thinking of but sadly not remembering 😝😄
Ok dear Purple -people 😃
This:
https://youtu.be/NwMRYOONsOA?is=iUU_zus6slTmBIwh
Was made in 1971!
55 years later this came alive:
https://youtu.be/SoSr0sStFaE?is=-AB6L_qTgbAMdpVh
Arrogant Boy reminds me so much of Fireball, the same energy, the up-tempo, of course the vocal of Ian is different, (duh 😁) but the overall feel is the same.
May 13th, 2026 at 11:11Or at least, that is what I get 😃
I am so impressed with this band… my heart is almost bursting of pure joy 🥰
@59 Homer,
You spotted a Gary Moore-like run in Simon’s solo of “AB”? This is really, like saying that the milk is white. 😀 The boy was, is and will be under GM’s influence, it’s his DNA, we learned it by now. Plus, you can’t really write MOST EVERYTHING new, if you do a hard rock album in 2026. Such is the nature of the genre, be it sad – or not. Tiny little things will remind you of the other tiny little things.
May 13th, 2026 at 11:35First single sounds more Progressive rock they did with Steve, then hard rock like Ian said would be, but only one song will see. Arrogant boy is okay not mind blowing, nice guitar solo, Ian struggling a little with vocal range which should be expected given his age and strain for many years singing.
May 13th, 2026 at 11:53@60
Karin, you must have missed the emoticon at the end of my shout to you. It was with a blink of an eye to your fangirl-esness, that seems to have no limits so much, that even you didn’t notice Ian’s clothing detail. That’s all there was to it! I’m not a type to tell people on THS forum what to do. Peace!
May 13th, 2026 at 12:47Its interesting. I think I quite like it
Nice guitar, but I still miss Steve Morse
May 13th, 2026 at 12:48I just to listened to it again this morning (it is morning in South America) and I think it is really, REALLY good!
To me. the only “out of place” bit is the unnecessary “ELP/Yes/Tull” thingie in the middle, but otherwise brilliant, and the beautiful C Lydian to Am7 passages MAKE the song.
We also get a Blackers-certified snaky riff a la “Lady Double Dealer” in the pre choruses, ascending Floydian strings in the outro, etc.
And FINALLY, a clean guitar tone with no annoying chromatic runs happening every two seconds.
Their best single in decades, in my humble opinion.
To Karin, I’ll say something which she may either like or dislike: The band finally produced something to justify the devotion of fans like you 🙂
Regards, J.-
May 13th, 2026 at 13:00The scary thing is that RG declared in the promo interview that this song is his favourite on the album.
May 13th, 2026 at 13:23Hummm that’s not good news.
I like the song but I prefer the riff of 69 on perpendicular.
Peace 🤞
#31 Steve:
I’m correcting what I meant to say in post #40:
May 13th, 2026 at 13:34Maybe Hell to Pay DIDN’T have the grit of Arrogant Boy, and NOT EVEN that little bit more BPM that Arrogant Boy has!
I don’t know who here started calling this song “Speed metal”, but guys please, Speed metal is something else!!
May 13th, 2026 at 13:47this is hard rock and that’s it!
not bad quick tempo song …good solos…but the singing ….sounds like an old man reading a bad book….time to get a new singer lol
May 13th, 2026 at 15:06I did not want to drag this out in the open (being the discreet person I am) but, personally, I believe that Karin was to blame for Big Ian’s reverse shirt. They likely met ahead of the video shoot and then … 🤐 … due to undisclosable circumstances here … IG was in a rush to get his shirt back on for the shoot.
https://d4804za1f1gw.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/100/2022/07/Bodice-Ripper-670×1009.jpg
‘Someone’ is actually 6 years younger than me 😁
😱 What other secrets of Brigitte & Emmanuel type proportions lurk in Randers I cry?!!!
PS: I think I was the guy who wasn’t crazy about either Gypsy’s Kiss, Dead & Alive or Twist In The Tale. You can add Kill the King, Spotlight Kid and Death Alley Driver to that (as well as a lot of the GILLAN romps) – generally I have issues with anything faster than Highway Star or Comin’ Home, always have, I lose the beat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgGMU3puNJE
never liked playing songs like that either (which disqualified me early on for all types of Speed Metal or similar BPM excesses).
PPS: @75: ‘Twas me, Fla76, my humble mind cannot discern different styles once music has brokn the sound barrier of my personal speed limit!
May 13th, 2026 at 15:56@70
Alright then Thorsun!
Peace right back at ya 👊🏼
And no, I didn’t see his shirt was inside out before you mentioned it.
But I guess that is how Ian tells everyone that he really doesn’t give a tiny rodent’s behind for other people’s opinions 👍🏼
(As I’ve said before, I listen to him when he sings, I don’t value his catwalk-abilities 🤓)
May 13th, 2026 at 16:10@72
J, Well thank you…
“To Karin, I’ll say something which she may either like or dislike: The band finally produced something to justify the devotion of fans like you 🙂”
– I have loved pretty much everything they have made ever since I first laid ears to In Rock.
And I agree with you: it is a wonderful single.
What these guys eat on a daily basis, I would like to know 😊
May 13th, 2026 at 16:16Or maybe they happen to know a very brilliant homeopath to take care of their healths 😊
You can’t please all of the people all of the time. Hey people it is a Deep Purple song, stop all the knocking, the comments belong in Classic Rock magazine or dare I say Melody Maker & Sounds (if they were still going). Take it for what it is a great song from a great band!
May 13th, 2026 at 16:45The first thing I wondered was wtf is Billy?
But then I remembered Ian calling his dad Bill.
I think I read that a long time ago in his autobiography.
I recall the part in which he writes about shaving his father. Was that when died?
And that lyric on NAKED THUNDER :
” Poor old Bill. He could not see the joke. And the band played on……”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRTd-_xbq0k
Then again, googling for references there seems to be a load of history to “Poor old Bill.”
I read somewhere the remark that Gillan takes a lot of effort to stab people in the lyrics of this album?
Its a nice catchy song.
May 13th, 2026 at 17:26Purple’s Billy and Phil’s Billy are both rollicking numbers, eh? :>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG9Ei-HyymE&list=RDcG9Ei-HyymE&start_radio=1
Peace,
May 13th, 2026 at 19:36Ted
A ‘cut and paste’ job from the past? Interesting that it has Mr Uwe Hornung celebrating an uptempo rocker. That is worth celebrating in itself folks. Seriously, the Purple guys from 1971 have been there, done that. Plus Gillan in his band outing from 1981 era plus McBride’s guitar hero’s influencing things. Don is doing what Don has done before in hard rock and there we have it. The keyboards do runneth over, the ones that us aficionados are using that is. That’s is a good thing though, isn’t it? Well some folk here are possibly getting a little over excited. Have some of us listened and been influenced by too much music from the past. Possibly and that is ok too. I can imagine this song being ‘compiled’ at the desk. Still good to see Uwe being ‘moved’, not to mention a few others. Cheers.
May 13th, 2026 at 20:09Nice! The instrumental bits remind me a bit of Saga’s hit “On the Loose” from 1982.
May 13th, 2026 at 20:53Not surprising given Simon’s admiration for Gary, there is a Colosseum II feel about the interplay between Don and Simon.
But somehow Purple keep it more of a song, rather than just an extended jam.
Looking forward to Hammersmith.
May 13th, 2026 at 21:12Cool track all in all, really looking forward to the album. Great playing all around, but that was expected on my part.
At least on this track, drums sound a lot better than on the last album.
Listened on several formats – on speakers (tuned to my room) I find that the rhythm guitar has a kind of “cloth” to it that was also the case with Whoosh! for example. And vocals a bit “above” the track, sounding a bit too processed.
As a total coincidence as I was playing it back on Spotify right now, Knocking at your backdoor came on after the new single, there’s a very notacible difference in how the vocals were mixed and treated. But the new track obviously has a production which is up to date, just prefer how vocals mixed back in the day, sounds more natural to my eras.
May 13th, 2026 at 21:57#77 Uwe:
you are forgiven only because since for me Judas are too heavy for my delicate ears I consider them Thrash Metal!
#80 Graham:
you’re right, the song is beautiful, fast and fresh, and maybe I was too harsh on the great Don, it never seems like he’s effective enough…in any case I prefer Picture of You!
#81 Rock Voorne:
great insight connecting Billy to BigIan’s father!
#83 MacGregor:
the song was “assembled at the desk”, or rather “assembled in the rehearsal room” as Purple usually does, not strange, it’s their way of composing, right?
#86 MK44:
May 13th, 2026 at 22:43What you say doesn’t surprise me and I’m happy about it, Nick Blagona’s work on Perfect Strangers was masterful, but it’s not for nothing that Nick was nicknamed “the Tone Guru” by the insiders
The record label must have given Ezrin’s team a shakedown. I can’t believe the mix is not crap this time. Freaking finally, good lord….
May 13th, 2026 at 22:56Most importantly: The new song follows a tried and trusted DP songwriting recipe: Don’t confuse your audience with something other bands might call “a real chorus”. 😂
But hey, it’s DP, buy Uriah Heep or Scorpions records if you want to sing along with a chorus.
May 13th, 2026 at 23:06@86
MK44 ? Are you a time traveller? (sorry, terrible joke)
Ok, PRS are more muted and “silky” sounding guitars so by default they don’t cut through the mix as much as a Fender Strat (how do I know? Have used both in an amateur setting and everyone voted for the Strat as best sounding)
Regardless, the production job is in itself very smooth, saving frequency “real state” for the vocals (perhaps, too much)
Of course I grew up in an era when every LP I loved had “Engineered by Martin Birch” on the back cover and was recorded on fully analog media to be enjoyed on actual Hi Fi systems though the air, so like you, I do prefer the older audio standards.
We now live in the “lowest common denominator” a.k.a. “master it for earbuds” world.
That said, the new single sounds very good on Amazon Music’s ULTRA HD setting!
Best regards, Julio.-
May 13th, 2026 at 23:17Any new music from Deep Purple is a gift from the GODS, I like it very much
May 13th, 2026 at 23:21@ 77 – Uwe thanks for clearing that up for Karin. I was beginning to get worried that she was coming after me………especially the way Karin pulled up poor ole Thorsun at comment 60. Will I forgive Karin, hmmmmmmmm, the jury is still out on that one. Thorsun will have to change name or create a pseudonym. That way in future comments, Karin will never know! Cheers.
May 13th, 2026 at 23:23Sounds OK to me. The star is Ian Paice whose drums finally clear to hear, followed by Don Airey. Simon hasn’t surprised me yet but this is just the 1st single. His opening and guitar licks in the verse are great and enjoyable
What I’m afraid to say, there’s sense of ‘repetition’ from old past, lack new ideas at least for this song. When the song is released, all that are discussed is “This song reminds me of..”, “I remember this part”, “This guitar or keyboard passage was clearly inspired by his hero/this contemporary musician..”. Instead of enjoying the song as a showcase of innovations from the musicians (if any).
