Jethro Tull have announced a new album, The Zealot Gene, expected in early 2022. It will mark the prog legends’ first release as part of a new record deal with InsideOutMusic/Sony Music.
The news comes as an unexpected surprise and major boon for longtime fans. Last year, the band’s charismatic vocalist and flautist Ian Anderson gave fans a scare when he said he was “suffering from an incurable lung disease” and that his “days are numbered.” He later clarified that he was battling COPD and that it was manageable for the time being, while also explaining that he meant that his “days as a singer were numbered.”
Whatever the case, it appears Anderson was fit enough to deliver at least one more Tull album. The Zealot Gene has already been completed, according to a press release, but no further details are known.
“After 54 years in the world of music recording, it is with great pleasure that I now sign Jethro Tull to a record company which reminds me, in many ways, of the old Chrysalis label — both as an independent and in its later years in partnership with EMI,” Anderson commented on the new signing. “Here are real music guys with a passion for the best and most creative in rock music. We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship and more releases to come.”
Jethro Tull are among the most prolific and longstanding rock acts of all-time. With seminal classics such as Aqualung to its name, there’s no disputing the Grammy-winning band’s place in the annals of rock lore. The new album will be Jethro Tull’s first proper studio LP since 1999’s J Tull Dot Com (not counting 2003’s The Jethro Tull Christmas Album).
“Adding Jethro Tull to the roster is an incredible honor for us,” InsideOutMusic label manager Thomas Waber said in the press announcement. “The band are true innovators of the genre and we are looking forward to working with them on their new album. We are sure their countless fans will be as excited about it as we are!”
The current Jethro Tull lineup consists of Anderson, guitarist Joe Parrish-James, drummer Scott Hammond, pianist John O’Hara, and bassist David Goodier. Guitarist Florian Opahle also contributed the album, but is not in the core lineup.
Stay tuned to Heavy Consequence for details on Jethro Tull’s upcoming album The Zealot Gene.
