Deep Purple - Infinite (2017)

Not many bands can still surprise, or even excite you after they have been around for almost 50 years. When listening to Infinite, Deep Purple's most recent album, I knew for sure: they can.

The album kicks off with Time For Bedlam. Such a dark and irresistibly pressing song, that's on a level with some of their best and most intense material, like Perfect Strangers, Child in Time, or Rapture of the Deep. A vision of brutal suppression and resistance, perfectly crafted, like a Hieronnymus Bosch painting of hell. Ian Gillan's clerical chanting in the beginning, declaring that he is "descending the cold steps of the institution for the political insane - never to be seen again", building up tension, then the rest of the band kicks in and sending the song off with claustrophobic intensity - a textbook example of how to throw its listener right into the action.

May the rest of Infinite be not quite as gloomy and dramatic, it stays quite heavy, with the relaxed and confident playfulness of a band that feels free and fully in its equilibrium. The result are songs which are fresh, witty and flow so naturally and groovy that its simply a pure joy to listen to.

From the light-hearted, and slightly self-deprecating hymn Johnny's Band about the rise and fall and eventual muddling on of a rockband (with a hilarious promo video), to the tender and melancholic The Surprising and stomper like Hip Boots or Get Me Outta Here - Infinite is overboarding with strong performances. There isn't really a song you could call a filler... except the last one: The Doors cover Roadhouse Blues, which is just unnecessary and misses the feel of the original, without adding anything new and relevant to it.

Even with that little lapse, Infinite is one of the band's strongest albums. Like the last couple of releases, it shows that even a band that has been around for so long, still can be inventive and wild and write songs where you keep on discovering something new. Brilliant stuff!

Who knows for how much longer Deep Purple will still be around, but at least, If Infinite is really going to be their last record, then they end their long and spectacular career on a high note.