I don’t miss Mark 2, let Mark 9 show their identity
Even if copying old melodies is necessary, perhaps copying blues or jazz standards and classical music would be more interesting. And for those screaming “back to 70’s rock”, Arrogant Boy sounds more progressive rock to me than simple and real hard rock courtesy of In Rock or Burn.
Also Arrogant Boy missed one important recipe, mid-range + high-pitched voice (plus screaming). This sounds like a story-telling packaged with fast, up-tempo progressive rock arrangement. Not Gillan’s mistake really, he’ll be 81 by August, no justice to push him to do that.
But how about making and arranging song that suits the power of his voice?
Time of Bedlam, which also a fast track, has no high-pitched voice. but the arrangement of the song are so good, you could divide the song into several important parts that inter-connected together, make it a great and timeless song.
Looking forward to the next single. Arrogant Boy will be much better live, the song is calling for extended jam between Simon & Airey with fast & steady drumming from Paice in the background
May 14th, 2026 at 00:05#86. Take a listen to Ted the Mechanic after having listened to Arrogant Boy and you will noticeable the change in production quality. Packs a lot more punch. From the way IG sings to the fact that you can hear what notes Glover is playing. Also, a more natural and powerful drum sound. Huge difference really. But this was 30 years ago, when the band was more self sustained. Played more aggressively and had no need for any outside help. The Purpendicular album speaks for itself.
May 14th, 2026 at 03:05Holy Splat, Batman! I wish it were 1971 again! I’m not crazy about this single. It sounds overproduced and over synthesized, lacking emotion. I’m not undermining their technical prowess and ability as musicians because they’re still on top of their game. I just think the sound is oversynthesized. I continually romanticize about the music of 1970’s rock especially DP’s classic hard rock sound that defined our generation, wishing they would write songs like that again! I can dream, Can’t I? 😆 Anyway we preordered the album. I’m looking forward to listening to rest of the songs 😊
May 14th, 2026 at 04:27@77
Uwe, it was you?!
“PS: I think I was the guy who wasn’t crazy about either Gypsy’s Kiss, Dead & Alive or Twist In The Tale. You can add Kill the King, Spotlight Kid and Death Alley Driver to that (as well as a lot of the GILLAN romps) – generally I have issues with anything faster than Highway Star or Comin’ Home, always have, I lose the beat”
– how can you play the bass then?
But I read that you like Arrogant Boy, and that’s a fast tune, isn’t it?
Well there isn’t any tune by Purple (with Ian as the vocalist) I don’t like.
Ok maybe this one; (🫣)
https://youtu.be/3c1v7WhKJoA?is=mX6LrRp7A3jm2NQZ
But mainly because I don’t understand it.
Not the lyrics, but the composition.
His voice is adorable as always but the rythm, the instruments playing, oh it’s all completely orange in my head 😝
The rest of the material: yummy! Even some from the era where DC and TB were the vocalists are dear and comforting ☺️
May 14th, 2026 at 05:16@81
Rock Voorne, I was wondering too about Billy. And you might be right.
But didn’t Ian’s dad ever read a book?
May 14th, 2026 at 05:21Or maybe Ian has some artistic liberties 😃
@Rascal
> Nice guitar, but I still miss Steve Morse
I miss him, too. I still can’t believe he’s not in the band anymore. As for a new DP album, I’ve been listening to the remastered version of Rapture. I think they released it for people like us… 😉 And let’s not forget the brilliant Triangulation.
@Fla76
> I don’t know who here started calling this song “Speed metal”, but guys please, Speed metal is something else!!
I remember a Deep Purple video on VHS titled “Heavy Metal Pioneers” or something like that. “Speed Metal Pioneers”? 😉
@Adel Faragalla
> I like the song but I prefer the riff of 69 on perpendicular.
69 on Abandon, not Purpendicular
@dave
> not bad quick tempo song …good solos…but the singing ….sounds like an old man reading a bad book….time to get a new singer lol
I think Glenn would do better here. Greetings to all BCC fans. 😉
May 14th, 2026 at 06:21@85 Marcus
I was thinking of the same thing. Don has brought some Colosseum II elements in the band since his arrival. Most prominent example is for me the title track from “Bananas”. Now with Gary Moore-oriented Simon these are expected to expand. Generally the band moves towards more virtuosic well structured solo sections than actual improvisations and this is reflected also in their live performances, even in the old material.
May 14th, 2026 at 07:13It’s hilarious when in the same bunch of comments coming in here, one complains about the drums not sounding good and another saying they finally sound good. And both stated as facts, of course.
I have been working with sound for all my life. This is exactly why it is so frustrating some times…
May 14th, 2026 at 08:28@98
I recall I read more than once that Deep Purple inspired the invention of speed-metal music with the song “Speed King” and to lesser extent, “Highway Star”
May 14th, 2026 at 08:55@Karin
> Well there isn’t any tune by Purple (with Ian as the vocalist) I don’t like.
> Ok maybe this one; (🫣)
Mandrake Root! OMG, I love it! Along with ‘Wring That Neck’, they demonstrate that mark one and two has always been an instrumental band. At least in the minds of Jon and RB.
May 14th, 2026 at 08:58#100. Is it not a fact that modern mixes in general are more compressed than they used to be in the past?
May 14th, 2026 at 09:04Simon@98
May 14th, 2026 at 09:24Thank for the correction, it’s old age my friend 🙂🙃
Peace ✌️
@100 Svante,
Whenever I read the biographies or hear talk in interviews about setting up the drums – all it says is – that it’s ranging from difficult to a nightmare. But DP works with el Ezrinio for 13 years now. And the 1st 3-4 albums didn’t seem to be a problem in that department. You’d think they have it covered. We, long time followers have our ears settled more to the pre-streaming production soundscape scheme, so nowdays it really sometimes sounds like it’s being done in some strangely wicked way. Ears are like opinions, each of us has their own.
May 14th, 2026 at 09:37@103: Yes, but that’s not what we were talking about, was it? The drum comments I referred to was about the same track from the new album.
May 14th, 2026 at 09:38Hello.
I tried to listen to the track for the third or the fourth time. I just couldn´t. Very mediocre. And of course, it´s just my humble opinion.
Svante @100 is quite right, too. “Vars och ens smak är inte detsamma”, and translating that in English is something like “Everybody´s taste is not the same”. Karin of course knew that without translating. : )
Looking forward to the Purple´s Finnish dates already in June.
Kippis.
May 14th, 2026 at 09:47@ 88 -VD, indeed and I agree and could even add that maybe, just maybe Ezrin and a few others finally realised that us ‘audiophiles’ here at THS, are correct and have always been. About time they listened to us. I can just imagine them saying to each other, “we need to get our act together, and fast”. Uwe can add his reply here…………he he he! Seriously in regard to this song, the high point of the song for me is McBride’s solo and some. And we know how important it is for good guitar solos and their ability in enhancing a song, in more ways than one. Nice to hear the rhythm section driving along a good track to drum to. Gillan’s ‘ad lib’ talking vocal is probably the weak point. But he is getting on the old fella, it passes the pub test, just. I am getting out of here before ‘you know who’ gets a hold of me. Regarding Don and his Colosseum days, yes I know what you guys are saying. I will also add the following performances on those Cozy Powell records, Over The Top, Tilt and Octopuss. Airey riffing along with Gary Moore etc. Cozy of course driving it all. Uwe will not want to hear those tracks me thinks. They’re not all uptempo rockers though on those albums. A few wonderful sublime instrumentals also for people who don’t like the faster hard rock. Cheers.
May 14th, 2026 at 11:01Karin
Its a long time ago I read the first effort by Ian to release an autobiography, so dont even know what the year was.
So its hard to jog my braincells into remembering much more.
But it could ve been possible imho that Ian wasnt talking very positive about Bills contributions already there.
The poor old Bill , great song though, was not very respectfull as well.
To me it felt awkward to call ones dad with his first name, … Many cousins of mine changed from using the respectful ways to adress our aunts, uncles to their first names.
I just couldnt do it.
I do not criticise it, maybe I am too rigid in several ways.
May 14th, 2026 at 11:14@102
Simon, I’m glad you appreciate it 😊
It’s not that I can’t stand to hear it or that I don’t like it, it’s just that Mandrake root is the only song that isn’t on the top shelf with all the other magnificent Purple songs.
Wring that neck is adorable! I’ve admired Ritchie Blackmore so much since I heard him the first time 👍🏼
Re RB, yesterday I saw a documentary about him.
May 14th, 2026 at 11:17I have always wondered why Ritchie left the glorious rock scene in favour of the medieval music he plays in Blackmore’s Night!
He explained that when he heard Greensleeves, it touched his heart ☺️ awwww….🥰
Then I got it!
He was an amazing rock guitarist, but to me he always had that poetic thread in his playing.
So I guess we can forget all about him ever returning to the rock scene.
But then it is very nice we have Simon McBride 😊
And I always thought Fireball (the song) was the precursor to speed metal. That is actually one of the few ultra-fast songs I like.
Highway Star isn’t really proto-speed metal to me, it’s just faster than mid tempo, but not hasty enough yet for speed metal.
I guess my appreciation of how fast a rock song can be is firmly planted in the Chuck Berry era (or maybe I’m a Stones fan at heart?). To me all rock music is essentially dance music evolved from Black clubs in the American South and that is where this double-time frenzied stuff fails me. At Judas Priest gigs I always sit through stuff like Painkiller and wait for the next song at a more leisurely pace.
May 14th, 2026 at 11:40@ 102,
May 14th, 2026 at 11:52Karin, “Mandrake Root” is an ESSENCE of DP instrumental prowess – and the more primitive and hypnotic the improvisations are over a thumping bass and drums, the better!!! 😀 Tribal, raw and the more unhinged, the stranger apocalyptic sounds the Fender and the Hammond provide. Here’s where Jon and Ritchie honed and tested their skills both in applying light / shade to the music intensity and tested their instruments for endurance… Blackmore, dancing like a shaman, with guitar in all unortodhox and atypical positions, using whatever is there for a bounce to twang the whammy and ride the strings, and Lord trashing the top bonnet of the organ, or sticking the drum sticks into the C3 back wiring… A modern sonic poetry course! They proved to the listeners that THERE IS a strange but very fancy sort of pleasure and art in signal-to-noise and the whirling dances of cacophony. I, for one, love it!
@92
Aww MacGregor…..
