According to the DEEP PURPLE fan site The Highway Star, the band's bassist, Roger Glover, revealed in an interview with the Itar-Tass Russian news agency that DEEP PURPLE has completed work on 14 songs for a new studio album with producer Bob Ezrin (KISS, PINK FLOYD, PETER GABRIEL, ALICE COOPER, KANSAS), with 11 or 12 tracks set to appear on the final CD. A tentative February 2013 release for the as-yet-untitled effort is expected.

In other news, The Voice Of Russia reports that when DEEP PURPLE perform in Yekaterinburg, St.Petersburg, Moscow, and Krasnodar later this month, they will unveil compositions and songs that have never been performed before.

DEEP PURPLE's Russia tours have become a regular occurrence since the band’s first performance in the country in 1996.

DEEP PURPLE's 18th studio album, "Rapture of the Deep", was released in November 2005. It was the fourth studio CD from DEEP PURPLE since guitarist Steve Morse joined the band in 1994. It was also the second album to feature veteran keyboardist Don Airey.

"Rapture of the Deep" was produced by Mike Bradford, who also worked on the band's previous release, 2003's "Bananas".