By: William Clark
Considered to be one of the pioneers of heavy metal, Deep Purple have captivated the music world throughout the past four decades. And if you’re only familiar with their rock ‘n’ roll super hit “Smoke On The Water”, you’ve been truly missing out on the full breadth and depth of one of the greatest bands to ever grace the studio and the stage.
Renowned for their captivating and elaborate instrumentation comprised of bold synthesizer playing, ever expansive guitar work and vocal melodies, all of which is proudly showcased throughout their output of 19 studio albums.
Most musicians hang it up at this point in their musical career, but Deep Purple are still kicking, bound and determined to continue creating standout rock and roll anthems. And that’s all the more self-evident on their new studio album, Now What?! .
This new album is a proud collection of 12 new compositions, filled with all of those captivating elements that made such previous outings as Machine Head and Perfect Strangers timeless classics.
Your anticipation slowly builds as the album kicks off with “A Simple Song”, which begins with a slow guitar riff that gradually increases its volume and power. Soon a passionate, wailing guitar solo rings out over the clicking high tops, before Ian Gillan begins to sing. “Once you sing a simple song, got confused, went on too long”, just before the band kicks into full gear with burning keyboard playing and standout vocal melodies. It’s a fantastic way to kick off the band’s long awaited return, and it only goes up from there.
Whether it’s the hard hitting chorus of “Weirdistan”, the riff racing “Hell To Pay”, and the knockout power ballad “All The Time In The World”, Now What?! never disappoints. Not only is the band at the top of their game musically, but they still maintain that surging youthful energy that pulsed through their earlier efforts, something that’s all but vacant in most bands still out on the scene in their senior years.
Don’t believe me? Well, a quick listen to “Body Line”, a track that a would force a blush out of a young David Lee Roth. “I’ve been seeing you dancing all night long, your legs go on forever” Ian sings out, while backed by a pulsating bass beat and a memorable blues guitar riff.
From start to finish, Now What?! is on target and a thrilling album, that never once disappoints.
I personally hope that this won’t be the last album we get from these rock and roll legends, as they are just as good, if not better, than ever. If this ends up as their last album, they can always claim that they left as a force of nature.
Tracks:
1) A Simple Song
2) Weirdestan
3) Out of Hand
4) Hell To Pay
5) Body Line
6) Above and Beyond
7) Blood From A Stone
8) Uncommon Man
9) Apes Vous
10) All The Time In The World
11) Vincent Price
12) It’ll Be Me
enrique de argentina (10 years ago)
Coincido con este comentario..un trabajo extraordinario de Deep Purple y una gran alegria para sus admiradores que continuen llenando estadios en todo el mundo y ofrezcan su musica al publico de todos los paises….
david (10 years ago)
Typo alert, You say “Now What?! never ceases to disappoint.” Looks a bit odd in your othewise excellent review. :)
Julian Woodward (10 years ago)
“never ceases to disappoint” – I don’t think you meant that, did you? It meaning absolutely the opposite of what the rest of the review says :-)
Guitar International Magazine (10 years ago)
Thanks to all who caught this phrase – we’re discussing with the writer for clarification to ensure his review matches his intentions. And a closer edit by me would have been good too! Thank you! Rick