DAVID COVERDALE Says 'Flesh & Blood' Will Be 'The Best WHITESNAKE Album'

WHITESNAKE is in the process of mixing its long-awaited new album of all-original material, "Flesh & Blood", for a tentative summer release via Frontiers Music Srl.

Frontman David Coverdale told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation" on Tuesday (March 13) that the follow-up to 2011's "Forevermore" will "be the best WHITESNAKE album. I know that's clichéd stuff, but I know what I'm talking about. I should do after almost 50 years," he explained.

According to Coverdale, the new disc "has all the necessary WHITESNAKE elements that I need to call it WHITESNAKE, but with a vibrant, fresh coat of paint." The record will mark the first time he has written with WHITESNAKE guitarists Reb Beach and Joel Hoekstra. "The longest-standing member of WHITESNAKE, Reb Beach, [he and I had] never written together until this project," he said. "So it's a family affair. It really is cool. I'm very excited for people to hear it."

WHITESNAKE filmed a music video for an as-yet-undisclosed song from "Flesh & Blood" this past Saturday, March 10. "I've got a few more external shots, other than the band stuff, to feature — some really fun elements," David said. "It's a kick-ass song; you're gonna love it. But there's gonna some real fun elements paying respect and nod to WHITESNAKE's past, but certainly not as dark and as gritty as [WHITESNAKE's] 'Burn' video [from 'The Purple Album']."

Coverdale revealed that recording sessions for the new WHITESNAKE album were halted while he recovered from an illness last year. "I got that horrible H3 flu, which took me out for, I think, about six weeks before I started to feel like myself again," he said. "It was horrifying. It was that strain of flu that the anti-flu vaccination didn't cover. It was just an evil, evil, evil strain of flu."

WHITESNAKE will celebrate the release of "Flesh & Blood" by embarking on the "Juke Box Heroes Tour" this summer with FOREIGNER and Jason Bonham. There are also plans for Coverdale to release a deluxe edition of WHITESNAKE's 1984 album, "Slide It In", in the fall, as well as a collection called "Whitesnake Unzipped: Acoustic Journeys Through The Years" in time for Christmas.

WHITESNAKE's latest studio disc, 2015's "The Purple Album", was billed as "a re-imagination of classic songs from Coverdale's time as the lead singer for DEEP PURPLE's Mark III and Mark IV studio albums." Coverdale was DEEP PURPLE's frontman from late 1973 to early 1976 and sang on the albums "Burn", "Stormbringer" and "Come Taste The Band".