“Will I forgive Karin, hmmmmmmmm,”
– I am sure you will forgive me over and over again 😃
You have never told me what Purple tune is your favourite!
Mine are these two (well, ridiculous really, cos I love them all, but these two are on hot rotation in my little home at the moment)
May 14th, 2026 at 12:01https://youtu.be/X0lerJp82Xw?is=VlddjyW6L5NPYnfH
And this:
https://youtu.be/uIaXva9akfs?is=71GaM1HJeaNk3wFl
And of course also the new one about Billy 😊
WOW ! …. 105 post’s already, this has to be the most all time maybe, and all very interesting reads about the song.
May 14th, 2026 at 12:16#98 Simon:
pioneers of VHS heavy metal from the pre-grunge slaves and masters era… a title that served to attract some metalheads.
Even if it’s not wrong to define Purple as pioneers of heavy metal…pioneers though
#101 Andre:
I think it’s an exaggeration…maybe Fireball could be proto-speed, but the structure of the song itself is radically different
#100 Svante:
May 14th, 2026 at 12:33and how do you think about sound of this new single?
No, no, I have to admit it: the sound in this song is “perfect.” The drum sounds good, I mean..
Olè!
May 14th, 2026 at 13:01@94
Indeed!
But that was pre-loudness wars, infinite track availability and almost inexpensive digital recording/processing tools.
Not to mention additional squashing applied by streaming sites.
I think the production team here aimed for a “Machine Head” era clarity mix but set in a modern/current context, which is sadly dictated by average listeners on small/cheap speakers.
Yep, drums are squashed but you can hear them and the performance value is there, it is an unmistakable Paice performance!
Funnily enough, I once posted that in my opinion the best sounding DP albums ever where Who do We Think and _|_ , and of course up in flames I went haha 😁
Cheers, J.-
May 14th, 2026 at 13:17Exactly at 105. We are not talking a out that bust in the breast of highway star or burn.
May 14th, 2026 at 13:50And here comes the final and most important verdict: I do like it! Especially the work of Mcbride/Airey. 😀
May 14th, 2026 at 15:24#105. That’s my point. To these ears, something that is compressed sounds smaller, including IP’s drums in this case. I agree it’s subjective whether you think that’s a good thing or not. Personally, I want to hear as much of them as possible and prefer the way they sounded in the past (S&M excluded).
May 14th, 2026 at 16:16@98
I agree Glenn Hughes if Ian Gillan retires, imagine you can hear BURN and YOU FOOL NO ONE live.
May 14th, 2026 at 16:19@101
Andre S, I have read the same, and I just dont get it!
Allow me to explain my confusion:
To me any kind if metal-rock is almost violent in my ears.
Whereas any tune with Purple is delicate! So I wonder why a song, just because it’s speedy automatically is some kind of metal.
I know this guy who is very much into metal, and the few songs I’ve heard aren’t speedy per se. But they sure feels scary 😄
And another difference is the way the vocalist is singing.
I don’t think it comes as a big surprise that I adore Ian’s voice, but those metal singers I’ve heard, they are – oh what’s the word? ….. growling?
So why call decent rock, as the music from Purple is, for metal is rather a surprise.
May 14th, 2026 at 16:20I remember Ian said that it is the journalists etc who are making up these categories, not the Purple members. They call it music!
@90 I was referring to how I prefer to hear Simon’s guitar, he’s got a great sound live, more high mids and certainly cutting through. Has nothing to do with him using PRS guitars. 🙂
May 14th, 2026 at 22:05@ 95 – good comments and yes indeed. “Holy Moly Batman, does this mean that?????????Yes it does Robin, it is time for the Batmobile”…………..Have to have a laugh don’t we. I often use the phrase, same Bat time, same Bat channel. “What about the Joker Batman? I am afraid Robin, this time the jokes are on us”! Loved this show as a innocent youngster. Cheers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5hRPy-pDsY&t=106s
https://www.liveabout.com/robins-oddest-holy-exclamations-from-the-batman-tv-series-3896999
May 15th, 2026 at 01:59Svante:
That’s because there really is no good or bad mixes, just personal preference. Even if one feels a mix to be imbalanced (as for instance I do about Whoosh! which I feel deserves a complete remix and remaster), it’s all about personal preference.
You will never be able to please every fan. Bottom line, if Purple is happy with Bob’s production, their opinions are the ones that matter at the end of the day. It doesn’t matter if I or others generally dislike Bob’s production and overall sound pallette, our opinions don’t count for anything and are irrelevant at the end of the day – the only opinions that have weight here are the band’s – if the boys aren’t happy with the sound Bob gets them, then and only then do we have a problem.
People may not like my opinion, and, I believe it to be true – the band’s feelings are what matters here in terms of sound, not the fans’. I can gripe all I want, and, the band doesn’t and shouldn’t give a toss about my personal preference when it comes to sound design. I don’t matter to them in terms of making their art, and neither does the rest of the fans, ironically.
You make art for you – the moment you try to second guess what fans want, you end up miserable. The best thing when making a record is to be selfish and make it for you – that way you’re always happy with the results. If the fans like it, that’s a bonus, not a requirement. Be selfish, and above all, have fun making music.
May 15th, 2026 at 07:17@115: I think I sounds good. There is nothing in the sound that makes me upset. 🙂
The issue I have with recordings the last 20 years is that they all sound the same! I am also a drummer so I miss being able to hear if there were different snare drums in different song, for example. But I think that is down to the drummers and engineers too. They use the same equipment throughout the sessions. I think that is both due to laziness and because everyone is afraid of being less than “perfect” all the time. The same reason all kids think they have to use clicks and autotune all the time… And of course time and money restrictions that was less of a problem back in the days.
May 15th, 2026 at 07:26@107
Indeed I did Hiza!
And if I may add a little something: I love the drumming in Arrogant Boy.
Not just because I know it is Ian P who is playing, but in my ears it sounds phenomenal 😊
Kippis right back at ya 😊
May 15th, 2026 at 10:29@125, Mike – last chapter of your statement is so well put. I must remind that to myself while now writing my own stuff, where I try to exercise all ideas and fancy-goes I had over last 25 years in my head. My blues / rock friends say my synthesizer soundscapes are better than my rock writing… So I could stop there. But I won’t!
This doesn’t change the fact that I really miss “something extra” to this concise, tight concept Purple have now with Simon and Don. In fact, I was listening to “Whoosh!” just yesterday, which has grown on me immensely over the last 2-3 years. Apart from “What The What” – the album is just brilliant almost every other bit. And these cinematic passages from “Power of the Moon” and “Man Alive” are just wonderful. But! ever since “Before Time Began” – this a bit proggier cheek of Purple was my soft spot. And that’s why I love “Bleeding Obvious” too! 5-6 minutes of imaginative creation ca be as wonderful as in-your-face 3 and a half minute rock hard punches.
May 15th, 2026 at 11:23#125 Mike:
I don’t think it’s all a matter of personal taste.
It’s a matter of taste for the sound engineer and the band (but sometimes the band is just accommodating)
There are objectively some rules that must be respected, all the instruments must be heard, there must not be anything too over or too hidden, and this applies both to the level and to the frequencies of the instruments which must not mask each other.
then the color of the instrument, for example if a guitar sounds less hard (like Morse’s) or harder (like McBride’s) are choices made by the musician that can be emphasized by the sound engineer, or vice versa modified according to the latter’s taste.
It is certain that the type of composition that the band conceives leads the sound engineer towards certain more or less hard or soft sounds, while the balance of the mix must be almost uniform.
as you say, the band (between someone who for ego would always like to be in the front row, and someone who doesn’t care) must be the first to be satisfied with the final mix of the album
May 15th, 2026 at 12:14It does sound good!
“Let’s try Hi-Fi for the earbuds era” seems to have been the brief.
Still, in this multiple-format times they could have easily released a highly compressed mix for streaming and a full dynamic range one for BluRay, vinyl or FLAC download, or whatever, but I guess we will have to wait 25 years for the Steven Wilson 10-disc remix (<- joke 🙂
@126
Indeed, same-y and generic (especially current drum production).
In my very amateur level of operation I got good results recording the drummer "live" with just 9 mics and later overlaying high quality samples that follow the actual performance in timing and velocity; then mixing 70% natural light compression / 30% samples heavy compression.
(No, I don't tell them there's 11% of Simmons kick drum on there)
I do love multiple snares like Gavin Harrison uses on "Harridan" or what Anika is now doing with Rush, it's like changing pickups on the guitar…variety.
Best, J.-
May 15th, 2026 at 13:07Denying that DP was a driving force in the creation of Heavy Metal is like saying that eggs needn’t have been invented and we‘d still have omelettes.
No one has yet convincingly delineated to me where Hard Rock stops and Heavy Rock starts and where Heavy Rock turns irrevocably into Heavy Metal. It‘s not the dungeon’s and dragons lyrics, Metallica and Slipknot don‘t do them, yet they are both seen as unquestionably Heavy Metal. It‘s not growly vocals, King Diamond‘s and Geoff Tate‘s voices were never growly, yet both Merciful Fate and Queensrÿche are doubtlessly Heavy Metal.
The boundaries are fluid and always have been. Deep Purple, Status Quo and Alice Cooper can all three fearlessly headline Wacken and be appreciated by a largely metalheads audience. That doesn’t make their music Heavy Metal, but it shows that they are part of the original DNA brew from which modern day Heavy Metal arose. You‘re delusional if you think otherwise and cannot hear the DP influence in, say, Judas Priest or Iron Maiden.
And Faraway J, I actually agree with you: WDWTWA is the best-sounding Mk II 70s product – and In Rock is the worst-sounding one, basically only professional demo quality.
May 15th, 2026 at 14:24@112
Yeah, I hear you Thorsun!
And I agree to most of your opinions but I didn’t say I don’t like it. It is just the Purple tune I’ve had trouble understanding completely.
I’m not having problems with the lyrics, and for me the lyrics is at least 50% of the whole tune, but in my head it’s untidy and not as nice as all the other tunes, however it is way better than other songs from other bands. (Except Rock’n’Roll with Led Zep, but I don’t think it’s comme il faut in these halls to mention them ☺️)
And because of this, I’ve listened to it again, and again…. It’s growing on me! (And I mind you not like bad fungus 😁)
May 15th, 2026 at 14:24@108
“I am getting out of here before ‘you know who’ gets a hold of me.”
– you’re not thinking of me, I hope 😃
Ask Anton, he will tell you I’m as nice as a kitten 😊☺️
May 15th, 2026 at 14:31@109
Rock I have his autobiography at my bedside, and I am not suggesting I can remember it by heart, but it is indeed a very good read 😊
I remember he was fond of his dad, but his parents divorced and Ian and his sister lived with their mom.
