Depeche Mode have hinted at an imminent return with new music with a countdown timer appearing on their wiped-clean socials.
The band’s official Instagram account now boasts a single, solitary post, captioned, “Time is fleeting, see what it brings.”
The countdown – which can be viewed here – began at seven days, and is ticking down second by second until 10pm BST next Saturday, February 4th.
Fans anticipate this is the countdown to the first single from the band’s forthcoming 15th album, Memento Mori.
With a release date of March 17th already announced, the new album will be the band’s first in six years, following on from 2017’s Spirit.
It will also be the first release since the death of founding keyboardist Andy Fletcher, who died in May 2022 at the age of 60.
When the album was announced late last year, frontman Dave Gahan said the somewhat prophetic title was chosen prior to Fletcher’s death.
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“Martin and I, when it came to the making of the music for Memento Mori, we already had the title and songs that we recorded,” he told Consequence of Sound. “And we had even begun working on some of those with James Ford producing and Marta Salogni, and Fletch had not yet heard any of the songs, nothing. I know he would have loved a lot of the stuff we were doing and he also would have been the first to say, ‘Why do you have to have so many songs about death?'”
The album announcement came with the announcement of a world tour, kicking off in North America. However, with Australia seemingly overlooked, one fan took matters into their own hands, creating a petition to get the band Down Under.
“Depeche Mode have recently announced their first tour in 5 years, coinciding with the release of their new album, Memento Mori. Sadly, an Australian stop hasn’t made the list,” the petition explains.
“Let’s show them some love, and just how many Aussie fans they have that would love to see them perform live Down Under. It’s definitely been too long between drinks.”
The band haven’t performed in Australia since 1994, when they toured in support of their 1993 album Songs of Faith and Devotion.
