Kasabian released "Act III," the Leicester rock band's ninth studio album, on Friday, closing out a six-year rebuild that began when the group parted ways with founding singer Tom Meighan in 2020. Meighan left the band after pleading guilty to assaulting his then-fiancée; guitarist and co-founder Serge Pizzorno has fronted the band on record and onstage ever since.
The 13-track record, produced by Pizzorno alongside Mark Ralph and Tim Carter, arrives via Sony Music, and is detailed on the band's official site, after the group pushed the release back from an original July date, saying in a statement that they wanted "everything just right" before it reached fans. It follows four advance singles released over the past year, including "Great Pretender," which Pizzorno has said he wrote in ten minutes, and "Superpowers," a synth-heavy detour toward R&B that came with a video featuring actor Stephen Graham.
A Widening Sound
Early reviews have been largely positive. Clash gave the album an 8 out of 10, describing it as a record that synthesizes "everything that defines Kasabian while remaining open to experimentation," pointing to tracks that fold dance, hip-hop and gothic electronic textures into the band's usual arsenal of distorted basslines and stadium-sized riffs. Listener reaction so far has favored it over 2024's "Happenings," which some fans found more tentative by comparison.
The title is a deliberate marker: "Act III" is the third album Kasabian have released since Pizzorno took over lead vocals, following 2022's "The Alchemist's Euphoria" and 2024's "Happenings," both of which debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. The current lineup is rounded out by bassist Chris Edwards, drummer Ian Matthews and guitarist Tim Carter. Pizzorno has described the finished record to press as "a bloody opera," a phrase that has stuck in early coverage of the release.
Kasabian have not yet confirmed a full tour in support of "Act III," though the band played festival dates through the recording process, testing new material on European crowds before the record's release. With two consecutive number-one albums already on the board since the lineup change, "Act III" arrives with real expectations of a third straight chart-topper rather than simply a critical rebound — a commercial bar the British press will be watching closely when the next chart update lands.
