Watch Deep Purple's 'Arrogant Boy' Video

(SRO) Deep Purple have debuted the first single and video for the powerful, fast-paced hard rock tune "Arrogant Boy." It's the initial musical statement from SPLAT! the band's new studio album set for a July 3 release on earMUSIC. The official music video for the track is a live performance clip which premiered last night (May 12) on YouTube.

The band-Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Don Airey, and Simon McBride-are currently featured on the cover of Classic Rock Germany, where the magazine highlights "Arrogant Boy" as "an electrifying song in the style of 'Space Truckin' or 'Highway Star,'" adding that it "doesn't copy these classics; rather, it cleverly varies them."

"'Arrogant Boy' is the story of Billy who couldn't read or write," says DEEP PURPLE frontman Gillian. "He is unhappy with things, so he speaks up, and finds a way of irritating, one way or another, the elite. And I can't think of anything more fun than irritating the elite. It would be a joyous exercise for me every morning after coffee."

The single arrives one week after DEEP PURPLE announced their new studio album SPLAT! Once again, the band has teamed up with producer Bob Ezrin, continuing a collaboration that has shaped the band's recent studio albums, all of which reached #1 on the album charts in multiple countries.

On the touring front, DEEP PURPLE have just completed shows in Asia and the band is set to continue touring with a run of European summer dates in June before officially launching the SPLAT! World Tour in North America in August. The upcoming touring schedule includes 86 shows across 28 countries, bringing DEEP PURPLE back to major arenas across Europe in autumn before the year ends with shows in South America in December.

SPLAT! will be released on July 3 on earMUSIC and is available for pre-order in multiple formats including CD, vinyl, and limited editions. Further exclusive fan items are only available on the official SPLAT! shop.

At the heart of SPLAT! is an idea conceived by Ian Gillan. Rather than treating the end as destruction, the album imagines it as transformation: SPLAT! explores the end of humanity not in any crude apocalyptic sense but as a metamorphosis beyond physical existence.

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