He mentions his dad with great affection and respect, but I guess he loved his mom dearly.
I also remember an answer in a questionnaire, where he was asked which woman he admires most, and it was after he met Bron, and the answer was ‘my mom’.
Re calling the parents by their first names:
May 15th, 2026 at 14:42My mom would have grounded me forever, had I called her by her first name. But maybe other parents are more liberal 😊
@111
“And I always thought Fireball (the song) was the precursor to speed metal. That is actually one of the few ultra-fast songs I like.”
Really!? Metal?
Well in my ears Fireball is everything lovely, blue and clear sunshine (yes Uwe, I’m trying to describe what is going on in my head 🫣)
Whereas any kind of metal is gruesome harsh colours and devastating components 😵💫😝
I acknowledge of other people’s tendency to combine Purple with the beginning of metal, but I do not 😊
May 15th, 2026 at 14:47“How can you play the bass then?”
Easy, Jack Bruce, Paul McCartney, Bill Wyman and John Entwistle never played ultrafast doubletime tempo songs either, I feel thoroughly relaxed in their company, I never wanted to be Cliff Burton! 🤗
The only thing that is ultrafast in Arrogant Boy is Simon’s sixteenth notes ostinato guitar in the first parts of the versese. All other instruments subdivide the music in a way that enables them to play eighth and even quarter notes. If everyone plays fast sixteenth notes, it sounds like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM__lPTWThU
I can’t dance to music like that, can you? And I can’t imagine it being played in a 1930s black sugar shack music club in Mississippi either.
Stuff this fast quickly sounds mechanical to me. And kind of hilariously adolescent.
I like music you can move your butt and hips to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hic-dnps6MU
May 15th, 2026 at 16:16@131
😁🤣 yeah Uwe, you have used this metaphor before.
And of course I know what you’re saying.
But! I just don’t hear any metal whatsoever in Purple.
That was my point of view 😊
And here we are growing, progressing – at the moment I’m listening to the Charismatic Voice analyzing Hey You from Pink Floyd’s The Wall
May 15th, 2026 at 16:40(Only because Jesper Binzer is playing the leading role in The Wall, and my friend wants me to go with him to see it… still not sure!)
@131
“And Faraway J, I actually agree with you: WDWTWA is the best-sounding Mk II 70s product – and In Rock is the worst-sounding one, basically only professional demo quality.”
Thanks for the comment Dr. Uwe 🙂
(Down here we call lawyers “Doctors in Law”)
Regards, J.-
May 15th, 2026 at 16:54I like the single . Very much. I just hope the sound production will be better than the one of its predeccesor… I have “=1” in vinyl , limited edition, and the sound feels compressed, dull, vague.. didn’t like it al all.. When compared with the marvelous 20th anniversary edition of “Rapture of the deep”,It sounds like hearing the songs through a cracked speaker; while “Rapture of the deep” 20th anniversary reissue is like a live studio session in perfect clarity,like a freshly unwrapped vinyl on a high-end turntable!
May 15th, 2026 at 19:04“Heavy Metal” is an old term. In the US, it was already used in the early 70s to describe all kinds of harder-edged guitar-centric music. In the mid-70s, bands like UFO, KISS, Rainbow and Judas Priest (before they had turned to the leather image) were described by the English music press as Heavy Metal – without anyone complaining (if Blackmore’s conscious move to a heavier sound from Rainbow’s debut to Rising wasn’t a “heavy metallization”, I don’t know what is). The fact that NWOBHM, an abbreviation/acronym for New Wave of British Heavy Metal , came into being, logically presupposed the existence of an “old guard of British Heavy Metal” and if you had asked a British music media person in 1980 who they consider to be part of that old guard, the names of DP, LZ, BS, Uriah Heep, Thin Lizzy, Rainbow, Nazareth and UFO would have all been dropped without blinking.
Heavy Metal didn’t just start with Metal Hammer or Kerrang! Ian Gillan writhing when he hears the term always strikes me as a bit disingenuous given that DP are – along with others – forefathers of the genre, GILLAN flirted with Heavy Metal components all the time and Big Ian himself had no qualms joining Black Sabbath and recording one of their hardest and harshest albums with them. That whole Heavy Metal/not Heavy Metal dispute reminds me a bit of people being adamant about a Chevrolet Corvette being a sports and not a muscle car, I get the point, but is it really THAT important and decisive?
May 15th, 2026 at 20:20Re calling the parents by their first names: Times change, it never bothered Martina and me whether our children Teresa and Leon called us by our first names, by nicknames, “Mama” and “Papa” or – mostly when they were poking fun at us – “Mutter” und “Vater”, we never had a preference either way. There are more important things in a parents-children relationship me thinks.
PS: Let’s ask AI whether Deep Purple is Heavy Metal or not, the answer is surprisingly balanced and layered:
Deep Purple is primarily classified as a hard rock band, though they are widely considered foundational pioneers of heavy metal. Alongside Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, they are often referred to as the “unholy trinity” of British hard rock and metal that shaped the heavy music landscape in the 1970s.
While their heavier, high-volume sound, and use of distorted, classically influenced guitar and organ laid the structural groundwork for heavy metal, there is a lot of debate among music historians and fans as to whether their actual genre is heavy metal.
Here is how they stack up:
– Hard Rock Roots: Their core sound features heavy blues-rock influences, swing, virtuosic jazz-like improvisation, and progressive rock elements, rather than the pure, dark, and riff-driven aesthetic that strictly defines modern heavy metal.
– Metal Pioneers: Albums like Deep Purple in Rock (1970) and Machine Head (1972) provided the blueprint for speed, power, and aggression that future metal bands adopted and built upon.
– The Verdict: While they are not typically called a “pure” heavy metal band by modern definitions, their undeniable contribution to the volume, technicality, and heaviness of the genre earns them a vital place in heavy metal history.
So now you know.
May 15th, 2026 at 21:50@136
“I like music you can move your butt and hips to.”
Ohh me too Uwe, like this one ☺️
https://youtu.be/jVkL-aOrkSo?is=nTwTqh9zRYyUvv9_
Or this:
https://youtu.be/l6rS8Dv5g-8?is=Urma5KxjQXxLdrzW
Maybe this:
https://youtu.be/l5a2tlMjXjg?is=HeFyL4sW09F_jwRD
And:
May 15th, 2026 at 22:11https://youtu.be/n4zRe_wvJw8?is=h6OLrVkcHbX99fj0
@140
“! Ian Gillan writhing when he hears the term always strikes me as a bit disingenuous given that DP are – along with others – forefathers of the genre, GILLAN flirted with Heavy Metal components all the time”
– hey Uwe, don’t shoot the messenger, I’m simply quoting the dear man 😄
May 15th, 2026 at 22:14at 2.20 …….It reminds me of Child in Time. I like it.
May 15th, 2026 at 22:37#140 Uwe:
no of course, it’s not that important and it’s all nuanced in rock, but for me neither Purple nor Sabbath are heavy metal… they’re hard rock.
Judas were hard rock and then they became heavy metal.
or Queensryche for most insiders are classified as prog metal, while Rush are prog rock.
In the early 70s there wasn’t even a single heavy metal band, from 75 onwards they started to emerge.
Manowar are heavy metal.
Iron are heavy metal
Heavy metal is a historical period of rock music from which heavier genres were born that perhaps had references to the sounds of the pioneers of hard rock (for example Doom or Stoner bands influenced by Black Sabbath & Hawkwind).
but it’s like a genealogical line great-grandfather-grandfather-father-son-grandson
May 15th, 2026 at 22:47Fla76:
I don’t think it’s that simple. While we can agree that there seems to be these general rules of nothing can be too over or under and all the instruments must be heard, that comes down to perception and personal taste.
Having been involved of the mixing of four of my own projects now, I can tell you that there’s a world of difference in perceptions between individuals in terms of soft, hard, if the instruments sound imbalanced, or even if an instrument can be heard. Case in point – Steve’s tone sounds harder to me than Simon’s, and Simon’s sounds tamer and softer to me, so I completely disagree with you, and that all comes down to individual interpretation and perceptions.
The rules themselves are subject to a vast amount of individual interpretation and perception and meaning- so even taking them into account, I stand by my opinion that there is no good or bad mix, just personal taste, and I would extend it further that there are *in practice* no rules of sound mixing, as these so called rules all come down to individual tastes, perceptions and feelings at the end of the day, as what soft and hard mean between musicians and engineers or other such terms vary widely, and those individual perceptions end up creating the mix.
How you hear a mix and how I hear a mix can be very different – there is no objective good, bad, soft, hard or whatever term we want to use, just how we perceive the sound. At the end of the day, it all comes down to personal taste, especially in terms of interpreting the rules and what they mean to individuals. I rest my case.
May 16th, 2026 at 00:01Uwe, I have a question that you could probably answer. It’s regarding the Fireball album. Other than Ian Gillan the other band members didn’t really like the album, and I’ve heard that sales-wise it didn’t do as well as In Rock.
May 16th, 2026 at 02:27However, it made #1 in the UK, and the top 40 in both the USA and Canada, as well as charting high in many other countries. In Rock only made it to 166 in the USA, while Fireball made it to a much higher 32. Yet the album is sort of disregarded by most of the band, but as the charts show it was clearly a successful album. I personally like it a lot, can you provide some insight as to why this is?
#125: If you truly believe the band is always right, then surely you wouldn’t still ponder the departure of Morse? Just because the artist/band feels something is right, doesn’t necessarily mean you have to agree with it. That would be closer to religion.
May 16th, 2026 at 05:39Comment #146 is actually my reply to Fla76 – I must have put their name into the your name box unconsciously when replying to them – apologies for the error and any confusion I may have accidentally created! My brain went SPLAT!
May 16th, 2026 at 06:48Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. No matter what it is in life, probably the best way to look at things we like or don’t like. How many times do we hear a musician proclaim a recording or song is the best they have ever done or one of their favourites. But to many listeners it is, well some of the worst they have ever heard that artist create. It is the way of things. We all enjoy what we enjoy or vice versa. Regarding the Fireball album, one of my favourites. I suppose with all the touring etc at that time it was a rushed job wasn’t it. The difficult follow up album. It was more successful in those terms with the charting, sales etc. But to most of the musicians that may not necessarily lead to a positive outcome of the final product. They then quickly move on to the next project or adventure. Cheers.
May 16th, 2026 at 09:03@147,
It will be interesting to hear what Uwe has to say on it, but from my knowledge and lectures of the band’s history – seems like it was the 1st album of the band that Ritchie personally disregarded and until 1993 he refused to play more than scarce tracks from it. They went too much Ian Gillan’s out of the box thinking way, straying away from the “punch in your face” hard rock formula exploited on “In Rock” and “Machine Head”. So that was the 1st instance of the “Blackmore Vs the rest of the band” issue. If you look at the resurgence of its material since 1995 in the set list – it’s rather clear that the 4/5 of the band DO enjoy playing this material and hold no grudge against it; albeit they don’t put it in line with 1970/72 albums.
