Jethro Tull have launched a video for Shoshana Sleeping, the first single to be taken from their upcoming album, The Zealot Gene, which is due to be released by InsideOut on January 28.
The Zealot Gene is Jethro Tull's second studio album this century, and the first since The Jethro Tull Christmas Album in 2003. Alongside founder Ian Anderson, the current line-up of the band includes guitarist Joe Parrish-James, drummer Scott Hammond, pianist John O’Hara, and bassist David Goodier. Florian Opahle also plays guitar on the album.
The mythos and themes of Biblical storytelling are central to the lyrical content of the new album, as Anderson explains. "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," he says. "The good, the bad, and the downright ugly rear their heads throughout, but are punctuated with elements of love, respect, and tenderness.”
Work began on The Zealot Game in 2017, and the album was originally slated for release in 2020 with a tour to follow, but it wasn't to be. "It was so sudden," says Anderson. "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 available in several formats, including two artbook editions: a limited edition 2CD+Blu-ray version, and a limited edition deluxe 3LP+2CD+Blu-ray set. Both artbook editions feature an additional CD of demos and initial ideas, and come with extensive liner notes and an interview with Anderson undertaken by No Man and Henry Fool singer/songwriter Tim Bowness.
There will also be a digipack CD and a 2xLP/CD edition.
Jethro Tull: The Zealot Gene tracklist
1. Mrs. Tibbets
2. Jacob's Tales
3. Mine Is The Mountain
4. The Zealot Gene
5. Shoshana Sleeping
6. Sad City Sisters
7. Barren Beth, Wild Desert John
8. The Betrayal Of Joshua Kynde
9. Where Did Saturday Go?
10. Three Loves, Three
11. In Brief Visitation
12. The Fisherman Of Ephesus
