DEEP PURPLE

(UNITED KINGDOM)

INFINITE

(2017)
LABEL:

EAR MUSIC

GENRE:

HARD ROCK

TAGS:
Bluesy, Groovy, Technical
"Deep Purple shows on "Infinite" an energy that many young bands could envy him and a sense of vigorous compositions that do not forget to be intelligent."
CORTO1809 (07.04.2017)  
4/5
(0) opinions (0) comment(s) (1) Biography + (4)
A ship on a frozen sea whose erratic course draws the sign of the infinity before continuing its journey towards an unknown destination. Such is the cover of Deep Purple's twentieth album, "Infinite", announced as the last of the British giant before a world tour, "The Long Goodbye tour", also the last, closing the page on a legend.

No one has forgotten that after a rather psychedelic-classical beginning, Deep Purple has defined the contours of hard rock alongside Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, delivering to posterity the excellent "In Rock" and "Machine Head", forty-seven years ago already. Closer to us, "Now What?!" released in 2013 showed us that age did not affect the band, still capable of showing great energy and creativity.

And four more years won't diminish these beautiful dispositions. On the contrary, where "Now What?!" could have been rejected by the hardcore hard-rockers, who might have been a bit too picky about the melodies, "Infinite" should have been able to conciliate them thanks to a hectic rhythm that only slows down on a few tracks.

The album kicks off with 'Time for Bedlam' which, after a short opening in the form of a prayer delivered by a fake voice (which also closes the track and is only there to scare fans of "hard-hitting binary melodies"), sets the tone: overexcited drums, galloping bass, velocity of the guitar and a debauchery of saturated Hammond organ that seems to explode from all sides.

This is a vitamin-packed introduction that sets the album off at a steady pace, which the band keeps up until 'Get Me Outta Here'. After 'The Surprising', a track that lives up to its name, mixing western and oriental sounds in dark or crystalline melodies flirting with the classic in a very progressive approach, the rhythm calms down a bit, almost abandoning its hard side to keep only the mid tempo rock side ('Johnny's Band', 'Birds of Prey'), or even blues on the Doors cover that curiously closes the album, if it is indeed the last one. Unless one should see this as a form of homage to the band's origins. Only 'On Top of the World' returns to heavy hard rock, even evoking a certain 'Smoke on the Water', but ends with a bizarre litany that sounds very much like 'The Lord's Prayer' before ending with a quick, uninspired fading out.

Deep Purple once again shows its ability to make hard rock something other than a music on which we dance while mechanically shaking our heads in dizziness. Of course, the desire to move in rhythm is there, but the band doesn't forget to add some original flourishes of its own, some unexpected melodic lines that add spice, combining strength and finesse, classicism and originality.

The Glover/Paice pair has nothing left to prove in terms of efficiency, power and precision. Each track contains a double guitar/keyboard solo, most often wild and technically impressive. To say that Steve Morse and Don Airey make us forget Blackmore and Lord would be an exaggeration, but their high level performance is not to be ashamed of their predecessors'. As for Ian Gillan, if his singing no longer reaches the high notes of his youth, he keeps his vigour and charisma intact. Rather than shouting to mask any inadequacy, the singer calmly asserts his maturity, making his performance particularly pleasant and convincing.

Bob Ezrin's production preserves a perfect balance between the five protagonists, restoring all the power of the tracks without giving the impression of a sonic mess as it is often the case when one is entitled to a debauchery of decibels. Here, the listener can indifferently follow each member in isolation or listen to the whole album with the same degree of pleasure.

"Infinite" is one of those albums that reminds us that hard rock was originally the turbulent little brother of progressive. Deep Purple shows an energy that many young bands could envy and a sense of vigorous compositions that do not miss being intelligent.
- Official website

TRACK LISTING:
01. Time for Bedlam (04:35)
02. Hip Boots (03:23)
03. All I Got Is You (04:42)
04. One Night in Vegas (03:23)
05. Get Me Outta Here (03:58)
06. The Surprising (05:57)
07. Johnny's Band (03:51)
08. On Top of the World (04:01)
09. Birds of Prey (05:47)
10. Roadhouse Blues (06:00)

LINEUP:
Don Airey: Claviers
Ian Gillan: Chant
Ian Paice: Batterie
Roger Glover: Basse
Steve Morse: Guitares
   
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