METALLICA's LARS ULRICH praises DEEP PURPLE's 'Made In Japan'
20-08-2025
The official DEEP PURPLE YouTube channel has uploaded a new three-minute video of METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich in which he discusses the reissue of DEEP PURPLE‘s classic 1972 live album “Made In Japan”, which has just been made available as 5CD+Blu-ray and 10LP box sets featuring newly remixed versions of all three of its concerts, plus both stereo and Atmos mixes by Steven Wilson. Wilson‘s stereo mix is also available separately as a 2LP version.
Ulrich says: “Hey, everyone. Lars here. I just wanna take a brief second and say 53 years ago, this very weekend, DEEP PURPLE were in Japan for the very first time, and those three concerts were recorded. Two nights in Osaka, one night in Tokyo were recorded and eventually became the ‘Made In Japan’ album — in my humble opinion, hands down the best hard rock live album ever. I have heard it just about 18,000 times, and every time I hear it, it just gets better and better and better, and it’s so crazy cool. It’s so lively, it’s so energetic and just ‘aarghhh’. You know what I mean? You know what I mean?
“Now, there is a reissue, remaster, all that ‘re’ stuff, version of the album that includes — let me get this right — all three nights of the three concerts,” he continued. “So not just one version of each of the songs, but three different versions of each of the songs. And it’s coming out right now and it’s got, obviously, everything else, depending on what package you get. It’s got the kitchen sink and more of the kitchen sink and a bigger kitchen sink and all that stuff in it.
“But just going back to the music, the crazy thing about hearing this, and like I said, I’ve heard it a lot, is that when you hear the three nights of the three the three different concerts, the versions of the songs, they’re all fucking so crazy cool, but they’re different from each other. So one night ‘Child In Time’ is this long, and the other night ‘Child In Time’ is that long and the third night ‘Child In Time’ is that long, because the solo is a different length. [Then-DEEP PURPLE guitarist Ritchie] Blackmore is in a different mood. [DEEP PURPLE drummer] Ian Paice is playing against him in this kind of way and it sets up these vibes. And then [DEEP PURPLE singer] Ian Gillan goes over here and then [DEEP PURPLE bassist] Roger Glover‘s holding this down. And [then-DEEP PURPLE keyboardist] Jon Lord goes here on the keyboards and over there, and it’s also crazy fucking cool.
“So maybe this is the longest video honoring [laughs] and saluting this great piece of work,” Lars added. “I promise you I’ll shut the fuck up now. But ‘Made In Japan’, people, ‘Made In Japan’, ‘Made In Motherfucking Japan’ is coming out again as a reissue and all that good stuff. Check it out. Just check it out. Maybe you’ve already heard it 9,000 times. Maybe you’ve never heard it. Wherever you fall, just check it the fuck out, ’cause in terms of live hard rock and roll, this is as good as it gets.
“Thank you for listening to this babble. Lars saying over and out.”
On August 15, 1972, DEEP PURPLE took the stage in Japan for the first of three shows that would give rise to one of rock’s most celebrated live albums, “Made In Japan”. Universal Music made available a Super Deluxe Edition of the landmark release on August 15 — exactly 53 years after the first performance was recorded.
“Made In Japan (Super Deluxe Edition)” features new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes of the original by acclaimed producer Steven Wilson, all three concerts newly remixed by Richard Digby Smith, and several rare single edits. It will be released as a 5CD/Blu-ray set at retailers nationwide, and a 10LP black vinyl edition, available exclusively from the official artist shop and UMG D2C stores.
A 2LP black vinyl version of Steven Wilson remixes will be available on August 15. The digital companion will also be available everywhere on August 15.
Originally intended as a Japan-only release, this double live album became a surprise global phenomenon. Released in the U.K. in December 1972 and in the U.S. the following March, “Made In Japan” went platinum in America and several European countries.
Singer Ian Gillan, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, keyboardist Jon Lord, bassist Roger Glover and drummer Ian Paice — DEEP PURPLE‘s famed Mk II lineup — turned studio staples like “Smoke On The Water”, “Highway Star” and “Space Truckin'” into explosive live statements. “We came halfway around the world and found the audience singing every word. It was magical,” Glover recalls in the collection’s liner notes.
The band enlisted engineer Martin Birch — who had worked on several of their best-known studio albums — to record the shows to eight-track tape at Festival Hall in Osaka and the Budokan in Tokyo. The performances on “Made In Japan (Super Deluxe Edition)” capture DEEP PURPLE at full throttle, powering through songs from their then-new album “Machine Head”, along with fan favorites like “Child In Time”, “Strange Kind Of Woman” and “Speed King”. The collection also includes rare single edits, like the German version of “Black Night” and the Mexican edit of “Space Truckin'”.
The live album garnered widespread critical acclaim, with Rolling Stone declaring it “PURPLE‘s definitive metal monster, a spark-filled execution of the typical PURPLE style.” This recognition led to its impressive ranking at No. 6 on their “Readers’ Poll: The 10 Best Live Albums Of All Time”. AllMusic also praised the album, stating that “DEEP PURPLE pushed its music into the kind of deliberate excess that made heavy metal what it became.” Additionally, the album achieved commercial success, landing at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Wilson harnesses the raw energy of the original tapes in his new stereo and Atmos mixes. “It’s all completely as it happened on the night,” he says. “The album has a power and sense of abandon that they never quite captured in the studio. Hopefully this new mix makes it feel even more like you’re there.”
CD 1: Original Album (2025 Steven Wilson Remix)
01. Highway Star
02. Child In Time
03. Smoke On The Water
04. The Mule
05. Strange Kind Of Woman
06. Lazy
07. Space Truckin’
CD 2: Osaka, August 15, 1972
01. Highway Star
02. Smoke On The Water
03. Child In Time
04. The Mule (Drum Solo)
05. Strange Kind Of Woman
06. Lazy
07. Space Truckin’
CD 3: Osaka, August 16, 1972
01. Highway Star
02. Smoke On The Water
03. Child In Time
04. The Mule (Drum Solo)
05. Strange Kind Of Woman
06. Lazy
07. Space Truckin’
CD 4: Tokyo, August 17, 1972
01. Highway Star
02. Smoke On The Water
03. Child In Time
04. The Mule (Drum Solo)
05. Strange Kind Of Woman
06. Lazy
07. Space Truckin’
CD 5: The Encores
01. Black Night (Osaka, August 15, 1972)
02. Speed King (Osaka, August 15, 1972)
03. Black Night (Osaka, August 16, 1972)
04. Lucille (Osaka, August 16, 1972)
05. Black Night (Tokyo, August 17, 1972)
06. Speed King (Tokyo, August 17, 1972)
07. Black Night (German Single Edit)
08. Space Truckin (Mexican Single Edit)
09. Smoke On The Water (U.S. Single Edit)
Blu-ray: Steven Wilson Atmos Mix
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