It’s not even September, but Duran Duran are already gearing up for spooky season. The band is back with a new song, “Danse Macabre,” the title-track from their upcoming 16th studio album, which will arrive Oct. 27, just in time for Halloween.
Danse Macabre was inspired by a special Halloween show Duran Duran played in Las Vegas last year. The album boasts 13 songs, comprising three new tracks, a few theme-appropriate covers, and reimagined versions of some of Duran Duran’s own songs.
The title-track is one of the new songs, with keyboardist Nick Rhodes saying it “celebrates the joy and madness of Halloween.”
As for how the whole Danse Macabre album came about, Rhodes said, “The record metamorphosed through a pure, organic process, and not only was it made faster than anything since our debut album, it has also resulted in something none of us could have ever predicted. Emotion, mood, style and attitude have always been at the heart of Duran Duran’s DNA, we search for light in the darkness and darkness in the light, and I feel we have somehow managed to capture the essence of all of that in this project.”
Covers comprise the bulk of Danse Macabre, with Duran Duran taking on a wide array of songs from all eras: Billie Eilish’s “Bury a Friend,” The Rolling Stones’ “Paint it Black,” Siouxsie and the Banshees “Spellbound,” as well as a Rick James-inspired track called “Super Lonely Freak.” The band also recorded a cover of the Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer” featuring Måneskin’s Victoria De Angelis.
Along with De Angelis, the album will also feature a collaboration with Nile Rodgers, as well as original guitarist Andy Taylor. Taylor has been battling prostate cancer for several years, and recently revealed that he’d started a new medication that he believes will give him another five years to live. His contributions to the new Duran Duran album were teased earlier this year, while Taylor is also preparing to release a new solo LP Man’s a Wolf to Man — his first in 30 years — in September.
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Duran Duran recently kicked off a new leg of their North American tour alongside Nile Rodgers and Chic. The run will continue through next month, wrapping Sept. 23 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Danse Macabre Track List
1. “Black Moonlight”
2. “Love Voudou”
3. “Bury A Friend”
4. “Supernature”
5. “Danse Macabre”
6. “Secret Oktober 31st”
7. “Ghost Town”
8. “Paint It Black”
9. “Super Lonely Freak”
10. “Spellbound”
11. “Psycho Killer” (feat. Victoria De Angelis)
12. “Confession in the Afterlife”