Having said that, the 2nd side of the LP makes up for the 1st side ventures into unknown in spades. It’s one of the best LP sides in whole Purple discography. And the way DP reclaimed “Fools” and “No One Came” as the high points of their live sets between 1998 and 2003 is amazing and a pure testimony to the fact that there is no hate towards “Fireball” material between them.
May 16th, 2026 at 09:33Back to the core of the topic, I feel like sticking a stick into the ants’ nest here. Me and my friend in Purple succumbed to the temptation over discussing the possible inspiration for the “Arrogant Boy” composition. We were sensing that it reminds us of something well known in the annals of the hard rock catalogue (and it’s not “Highway Star”). Once we stamped our mind’s fingers on it – we were defeated. You can’t undo this resemblence – once it hits you. So – I will mercily not spoil the track for you all – I don’t want to hear moans and groans for next two months over it.
The only hint I will share – is that the track has the moon in the title and is very well known and adored in the fan circles of the outside Purple members music activity from 40+ years ago.
Now, you can go dig in – and don’t shoot the messenger, once you get the message. 😛 😀
May 16th, 2026 at 09:47@131 Easy: DP isn’t Heavy Metal. But Dio is.
DP did not dress up, use fancy stage sets, skulls et al on their covers. They did use piano, hammond, harmonica, swinging grooves, various subjects in their lyrics, just to name a few facts that clearly make them not metal.
May 16th, 2026 at 10:03I didn’t write this message #146 Fla76 which would be an answer to myself!
There are some objective things about sonic heaviness:
Metallica are heavier than Purple
Dream Theater are heavier than Purple
Lars & Portnoy have a heavier sound than Little Ian and they sound heavier
Whitesnake 1987 sounds heavier than Whitesnake Love Hunter
Rainbow Rising sounds heavier than SBTE
Steve & Simon’s sounds are similar overall, they are not as soft as Keith Richards or Little Steven, but they are lighter than Maiden.
what changes between the two of them is the way they play the rhythms (which makes Simon look slightly heavier), not to mention that Steve has always been penalised in the Purple mix from Rapture onwards, and I believe that even the too soft sound of those albums doesn’t do him justice.
May 16th, 2026 at 10:18The term “inspired” might be one of the most confusing word when it is used with other noun words like heavy/speed metal in this case
I’ll take one example, the late Ace Frehley guitarist of KISS. Late Dimebag Darrell loved him like God, as Ace was his first and main inspiration, having his kabuki face tattooed in his chest. But seeing Dimebag Darrell’s guitar playing, NONE was similar to Ace (who himself was Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix ‘disciple’). Dimebag was clearly into Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads territories
Not only Dimebag, but also Tom Morello, John 5, Marty Friedman of Megadeth, Dave “Snake” Sabo of Skid Row, Chris Caffery (Trans-Siberian Orchestra), Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, Rivers Cuomo (Weezer), Kim Thayall (Soundgarden) and Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big), all of them had publicly said Ace and KISS “Alive” as their 1st inspiration to pick up guitar. But none of them or their bands playing music like KISS.
Maybe only Mike McCready of Pearl Jam had some Ace’s thing like his solo in Pearl Jam hit “Alive”.
So it goes with Deep Purple and Heavy/Speed Metal thing. I agree other than Fireball and Speed King, none of Purple songs might have anything to do with metal. But Purple’s aggressions in ALL instruments, a lot of heavy instrumental passages, Gillan’s high-pitched and growling voice, plus the fast tempo of songs like Speed King and Fireball certainly inspired most of metal musicians and metalheads out there.
The problem with “Fireball” is, the song almost never got played live after 1972 (it wasn’t even in main Made in Japan album). To this day it still made me cringe reading 1980’s article of Blackmore’s interview when he despised Fireball album, calling the song as just double-drums track lol. Otherwise it might have been exposed more to much bigger audience.
Thanks to Mark 7, the song has been revived, curious to see how Simon will take it (although I wanted to see him taking “Knockin’ at your Back Door” as this is a song I don’t think Steve Morse really played it justice)
And talkin’ about Simon, I might crossed too far by saying his playing should be reminiscent of Gary Moore in Deep Purple and expecting a blues album which might suit’s the state of Gillan’s voice now.
Simon IMO just needs to establish his guitar sounds, he has a perfect band to show his talent, and stay away from this “Finally, back to 70’s/Mark 2”, “Perfect Blackmore’s replacement” nonsense. Bleeding Obvious and Arrogant Boy (despite I think it’s just an OK song) show plenty of his great guitar licks.
May 16th, 2026 at 11:35@141
Well Uwe, AI is not that great 😃
I put my name in AI, and here is what it said:
“It appears that Karin Verndal is not a widely known public figure or celebrity in the traditional sense. The name primarily appears in online communities, specifically as an active commenter on The Highway Star, which is a long-standing Deep Purple fan site and news blog.
Based on recent activity in 2026, she is known within that community for:
Engaging in discussions about Deep Purple and related rock music.
Sharing her appreciation for musical analysis and film soundtracks.
Her interactions with other regular members of the site, where she is noted for her “great taste in music” and “knowledgeable” contributions.”
– but I hope so there is much more to me than this!
F.i – I LOVE coffee, that’s not mentioned. And my little doglet Anton is not mentioned. My work is not appearing either.
What I mean is that AI is not perfect.
Why don’t we listen to the great man himself Uwe: (from AI 😝)
“Yes, Ian Gillan has explicitly stated that Deep Purple is not a heavy metal band.He addressed this specifically in an interview with the U.K.’s Planet Rock radio station. While discussing the band’s legendary track “Smoke on the Water,” Gillan said:”You listen to what [Ian] Paice plays in ‘Smoke’. Everyone thinks it’s a crash bash, it’s a heavy metal song. It’s not. […] And none of them actually realized that it’s a gentle touch.”Gillan clarified that “Smoke on the Water” requires a “gentle touch” rather than the heavy-handed approach often associated with metal. He further noted that Deep Purple, which draws from blues and jazz roots, aligns more with “hard rock”. Additionally, Gillan has expressed a dislike for the “heavy metal” label, along with “classic rock,” which he feels makes the band sound like “dinosaur music”.
So can we conclude that other people may consider Purple as a heavy metal band, but the great vocalist himself does not?
Please listen to all the interview, it is explained much better than I possibly can 😃
https://youtu.be/8e37oiMGxvQ?is=-rHJp9tZw0eszSFH
Conclusion: Purple is not metal. But some bands took bits and pieces and made metal out of them.
May 16th, 2026 at 11:48Just like when the first person made Parmesan he didn’t at the same time made lasagne, but some people later on took the Parmesan, grated it over lasagne and yummy!
That does not mean Parmesan is lasagne but it has been used now and then in lasagne.
(Ok it was a rubbish comparison 😄)
@153
Thank you Max!
That’s why I don’t like Dio!
Yes I know most of you in here adore him, but that’s actually why my skin cringe and my head goes crazy when I hear him.
And I have tried to get to like him. Have listened a lot to the man, but no. All my inner world is disturbed so I let you great people enjoy him 😊
May 16th, 2026 at 12:43#148 Daniel :
the band should always be right about the sounds, not about the personal dynamics…but anyway, given the dissatisfaction that Purple (but also a thousand other bands) have had for the sound of their records after years, it simply means that they “should” always be right, but they aren’t either.
Connecting to the discussion on musical genres, in hard rock the sonic canon is more difficult to define than in heavier genres, where it is also the type of obligatory sound that defines the genre itself.
#155 Andre:
I think that at his current age Simon has his own recognizable style… he is a very flexible guitarist who plays everything and adapts very well… having a very broad background, having taken inspiration from many famous guitarists older than him….
If he wanted he could play thrash metal or acoustic jazz, I have no doubt about it.
I’m listening to =1 again, and apart from the fact that there are at least a couple of songs more innovative than Arrogant Boy (one even with Ian Paice’s “heavy metal” double pedal!!), I find stylistic connections between Simon and Paul Gilbert of Mr.Big, to the point that some songs from =1 could very well be played and sung by Mr.Big themselves…. there’s an expansive soul base inside =1
May 16th, 2026 at 13:04@ Karin
“The Danish people are often being characterized by the phenomenon of being “brokke hoveder” – in english: complainers or grumblers..”
By now it has become clear to me many countries think they own this trait.
We the Dutch say the same about ourselves, embellished by many derogatory sayings in English about the Dutch.
For now I hold the position that the English,of course we were in wars with them, were able to use their famous wit to create countless negative sayings due to them being sour we sometimes won.
The intriguing part is the we didnt do the same.
We could ve been sour after letting the English buy New Amsterdam, letting become English lingua franca
Instead, espescially after WW2 we embraced everything coming out of UK or USA.
Wow, a lot of writing.
Maybe the weather is the reason everywhere?
I try to do a bit of gardening now but darnnn, its cold.
May 16th, 2026 at 13:52In our ongoing series ASK UNCLE UWE …
Sidroman and Thorsun: Yes, In Rock‘s bad US chart placing is indeed baffling at first sight given the album‘s iconic status, but the explanation for it is easy and has nothing to do with the music:
In 1970 and first half of 1971 you simply couldn‘t really buy In Rock in North America. Why? In Europe, DP had been with EMI Electrola and its sublabels Odeon and Harvest, there was no disruption of distribution. Not so in the US: There DP was on the Tetragrammaton label which by the late sixties was spending money like it was going out of style, with the result that by 1969 they had run out of it. The label went bust and the artist roster was eventually acquired by Warner Brothers, but by the time the new owners turned their attention to DP in 1971, In Rock was an old hat and WB wished to concentrate on the new album Fireball which for that reason was rush-released in North America already in July 1971 while the rest of the world had to wait until September of that year.
So it was lack of record company support, Mk I‘s third album, the Concerto and In Rock all fell through the cracks in the US due to the lapse in effective distribution. If Tetragrammaton couldn‘t pay the pressing plants, no DP vinyl was produced, simple as that.
There were other factors too:
– While Mk I had toured the US with some success, Mk II was in 1969 and 1970 a strictly European phenomenon. Mk II didn‘t tour the US until the summer of 1971, tying in with the release of Fireball there.
– Some people have voiced doubts whether the In Rock Pop Art cover, so iconic in Europe, was really a smart idea in “I pledge allegiance to the flag”-US. Five Limeys poking fun at a national monument like Mount Rushmore?
