Jethro Tull have announced details for the groups first studio album of new material in over 18 years! Originally making headlines in March of this year, the band’s newest offering, titledThe Zealot Gene, will see a January 28th, 2022 release on Inside Out Music. To give Tull fans their first taste of the new record, the group has released the first single from the album titled Shoshana Sleeping, accompanied by a stunning visual created by Thomas Hicks.
A record that began to take shape as early as 2017, The Zealot Gene, in many ways, seeks to defy convention during a time when the business of being a touring and recording artist has never faced more uncertainties. Tull bandleader Ian Anderson holds no reservations about the role for which the mythos and themes of Biblical storytelling played in the lyrical content of the new album, saying:
“While I have a spot of genuine fondness for the pomp and fairytale story-telling of the Holy Book, I still feel the need to question and draw sometimes unholy parallels from the text. The good, the bad, and the downright ugly rear their heads throughout but are punctuated with elements of love, respect, and tenderness.
Looking back on the earth-shaking disruption of the Coronavirus pandemic, which ultimately ended the bands touring plans and hopes of a 2020 release for The Zealot Gene, Anderson shares, “It was so sudden. Amidst the concerns and warnings of the scientific community and a few more enlightened politicians, we all retreated in disbelief to our homes to wait out the storm.”
The Zealot Gene will be offered in the following formats:
– Special Edition Digipak CD
– Gatefold 2LP+CD+LP-booklet
– Limited 2CD+Blu-ray Artbook
– Limited Deluxe 3LP+2CD+Blu-ray Artbook
Both artbook editions feature a second CD of demos and initial ideas, plus extended liner notes and an interview with Ian Anderson undertaken by Tim Bowness (no-man)
The Deluxe 3LP+2CD+Blu-ray Artbook comes on white vinyl and includes a 3rd LP with the rough demos. It also includes a slipmat and a numbered art print. Pre-order now here: https://jethrotullband.lnk.to/TheZealotGene
The Zealot Gene Tracklisting:
- Mrs. Tibbets (5:54)
- Jacob’s Tales (2:13)
- Mine Is The Mountain (5:40)
- The Zealot Gene (3:54)
- Shoshana Sleeping (3:41)
- Sad City Sisters (3:40)
- Barren Beth, Wild Desert John (3:37)
- The Betrayal Of Joshua Kynde (4:06)
- Where Did Saturday Go? (3:53)
- Three Loves, Three (3:30)
- In Brief Visitation (3:00)
- The Fisherman Of Ephesus (3:41)