Now What?!
| Now What?! | ||||
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| Studio album by Deep Purple | ||||
| Released | 26 April 2013 | |||
| Recorded | 2012 at The Tracking Room, Anarchy Studios and Rainbow Recorders, Nashville, Tennessee, USA | |||
| Genre | Hard rock, heavy metal, progressive rock, progressive metal | |||
| Length | 57:06 (standard edition) | |||
| Label | earMUSIC (UK, part of Edel Group), Edel (Germany) | |||
| Producer | Bob Ezrin | |||
| Deep Purple chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Now What?! | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Sputnikmusic |  |
| BW&BK | (8/10) |
Now What?! is the 19th studio album by English rock band Deep Purple. It was released on 26 April 2013 and produced by Bob Ezrin. A dedicated official web site was also created by the band to post updates about the album. It is the band's first studio album in over seven years; Deep Purple's previous studio album, Rapture of the Deep, was released in late 2005.
On 26 February 2013, the album's title was announced. Additionally, a new single featuring "Hell to Pay" and "All the Time in the World" was released in both CD and vinyl formats on 29 March 2013. The band confirmed that the new single "Vincent Price" will be released on 7 June as download, CD single and 7" transparent vinyl. The single would also include the previously unreleased song "First Sign of Madness", two tracks from the now unavailable Rapture of the Deep limited edition and the track's video-clip.
Two songs are dedicated to founding member Jon Lord, who died in July 2012 – "Uncommon Man" and "Above and Beyond", which includes the lyrics "Souls having touched are forever entwined". "Uncommon Man" is partly inspired by the classical composition "Fanfare for the Common Man", and features a synthesizer-generated fanfare theme composed by Don Airey.
AllMusic's Steve Leggett commented that the album sounds like a product of progressive metal's golden age, while the album appeared on Sputnikmusic's list of the "Best Progressive Rock Albums Of 2013."
Following its release, Now What?! has been met with mostly positive reception from critics. Steve Leggett with Allmusic gave the album four stars out of a possible five, saying "Some things really shouldn't change, and Deep Purple recognize that. They haven't changed a bit, and the group's many fans are going to find this release comforting in that regard". Sputnikmusic gave the album three and a half stars out of a possible five, writing "Fans of Purpendicular and the group’s last two albums will find several pleasing moments and the band should feel proud of the outcome too'.
Now What?! sold 4,000 copies in its first week in the US.
Six months after its release Now What?! was certified gold in Germany (100 000 copies sold).
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Wikipedia