Robert Plant has announced that his new solo album is titled “Carry Fire” and will be released on October 13.

Plant announced the new album on his website on Friday morning. He also gave an interview to BBC Radio 6 Music to announce the album and tour.

Here’s the album cover:

And here’s the tracklist for the album via Amazon:

1. The May Queen
2. New World…
3. Season’s Song
4. Dance With You Tonight
5. Carving Up the World Again…a wall and not a fence
6. A Way With Words
7. Carry Fire
8. Bones of Saints
9. Keep It Hid
10. Bluebirds Over the Mountain
11. Heaven Sent

You can hear Plant’s new single, “The May Queen,” on his YouTube channel:

Here’s the description for the album, also via Amazon:

Robert Plant’s eleventh solo album and first full-length release since 2014’s acclaimed ‘lullaby and…The Ceaseless Roar’, produced by Robert at Top Cat studio in Box, Wiltshire with additional recordings at Real World and Rockfield studios. As with ‘lullaby and…The Ceaseless Roar’, Robert is accompanied by The Sensational Space Shifters and joined by a number of special guests. Chrissie Hynde joins Robert on the duet “Bluebirds Over The Mountain” (written by rockabilly legend Ersel Hickey and later recorded by both Richie Valens and The Beach Boys). Albanian cellist Redi Hasa performs on three tracks, as does Seth Lakeman on viola and fiddle. Robert Plant and the band spent two years on the road together supporting ‘lullaby and…The Ceaseless Roar’, their unique sound and vision ultimately evolving into something even more creative and powerful.



 Robert, who lived in Texas for a time before returning to England three years ago, together with his friends, present the songs Carry Fire, melding unusual rhythms with naturalism and smouldering power.
 “It’s about intention, I respect and relish my past works but each time I feel the trawl and incentive to create new work. I must mix old with new. Consequently, the whole impetus of the band has moved on its axis somewhat, the new sound and different space giving way to exciting and dramatic landscapes of mood, melody and instrumentation”.

Plant also announced new UK tour dates:

November 16 — Plymouth

November 17 — Bristol

November 20 — Wolverhampton

November 22 — Llandudno

November 24 — Newcastle

November 25 — Liverpool

November 27 — Glasgow

November 28 — Perth

November 30 — Manchester

December 6 — Sheffield

December 8 — London

December 11 — Portsmouth

December 12 — Birmingham

Anybody who pre-orders the CD or vinyl releases of the album on Amazon.co.uk before August 21 will get access to presale tickets for the UK tour, Plant’s website said on Friday morning.

There’s a page on Amazon which explains the priority tickets process. People who pre-order the album on Amazon.co.uk before August 21 will receive an email before 6pm UK time on August 22. That email will include a link to purchase priority tickets when they go on sale at 9am UK time on August 23. Customers can buy up to two priority tickets.

Orders for Plant’s new album from the Nonesuch Store will include a limited-edition print.

Tickets go on general sale at 9am UK time on August 25.

Local media is reporting that Robert Plant will also perform in Belfast and then Dublin on December 2 and December 3 respectively. Those dates aren’t currently listed on Plant’s website.

A press release sent by the Royal Albert Hall on Friday morning said that Seth Lakeman has joined Plant’s band The Sensational Space Shifters. It also said Lakeman performs on three tracks on the new album.

https://twitter.com/LedZepNews/status/898464656750243840

Lakeman confirmed on his Twitter account that he will be performing with Plant during the UK tour:

Tour announcement! I'll be supporting and playing with @RobertPlant on tour this Nov & Dec. Tix on sale 25 Aug: https://t.co/sQTW0XalLM pic.twitter.com/Z2wrD6zUsW

— Seth Lakeman (@SethLakemanNews) August 18, 2017

The press release from the Royal Albert Hall included this new press photo of Plant:

Here’s the full background image from Plant’s website:

Author Andrew O’Hagan said on stage at Hay Festival in the UK on June 4 that Plant’s album would be called “Carry Fire” and would be released in October. Plant was also on stage at the time.

LedZepNews saw the introduction by O’Hagan in the full video of Plant’s on-stage interview, which can be downloaded or streamed from the Hay Festival website for £2.

On June 17 Plant did a photoshoot for the album with photographer Mads Perch. Two photos of Plant at the photoshoot were posted to Instagram and later deleted.

https://twitter.com/LedZepNews/status/876389569612197888

The announcement comes after Plant’s website was replaced with two pages featuring vague hints at a new album. “Any time now…” was displayed on the homepage of Plant’s website from April 11 to July 5.

Plant was asked about the “Any time now…” message on his website during a BBC Radio 5 live interview that was broadcast on June 5. Presenter Sarah Brett ended the interview by asking Plant what the message meant. Did it mean that new music was on the way? “My dear, of course,” Plant replied. “What else would there be but more new, beautiful adventures?”

Another message that read “Away With Words” was shown from July 5 onwards.

(Robert Plant)