Defenders Of The Faith, le forum Metal

Asked when the group will issue a new CD, the musician said: “One should not expect something that will never happen.”

QMI Agency: It's been six years since your last record — your longest break between albums when you weren't on hiatus. Is that because nobody buys albums anymore?

Glover: There's an element of that. There's been disagreement in the band about whether to do another album. They really don't make money any more. My opinion is that we are an album band and should make them even if it costs us money, because that's what we do. Maybe I'm a traditionalist, but I believe we should stay what we are. We can progress with our music, but the way we do it should be the way we've always done it. There's nothing wrong with that. An album is like capturing a moment in time. And in a band with a history like ours, those moments mean a lot.

Durung a recent interview with U.K.'s Express & Star, DEEP PURPLE frotnman Ian Gillan was asked when fans might be able to expect the band's follow-up to 2005's "Rapture Of The Deep" album.

"The fact is that we've been touring flat out," said Gillan. "We did 48 countries last year. We're getting so much off on that we just don't feel the drive at the moment for writing."

Gillan did reveal, though, that DEEP PURPLE convened for a mini writing session earlier in the year.

"We were in Spain for a little while and we had a week off," he said. "We spent most of the time in the bar, to be honest with you. It was a good session, but nothing absolutely dynamic came out of it.

"I think to get some progress as far as an album's concerned you've got to have a target, you've got to work to a date, and that gives you pressure. If you've got the pressure, you get stuff done. We don't have a plan, to be honest.

"Things have always been chaos, certainly since I joined, and we've never been able to plan anything. If we'd been able to make plans, we'd probably have retired by now!"

"People like to do stuff that they're good at, that they enjoy, that they get something out of. So while it's fun and we're all getting older and bits are dropping off here and there, it's still great. I think there probably will be another album.

"And because we're not doing an album (right now) doesn't mean I don't write every day. It's a day off today and for me it's a full day at the office. This morning is interviews and this afternoon I've got two or three interesting pieces I'm working on at the moment. I write every day and so when I do come round to making an album there's never a shortage of what I call colour material."

British hard rock legends DEEP PURPLE are very excited by the prospect of making a new and significant album. To that end, they have decided to extend their writing and recording period through the summer of 2012.

Commented DEEP PURPLE singer Ian Gillan: "We know we will disappoint some of our fans this summer. However, we look forward very much to our autumn/winter tour and continuing our worldwide tour with our new album in 2013."

On the upcoming DEEP PURPLE studio album:

"It's being mixed as we speak. We've finished recording. It's a new tone, it's a new direction, it's fresh stuff. I think it was all written and recorded in Nashville, and the reason we went there — not to make a country record, but because Bob Ezrin, our producer, lives in Nashville and so it made a lot of sense because he had all the studio facilities and back up and everything else. So it made it really easy. It was a great environment to record in, and yeah, there's a bit of diversity on the record. There's some sort of… Defining music is just so hard; it's just really… it's hard to define. If you think of a solo artist, you normally know them by their name; you don't normally describe their kind of music, you just say, 'It's so and so or it's so and so.' But with bands, everyone feels an obligation to categorize then. I think when you've been around the block as many years as PURPLE has and a lot of other bands, you just listen to see what comes out. It's not the same at all. So it's kind of hard for me to describe it. I can't compare it with any other album either, as far as I know. It will obviously find a niche somewhere when it comes out in April, so I'm looking forward to hearing it. [laughs]

British hard rock legends DEEP PURPLE will release their 19th studio album via earMUSIC, the Hamburg, Germany-based international rock label which is part of Edel Group, on the following dates:

Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Finland, Spain: April 26
UK, France, Benelux, Poland, Czech Republic, Norway, Denmark: April 29
North America, Italy: April 30
Sweden: May 1

A short audio teaser for the CD is available below.

After various songwriting sessions in Europe, the band recorded and mixed the album in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Bob Ezrin (KISS, PINK FLOYD, PETER GABRIEL, ALICE COOPER, KANSAS). The CD is expected to contain 13 tracks, including "Out Of Hand", "Hell To Pay", "Weirdistan", "Uncommon Man" and "Above And Beyond". The latter song references the band's late keyboard player, Jon Lord, in the lyric "Souls having touched are forever entwined."

According to earMUSIC, the CD is "rumored to be the perfect match from the original spirit of '70s PURPLE, and a fresh and modern production."

Regarding the album title, Gillan offered the following cryptic comment to Classic Rock: "There's a big question mark over the name at the moment. And possibly an exclamation mark as well. You can read what you like into what I've just said. All will become clear — as mud — later on. That's all I'm allowed to say. The question mark and the exclamation mark might get you intrigued."

earMUSIC will reveal details about the new DEEP PURPLE album in real time as soon as they will become available on a dedicated web site where all band members will also be able to post and interact with the fans: www.deeppurple2013.com.

Everflow a écrit :

"Now What?!" will also be released as a limited edition with a bonus DVD featuring DEEP PURPLE discussing the new album and one bonus studio cover version. It will also be made available as a double vinyl LP.

The first taste of "Now What?!" will be the release of a double A-side single on March 29 (as a limited and numbered vinyl seven-inch, CD single and digital download).

Seven-inch vinyl (limited to 1000 numbered copies)

Side A:

01. Hell To Pay (radio edit)

Side B:

01. All The Time In The World (radio mix; edit)

CD Single

01. All The Time In The World (radio mix; edit)
02. Hell To Pay (radio edit)
03. Perfect Strangers (bonus track live)
04. Rapture Of The Deep (bonus track live)