As to the quality criticism of Fireball: It was a less immediate album than the no-holds-barred In Rock, but for me In Rock is five young men pounding their fists on the table and saying: “We’re heavier and harder than Led Zep!”, with not that much attention to songwriting, while Fireball showed Purple evolving and stretching their wings, it’s a more diverse album, more progressive and psychedelic too, lyrics exploring deeper subjects. My main gripe is Roger’s sound with the short scale Fender Mustang he only used on that album, a failed experiment after he found that his long scale Fender Precision had not been audible enough in the In Rock mix, Roger really only found his trademark sound with the Ric 4001 on Machine Head.
May 16th, 2026 at 20:15😂🤗
You guys’ definition of Heavy Metal is lacking, you seem to concentrate on the fantasy aspect of it, dressed like gladiators or vandals or Robin Hood, escapist fantastical lyrics and silly stage props. That might encapsulate Dio, Iron Maiden and Manowar, but what about Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Pantera and Linkin Park? Are they then not Heavy Metal? Not every Metal band dresses like extras from Ridley Scott’s Gladiator or a Renaissance Fair, thank god we have some a little more urban-minded people too.
https://youtu.be/5R682M3ZEyk
https://youtu.be/Ypkv0HeUvTc
I didn’t see any antique or medieval fantasy here, did you?
And once even Black Sabbath is no longer Heavy Metal, I really have to scratch my head? So Dio is Heavy Metal and Sabbath’s Heaven & Hell and Mob Rules albums aren’t? Sure had me fooled.
Finally, I’m old enough to remember the first Metal Hammer issue in Germany from 1983, they had a headbanger cartoon page back then and the cartoon protagonist with suitably long hair, tattoos and dressed in leather listened to “some shit-hot old music” on his turntable and began to sing along “I’m a speed king, you gotta hear me sing …” before the neighbors intervened.
So that is final and conclusive proof that Purple are more Heavy Metal than they (and their fans) like to admit. 🤣 Probably the most un-Metal aspect about DP is the prominence of Jon Lord’s and Don Airey’s keyboards, because while a lot of Metal uses keyboards – hidden from the fans – to augment their wall of sound, they shun away from giving keyboards a transparent dominant role like in Purple.
There is no set of universally workable criteria to clearly and cleanly discern in each and every case hard rock from heavy rock and heavy rock from heavy metal. They bleed into each other, morph and merge. The situation is confounded by the fact that bands perceived as Heavy Metal by many music lovers claim to be “not Heavy Metal” such as KISS, AC/DC and Motörhead – yet all three could play at any Heavy Metal event and no one would ask ”What are they doing here?!”.
May 16th, 2026 at 22:22I guess you can rightfully say that in North America, Mk II’s career began only with Fireball, in other parts of the world with In Rock, which in Germany , DP’s spiritual home, has outsold any Purple album before AND after it by a mile. Machine Head, Made in Japan, Burn, Perfect Strangers, they are not a scratch on the sales of In Rock. That was in 1970/71 an “every-household-owns-one” album in Deutschland and presented for years in any record shop window, there was no escaping it. My older brother brought a copy home too and just the cover impressed me hugely as a 9-year-old, years before I had heard, much less understood the music.
May 16th, 2026 at 22:44@157
Dear Mrs. K.
Not to try to “change your mind” or anything (I’m definitely not), but you should know that RJD was not a metal singer until he worked with Mr. Blackers.
For some earlier performances that showcase his incredible range as a singer, you may try one day “Sitting in a dream” by Roger Glover, “Wonderworld” (NOT Wonderwall!!) or “Happy” by ELF and “The Way of Love” by Ronnie Dio and The Prophets.
Dude could have battled Ol’ Blue Eyes himself on any stage if the Multiverse had played its cards differently…
This raises another amazing trait of the Purple saga: NONE of the people that went on to be iconic hard-rock/metal voices (Ian, David, Glenn, Ronnie, Graham, Joe) were into the style at all before working with Ritchie!
Anyway…
May 16th, 2026 at 22:47All the best,
J.-
Uncle Uwe, might as well be as that fits with uncle Bob (Ezrin) and uncle Rob (Halford). The three amigos, he he he. Oh dear, spare us the thought. More like the three trouble makers! Surely NOT. Cheers.
May 17th, 2026 at 01:54Whomever pointed out a bit of “I Don’t Know”, I can’t unhear it now but it’s a great song. I can’t image it is the best song on the album either.
Let’s hope Splat ain’t the last new music we hear from these lads.
May 17th, 2026 at 03:24Thanks for the insight, Uwe, I think the past few times I’ve seen Purple nothing was played from Fireball, not even the title track or Strange Kind of Woman, I know I saw Purple perform No One Came and The Mule in the past, but it’s been long overdue in my opinion.
May 17th, 2026 at 04:56Btw, concerning Mt Rushmore I don’t think Purple offended too many Americans, I don’t think I ever met anyone in my 54 years that’s been to Mount Rushmore. it is in South Dakota aftercall, not a very populous state. I did meet a very sexy Nurse Corps Officer in the Navy from North Dakota, but I can’t remember knowing anyone from South Dakota lol
@159
So amusing that you mention that about your country ☺️😄
Because I’ve always found your people to have a mild temper, being easygoing people.
And to continue the stereotypes:
– British people filled with the most hilarious sarcasm
– German people logical, to the point, manufacturing the greatest cars
– French people filled with charms and a lot of espressos
– Swedish people blonds, blue eyed, always smiling
– Norwegian people – well dressed in knitted clothes
– Spanish people with a lot of feisty lust for life
– Italian people, great at enjoying la dolce vita
– ok, that’ll do! 😃 but never have I met any other nations who complain and grumble as much as the Danish people!
Maybe the weather?!
Maybe 😊
And that’s what I like so much in here (well among other things!) the ability to chat with other people from around the world 🙏🏼
https://youtu.be/Yw_sJifUYgM?is=qJIrDypn7I_vPDef
Have a lovely Sunday everybody 🤗
May 17th, 2026 at 05:02@ 166- and what about us Australians?????? Where the ‘women glow and men chunder”. Come on Karin, all the men out here are six foot tall and full of muscle, surely that would have at least tempted you? Cheers.
May 17th, 2026 at 10:00Fair enough Uwe.
But isn’t it like that with all things human? There’s always exceptions to the rule, one things morphs into another, there is no strict line between black and white. Like with races. All kinds of people in all kinds of colours exist – but still you’d say there are people you’d call black and others you’d call white – with many inbetweens. And all things considered DP are not metal. It’s not about the garb and the dragons alone. I know about the bands you mention. They don’t swing, most of them, they don’t use pianos or harps, they usually know two states of mind: aggressive or sad.
May 17th, 2026 at 10:23I like Dio a lot … but where’s a good time party song by Dio the band? (He had those with Elf, even Rainbow – but that wasn’t metal!) Maiden? Metallica? Manowar? Aggressive or sad.
And ACDC as well as Motörhead were dead right when they said they’re not metal. That’s Rock’n’Roll.
@161
“You guys’ definition of Heavy Metal is lacking, you seem to concentrate on the fantasy aspect of it, dressed like gladiators or vandals or Robin Hood, escapist fantastical lyrics and silly stage props.”
– nope Uwe! Not me…
May 17th, 2026 at 11:21I go after the gruesome colours in my head, and the music that makes my skin crawl! 😊
Is it any wonder I choose beautiful and lovely music?
@163
“Not to try to “change your mind” or anything (I’m definitely not)”
– ohhh J don’t mind if you do (or try!) I have changed my mind very much since I entered in here 😃
I am not so stuck up (not thinking of you Uwe, should you read this 😁) that pride prevents me from learning new things 😊
I will also never forbid others who are far smarter than me from teaching me new things. 😊
First and foremost, I am alive to learn and understand life better.
So – bring it on! ( but please allow me to draw my own conclusions 😊)
“the Multiverse”, woah! You too?!!?
I will this afternoon listen to Dio.
You know, a woman I admire very much, the Charismatic Voice – Elisabeth, is a very strong fan of Dio. So of course I have been listening at her YouTube page, but so far I have not been convinced of his apparent genius.
You know I have loved and appreciated the voice of Ian Gillan for most of my life, and not many, if any, can ever do what he has been doing all these years.
And yes, a couple of the very nice people in here have been pulling my pig tales because of that, but you know true love (I’m NOT thinking of the romantic kind) will never wither and die 😊
As Arnold said: I’ll be back 😄
May 17th, 2026 at 11:38Uwe is correct about Deep Purple here in the States. By the time Warner Brothers got around to Deep Purple it was too late to do anything about In Rock. Tetragrammaton records, of which one of the owners was Comedian Bill Cosby, were more worried about having food cooked by Chefs and having Fresh Flowers brought in every day that they went broke. Warner Bros never released the first 3 albums. Instead, around 1972, they put out “Purple Passages”, a compilation of those first 3 DP albums.
May 17th, 2026 at 12:51The Tetragrammaton versions of Shades and TBOT were easy to find here in the States but that 3rd album was impossible to find, even in import record stores. It was the hardest DP album for me to find!! I finally found an 8 track version, put it in the machine, and it immediately got eaten up!!! I FINALLY found the 3rd album in the import section of a record store near Chicago. By the way, when Warner Bros did release In Rock, they left off the opening Bomblast!!!!!
#16 1Uwe
Metallica, Anthrax, Pantera & Slayer are thrash metal.
linkin park a commercial nu metal.
Ronnie as a soloist was Heavy metal.
Black Sabbath were the fathers of heavy metal, but for the year they were born I consider them hard rock, then that they got heavier over the decades (as much as Judas and others) becoming Heavy is certainly true.
I was at Wacken in 2003, at that time it was unthinkable that the Bill would have hard rock bands like Purple inside.
then probably the organizers of Wacken and other metal festivals realized that the leading bands couldn’t always be the same Thrash, Power, Black bands, and they also opened up to historical bands that guaranteed attendance not only of young “hard and pure” metal fans.
AC/DC have been compared to metal mostly for their irreverence, for the red horns (of the devil?), for the lyrics, but musically as much as Kiss, I would never say that they are heavy metal.
this is heavy metal:
https://youtu.be/beTsxHArDXE?is=VSOueTs0_vSEMSSE
this is heavy metal, or rather Power metal
May 17th, 2026 at 13:55https://youtu.be/v3AgeIjDRlA?is=uCREPw1SUF4oSKKc
@168
🤣 but MacGregor, admin will indeed frown at me if I went through all the nations!
May 17th, 2026 at 16:11But you certainly make an interesting point re “your” people 😄
I don’t know any Australians… but you know the very beautiful Queen Mary of Denmark is indeed a worthy representative of your neighbourhood 😃
@169
That’s what I mean! German people: logical and to the point 😃
You’re right Max, heavy metal is aggressive and sad…
Whereas Deep Purple (even when Ian wasn’t singing) is pure lust for life and mostly happy.
