Deep Purple sat at the crossroads of classical ambition and hard rock ferocity. Ritchie Blackmore's neoclassical guitar style, Jon Lord's Hammond organ pyrotechnics, and Ian Gillan's operatic screaming created a sound that was heavier than most of their peers and more technically accomplished than nearly all of them.
The Mark II lineup, Blackmore, Lord, Gillan, Roger Glover, and Ian Paice, produced the band's essential run. Constant lineup changes diluted the brand over time, but the core recordings remain foundational to both hard rock and heavy metal.
Key Albums
'Smoke on the Water' alone guaranteed immortality, but the whole album is relentless.
The album where they stopped experimenting and started destroying.
A live document that captures the band at their untouchable peak.
Why They Matter
Deep Purple proved heavy music could be virtuosic without being pretentious. They're one of the three bands, alongside Sabbath and Zeppelin, credited with inventing heavy metal.