The Smashing Pumpkins are going big for their 12th album. The ever-ambitious band announced on Tuesday (Sept. 20) that their upcoming 33-track, 3-act rock opera ATUM (pronounced “Autumn”) will serve as a sequel to 1995’s iconic Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and 2000’s experimental Machina/The Machines of God.
The group previewed the collection with the chugging, Black Sabbath-like single “Beguiled,” on which Billy Corgan sings, “Return the faith/ Return the faith/ They’re smashing out the veils/ Return the faith/ And there’s no escape/ So return the faith/ With charging light brigades/ Return the faith/ You’ve gotta move.”
ATUM — written and produced by Corgan over the past four years — is due out in April 2023 and according to a release, each track will be revealed chronologically each week on the singer’s iHeartRadio podcast: Thirty-Three with William Patrick Corgan; fans can hear two never-before-released tracks from the album on the first two episodes and another new song on every subsequent episode. The slow-burn release will find each 11-song act dropped every 11 weeks on streaming platforms to coincide with the podcast, with Act 1 due out on Nov. 15, Act 2 on Jan. 31, 2023 and Act 3 (along with a special-edition box set with all 33 tracks plus 10 additional unreleased songs) dropping on April 21, 2023.
The Pumpkins will preview their upcoming Spirits on Fire arena tour with Jane’s Addiction this week with two sold-out small play gigs at one of their most beloved hometown venues, Chicago’s Metro tonight, as well as New York’s Irving Plaza on Thursday (Sept. 22).
Listen to “Beguiled” below and the first episode of Corgan’s podcast here.