‘When a blind man cries’ may be lesser positive, but it is definitely describing life when a love ends.
‘Mistreated’ has crept high up on my list of all time’s favourite 😊 mostly because of David Coverdale’s beautiful singing, and the amazing riff by Mr Blackmore 🥰
What I love so much about Ian’s lyrics is the ‘tongue-in-cheek’, a bit sarcastic and very witty content 😊
What I don’t like about the lyrics I have read/listened to in some Metal songs are the somewhat more somber tone.
But never mind, live and let live 😃
May 17th, 2026 at 16:32If I’m allowed to prefer Deep Purple I’m happy!
@171
You clearly speak from the heart Karin and you truly love the music, it shows 🙂
“The Multiverse”
Nooo, that was just a form of expression, I am not a nutter in that way (I am a nutter in many other ways)
I completely understand you, some music “chooses you” and the love for it never dies. True.
I once saw Ian give his all to a very small but rabid audience on the “Toolbox” tour, such a great man. (Sadly, I also ambushed him after the gig, about which I am not too proud, haha)
Regarding the female aspect (which I know it was NOT your point), I remember my old 90s girlfriend liking Ian and particularly the dimples on his smiling face.
Whereas my wife (different person!) fancied David more, with his feisty and charming rock star persona and melodic voice (she even attended a Whitesnake gig with me but alas, the “voice” did not appear that night).
Have a nice weekend! 🙂
May 17th, 2026 at 17:01@152
Fear not Thorsun, the early-Ozzy riffing inspiration (1 degree of Bacon away via Don’s presence) has already been mentioned, with happily no casualties thus far 🙂
Cheers, J.-
May 17th, 2026 at 17:30@ 171- Karin, listen for yourself if you are interested, not to a YouTuber for crying out loud! Those ‘tubers’ are there for sensationalism and attention seeking bias. If you don’t like something that is fine, just leave it at that if it annoys you. Also, no one is a genius, everyone has their faults and repetition. So much of what people do is repeated over and over. Vocalists are no different than a guitarist, drummer, keyboardist, bass player and any other instrumentalist. To say that no one else can do what Ian does is unbelievably naive and comical. You need to get out more, not physically, but in your mind. Explore the bigger picture, it is out there. You do listen and enjoy certain Opera singers. We all have our favourites as to what we enjoy. It is far too limited and one dimensional comparing everyone else to one individual. Look at what happened when you finally ‘listened’ to Coverdale, without all the ‘noise’ influencing your minds prejudice. Cheers.
May 17th, 2026 at 18:40Herr MacGregor, Australian men are deservedly legendary, Karin has no idea what she is missing out on!
https://youtu.be/d9_6-Zu1Lls
May 17th, 2026 at 23:49Sidroman, Fireball has this unjust reputation that nothing from it could be played live, but the truth of the matter is that Ritchie DIDN’T LIKE to play anything off it, he’s good at boycotting whole albums live, just look at Rising and LLRnR. I don’t hear anything on Fireball that strikes me as impossible to recreate live, Little Ian can even convincingly fake Fireball with just one bass drum, I’ve heard him do it at drum clinics and live dozens of times.
That said, In Rock didn’t exactly spawn an embarrassment of staple live tracks either.
The only 70s DP album that saw all its songs played at one point or another was Machine Head and that album was conceived by Messrs Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord & Paice to contain as many songs that were playable live as possible. They did achieve that.
Some Fireball tracks live …
https://youtu.be/HzHCs8oSPCE
https://youtu.be/NTsrj2GfN8I
https://youtu.be/IxS7DtM1TZU
https://youtu.be/kuRSsvBjNJc
https://youtu.be/IpL7Ndkk1kM
https://youtu.be/DE_oi-mhOA8
https://youtu.be/pLjZRkEfQGQ
https://youtu.be/01-2-7_IRFA
Come to think of it, Fireball is another album where every song was played live! So the “forgotten album” status is really undeserved. It wasn’t as gleamingly commercial as Machine Head and not as brutish underground as In Rock. Really more a companion album to the likewise underrated WDWTWA which also saw DP stretching their wings and getting away from just Ritchie style riff-o-mania.
May 18th, 2026 at 00:18@163
Dear Jay,
Your list of “not crooners” (as I call it for myself) includes Mr Bonnet, but actually before he got to audition for Rainbow, he reportedly wasn’t aware of hard rock at all, and his venture The Marbles sounded extremely pop. He did have a set of tremendous pipes, but hardly ever had the finesse and delicacy that RJD has shown on the “Butterfly Ball” closing track, “Homeward”. That really shows his vocal versatility, absolute beauty and ability to slide into almost feminine deep, melodic tone. He had most of the bases covered in spades.
And as for Karin’s organic dislike of Dio’s rock delivery – she’s an example of a rare case of anti-RJD stance.
Many people’s sheer affection for Ronnie is also much triggered by how great, friendly human he was towards the fans. I had been blessed to meet him twice and he was just incredibly good natured to legions his followers. This quality really makes us miss him as much as his great voice. Much alike to Jon Lord in regard of approaching people, actually.
May 18th, 2026 at 04:44@ 179- ha ha ha ha, oh why not Uwe? Nicole Kidman playing Karin Verndal, he he he. Karin, I cannot believe you have never met an Aussie, not even a female Aussie. Is that what you meant by not knowing any? Life is too short gal, get out there. Even if you have to sail down here on a Longship. We will be waiting for you! Cheers.
May 18th, 2026 at 09:24@ 180 – yes indeed those early 1970’s live Fireball tracks are great, a shame that Gillan’s voice is shot though. But that is rock ‘n roll. Fireball the album is the classic case that other musicians take about occasionally. The difficult follow up album. The same scenario as WDWTWA following Machine Head. Many artists suffer from that situation in certain ways. At least that is what they say and sometimes we can hear it in respect to certain albums and song, but not always. Fireball is one of Gillan’s better lyrical albums. He started writing more philosophical and even politically then, that appeals to me a lot more. That 2005 live Fireball version is fine musically, but vocally Gillan struggles there, which is predictable as those early 70’s chestnuts are a vocal tour de force. And probably best left back there as hindsight has proven. It was still ok throughout the 1980’s but after that? Both Fireball and WDWTWA still sound fresh to me, probably because they were not heard as much everywhere over the years, particularly back in the old days out here in Australia. Thanks for those links Uwe. Cheers.
May 18th, 2026 at 09:53@178
🤣🤣😆
“To say that no one else can do what Ian does is unbelievably naive and comical”
– MacGregor! I almost hurt myself falling down on the floor laughing off some part of me 😆😆
But you’re right, I do need to get out more, both in and out of my head 😄
Please listen to me:
In my opinion, be it unbelievably naive and comical, Ian is the ultimate singer, at least for me 😃
I acknowledge that David Coverdale sang very, VERY, nice too.
But for me no one on this green and beautiful earth can do what Ian did and does so elegantly!
I cannot explain why, nor do I want to try to explain it, it’s just a fact, for little old me 😃
Yes, I finally listened to DC, and I like his voice when it was pure and clean.
And yes, I like to listen to Pavarotti and Domingo… and yes Jeff Lynne had a beautiful voice too… as many others had and have.
But dear MacGregor, I thrive in my one dimensional world 😂🤣
I really do!
Thank you so much for brightening up my day…
May 18th, 2026 at 11:44(Have to tell you, not many like the people in here, make me laugh so hard! So thank you for that 🤗)
@179
Oohhh my 🤣🤣
Uwe, you and your dear friend from the Australian part of the world are on fire today!
I’m thankful I didn’t have any patients in my clinic when I read your sweet and kind comments 😄 they would have had me committed! Immediately!
I guess there are many nice men around the world, but I have found the one I prefer! No names mentioned, no need to!
May 18th, 2026 at 11:50@181
🤣
“And as for Karin’s organic dislike of Dio’s rock delivery – she’s an example of a rare case of anti-RJD stance.”
– Thorsun, I am proud of my own ability to be true to myself! No matter how many times my pigtails are being pulled, no matter how many times someone in here calls me naive, one-dimensional, and (here I am paraphrasing) “restricted in the head” – I guess it is the free world we are living in? Or have I misunderstood that too? 😁
The last time I went through Karnov’s collection of laws, I could not see in any paragraph that I needed to change my taste in music, singers, clothes, hairstyles, lipstick etc – it is a personal matter….
But listen to me: I acknowledge that you guys in here like him, or worship him (whatever is the case) but I have this synesthesia going on, and I promise you the little dude does not make nice colours in my head 😆
Ian Gillan however, well that is a completely different story 🤩💜
Thorsun, I’m curious: why is it so important that I like the voice and singing of Dio?
Does it make him less of a singer to you in here that I cannot stand him?
If anyone diminishes Ian Gillan, well, of course I would like to have their head examined, but I would not try to convince them that Ian is the greatest singer I have ever listened to! 😃
Now I will make myself some coffee, got a new blend: Hazelnut 😍🙏🏼🔥
May 18th, 2026 at 12:05The new single is really OK, brilliantly well played but for us old timers that is part of the problem which makes it less exciting. In the IN Rock (1971) days it was the sheer thrill of very loud riffy songs with wild solos and consequently a long way from pop music. It all seems a bit clinical to me these days they all know exactly what they are doing and do it well.
May 18th, 2026 at 14:17Can’t wait for the Splat CD.!!
Dio was a fine, nuanced and variable singer, but what he couldn‘t do was a high-pitched, raspy falsetto and that eventually cost him his job with Rainbow, but not everyone has to be Lou Gramm, Brian Johnson, Rob Halford or Tom Keifer.
https://youtu.be/MCOrtJMQmVs
I actually have to agree with Karin that Big Ian is a one-of-a-kind-singer, his combination of an operatic, not really bluesy voice, falsetto overdrive, British Pop sentiment, talking over the music and diaristic raconteur lyrics plus unconventional melodies is pretty much singular in the business. Bruce Dickinson got the operatic part of his idol down pat, but little else.
May 18th, 2026 at 15:30Well yes, Ian Gillan is very unique, I think so too. Not one singer comes to mind that comes even close. It’s a special mix, just as Uwe described.
May 18th, 2026 at 17:19@182
“Nicole Kidman playing Karin”
She wishes 🙂
(Nicole)
@181
Ok, but allow me to propose an alternate viewpoint, suppose you are a sensitive music loving female and you are exposed to a sample of Ronnie’s love lyrics, such as:
“Say you don’t love me? You’ll burn!!
It’s a question of time ’til you’re mine and you learn!”
