![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/gillan8.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/airey2.jpg)
Bizarre, philosophical, and deeply satirical
First reviews of Splat! started appearing in the press, both virtual and otherwise.
The primary impression here is one of tons of energy, enabled by Bob Ezrin’s glistening production and a widescreen mix that gives space to the various elements. Purple rarely let up on this album, switching between their trademark organ and guitar flurries for all the world like they haven’t been doing it for decades. Gillan doesn’t make the easy error of lapsing into unwarranted nostalgia or reactionary bitterness, either, although there is a song about the evils of AI, inspired by his struggles with an internet Captcha, and The Lunatic was partly inspired by the banning of that word by the powers that be.
The musical textures aren’t uniform, though: a high point comes when Airey lets loose with a Stevie Wonder-style clavinet solo on the title track, itself based on a sinister, Dear Prudence-alike descending chord sequence that adds a nicely spooky touch. Splat! is a blast from start to finish, and whatever’s in the water at Purple HQ, we want some.
Jazzandrock.com has an extended track-by-track review that concludes with (as translated from German by Google):
Musically, Deep Purple once again demonstrate their remarkable ability to combine classic hard rock with prog elements, blues, humor, and narrative depth. But what is particularly remarkable is the lyrical coherence of “SPLAT!”. The album reads like a surrealist novel about the last days of humanity – full of outsiders, eccentrics, dreamers, and survivors.
The common thread lies in the idea of transformation: Every character on this album is in transition. Some fight against the world, others against themselves, while still others escape into fantasy, madness, or spirituality. The great “Splat” at the end is therefore not a fall, but a liberation from the constraints of reality.
This album is simply insane!
Mojo magazine reviews the album in their August 2026 issue. It is behind a paywall, so no further info available.
Thanks to Georgius Novicianus and Tobias Janaschke for the heads-up.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
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