Do you see it now? 😂
Cheers, J.-
May 18th, 2026 at 17:36All Europeans know at least one Australian since last Saturday:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMm2aqdsrOU
As ESC songs go, I actually thought it was quite good. Very much a fabricated hymn and a bit contrived with the Bon Jovi’esque key change towards the end, but hell … the lady had some real Celine Dion-inspired pipes! And she could play keyboards, now if DP ever are in need of a new keyboarder(ess), just imagine how her cleavage when she bows forward on the Hammond – Uwe makes inappropriate leering noises … – would put Jon’s and Don’s to shame! (I needed to get that out, being the dirty old man I am.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3YYv1ngb8E
Ms Goodrem’s song did repectably well (#4), but I thought it clearly deserved to win. She had immaculate vocal control in her performance. Great range too.
May 18th, 2026 at 18:50@177,
J, yes, someone dropped the “I Don’t Know” similarity – and now I hear it, it fits, but the track me and Tommy were sniffing at is… er, not that one 🙂 All in all, Don and Simon’s past leanings pull through, and why shouldn’t they! There’s not much left unknown to discover in that genre, the shtick is to mix bits and pieces to match the style and make it enjoyable in the new configuration.
May 18th, 2026 at 19:53@ 186,
Karin, the answer is maybe simple and naive, but it is what it is – I’m just surprised that it’s possible! It’s just extremely rare, but that’s all there’s to it. 🙂
“Maybe I’m amazed”, as Macca used to sing 🙂
Peace!
May 18th, 2026 at 19:59Since nobody says it, I will fearlessly do so, as usual: Ronnie, both as a frontman and as a singer, was unsexy as heaven & hell to the other gender. Wimmin are slaves to their hormones.
https://media0.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTZjMDliOTUyd3d4c3FxZGdjd3o5YWVqMTRmZTl1bzh6bGk4d3U2aDlqanB2eTNnOSZlcD12MV92aWRlb3Nfc2VhcmNoJmN0PXY/IuDuyCzwD4cuKj2LmM/200w.gif
May 18th, 2026 at 23:00@ 192 -“There’s not much left unknown to discover in that genre, the shtick is to mix bits and pieces to match the style and make it enjoyable in the new configuration.” Exactly Thorsun and good comment. Hence my ‘cut and paste’ comment a little earlier. Cheers.
May 19th, 2026 at 01:53@188
“actually have to agree with Karin”
😁
Oh Uwe that sounded like it was a bitter pill to swallow!
I do never speak for anyone else, I’m only expressing my own opinion re singers. And to me Ian is that singer that I enjoy the most.
Yes, I do hear other singers perform very well, but Ian has it all! – TO ME.
May 19th, 2026 at 07:45@191
I don’t!
Since 2000 with these fine brothers:
May 19th, 2026 at 07:49https://youtu.be/JF8fkHK0AWs?is=m-LrdmmKU3t9wnXW
I made a promise to myself: no one can ever be this good and sensual so why bother myself with watching that show?
@193
Peace right back at ya!
Well, I am a unicorn 🤣 oh wait, could have been a pimple
This dear lovely old man has sadly just died, but him I have always adored:
https://youtu.be/A8zWl8hiVpU?is=7gtJ6w545rZInXKr
So please don’t think of me like MacGregor described me, I do have spikes, corners peculiarities etc.
May 19th, 2026 at 07:55But oh man how I adore this bloke:
https://youtu.be/zi3lxg9SX28?is=0y759OtyG1Y8WaIv
@192 & @195
Exactly x2.-
May 19th, 2026 at 12:53Hi Uwe @191.
Our very own girl from Sydney, Australia’s Delta Goodrem gracing the pages of The Highway Star.
It is indeed a weird and wonderful musical world.
Last time I caught the Eurovision contest from yester-year, a bloke with a beard, wearing a flowing sequinned gown was crowned the winner. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Cheers
May 20th, 2026 at 06:24John T
Well, I’ve been listening to the new track for a while now, and even though I usually enjoy faster songs, this one just doesn’t quite work for me.
First, the overall sound feels too flat and lacks depth and dynamics. Second, the guitar is mixed too far back, which takes away some of the energy and bite I expect from Deep Purple. And finally, there’s simply too much keyboard for my taste. I would have preferred the keyboards to play more of a supporting role to the guitar rather than dominating the arrangement. At times, it starts leaning a bit too much toward ELP territory for me.
May 20th, 2026 at 11:51😂 DP have been sounding like a band with a “lead keyboarder“ for quite a while now, Don is more assertive than even Jon ever was. The only keyboarder I can think of who “reigns” over the sound of his band more is Phil Lanzon of Uriah Heep. Compared to him, Don is a “Waisenknabe”.
I don’t mind Don’s spearhead position in Purple, the world is populated with bands with dominant guitarists and diminutive keyboard players, it’s a good thing that DP is
a littlevastly different in that respect.This is coming from someone of course who thought that ever since the GORGAN hid in its cave in 1973, there has been too little keyboards in all eras and areas of DP until the advent of Don not-so-Airey-at-all-but-rather-quite-massive. Rainbow‘s sound suffered for me too because the keyboards were often just a frequencies-filling afterthought. I like “lead keyboarders“, you have no idea how hard it is to find one on an amateur/semi-professional level. I looked for decades and found only two all in all.
Bring on overly LOUD keyboards!
https://youtu.be/RGkFnMu7V0c
May 20th, 2026 at 17:40A good bit of live footage that Uwe, of UK. Even though it isn’t the four piece setup, I still find that very interesting. No guitarist had me wondering, apparently they auditioned Steve Vai or at least were going to, anyway they decided to do a ELP, so to speak. Did you go to the reunion era concerts of 2011 and the next year or two, of course they were a four piece there. I have watched those live videos often, some very good performance, plus a couple of King Crimson tracks too. Had to enjoy the lady presenter referencing the live album release ‘everybody records live albums from Japan these days’, he he he. Superbly filmed and recorded, brilliant. Well, the violin was a tad too loud, not to worry. Cheers.
May 21st, 2026 at 07:58At the UK reunion gig I saw (sans Terry Bozzio), they played the songs from the first album with a guitarist and the ones from Danger Money without him – so it was best of both worlds.
May 21st, 2026 at 20:33video of two sound engineers reviewing Arrogant Boy:
https://youtu.be/RvGgic8vEnc?is=GRo3IPgvOQFeQU2f
nothing in depth, but still it’s a good mix for them.
in fact when they say that the organ is generally predominant compared to the guitar (solo aside) they are right.
interestingly, halfway through the video one of the two says that he is mixing with Ian Paice a live album from the Purplendicular tour that will be released soon!
in the video he shows and hears the Cubase Pro audio sequencer with the separate drum tracks, and says that he only put two plugins, a Neve equalizer, and a DBX compressor, because LittleIan has excellent control of the beat, and doesn’t need audio gates!
Even if it’s just for a few moments, it’s amazing to hear LittleIan’s snare drum and the ghost notes he plays!
Question for Svante: can you put a quick link on the home page to let you know if there’s any news?
May 24th, 2026 at 16:50@205
Re: AB
Thanks Fla76! Excellent addition 🙂
I got the same impression as those guys: excellent clear production and really good song that packs a LOT in under 4 minutes. Many other people also noted the excellent diction on Ian’s vocals (try understanding a word James LaBrie sings with Dream Theater!!) But yes, the warmer sounding PRS does not cut through mixes as well as a vintage Strat.
Re: Purpendicular (the band)
Nice to hear Ian up close and personal and indeed he plays so well that the snare processing is minimal (4:1 is a gentle compression ratio and the Neve plugin EQ is just a touch of shelf for presence).
Also, loving that beautiful small-ish SSL console 😍
No idea which “already out there” track (of the IP+P live show) he is talking about, though…
Best regards,
May 24th, 2026 at 20:08Julio.-
Blackmore’s Strat sound was beefed up with treble boosters and what not. All by himself, his sound was often actually a bit on the nasty side, but as is often the case, that nastiness sounded just right in the overall sonics of the band. And did cut through without overshadowing Jon.
Simon patterned his sound after guitarists that did not have a Jon Lord delivering a full frequency background. There is a reason why Blackmore never really plays without a keyboarder – his whole sound is geared to complementing one.
May 25th, 2026 at 00:12As we all know, Ritchie, he doesn’t like playing rhythm guitar, so a keyboard player is a necessity. Regarding these PRS guitars, I don’t mind them, hearing them in concert or from recordings even all the way out here. We have been spoilt though, haven’t we. Stratocaster, Telecaster, Les Paul, SG and Rickenbacker, Precision, Jazz etc etc. Also the old tube amps from the day. Snare drums that went ‘crack’ when they were hit and a kick drum sound that hit you in the chest. Here we go again, ‘back in the good old days…….”. Cheers.
May 25th, 2026 at 06:59There is nothing in the least wrong about PRS guitars. All the mystique attached to Fender and Gibson is a bunch of bull. When Fender guitars first came out, luthiers were horrified how unconventional they were: An industrial grade bolt-on connection between body and neck rather than an artisan’s “set” (= glued) neck/body joint? Shudder the thought!
Sound is overwhelmingly determined by the player, not by guitars and amp settings. If you were blindfolded at a Purple gig and Blackmore, Bolin, Morse and McBride were substituted from song to song using one and the same guitar, amp and amp setting, you would never be in doubt who is playing, the changes would be radical and immediate.
Don’t let guitarists clamoring for “their” equipment to get “their” sound tell you otherwise! The creation of voodoo illusions is their daily bread. 😂
May 25th, 2026 at 10:32@207 Exactly
@208 Exactly too
The (old) band almost self-mixed itself by the combination of all those things you mentioned!
My daughter inherited my PRS as it was too polite and “sensitive” for me, I prefer to keep bashing hard on the ol’ trusty Strat! (albeit, beefed up with a hum bucker)
Cheers, J.-
May 25th, 2026 at 11:52@ 209- Uwe’s Comedy Central, nice one! Cheers.
May 25th, 2026 at 22:08Now there is also a version from the all female italian cover band Strange Kind of Women: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XQ7YQ4mVpY
May 29th, 2026 at 19:33Put the vocals to one side for a moment, and concentrate on the music. This could absolutely be a track from the classic Saga album, “Worlds Apart”! And that is meant as a compliment!
May 30th, 2026 at 09:19The signoras learned that one subito!
May 30th, 2026 at 16:24I found this :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8Cdp3IR4Yk
I do not think it was announced this time, so in AI times I got a bit wondering… Yet it sounds real.
Catchy riff this one!
June 5th, 2026 at 06:37@215
It is real 😊
June 5th, 2026 at 10:45Tonight, at my time, 8 o’clock, the video arrives at YouTube 😊