Abrasive, Wild Proto Metal – 91%
aidane154, December 17th, 2021
I’m glad that we honor our proto metal heritage by including bands like this one, Sir Lord Baltimore, and Bedemon/Pentagram (though I wish we had Coven on here as well). At the time, bands like these were where it was at when it came to early heavy metal (other than Sabbath of course). However, by today’s standards, I would wager that most metalheads label Deep Purple’s stuff as hard rock, perhaps psych rock, or maybe even prog rock. This band’s MkII sound is a mishmash of different things, all coalescing quite excitingly into one of the most fun proto metal flavors available.
Let’s break those different things down. I think there’s always been a progressive rock sort of flair pumping through Deep Purple’s veins even after their first lineup disintegrated. Child In Time really showcases this aspect, with Ian Gillan’s tender oohs and ahhs morphing into harrowing heavenly shrieks a la Great Gig In The Sky by Pink Floyd, as well as that infectious organ riff casting a spell over the listener. It also breaks out into an almost Iron Maiden style gallop in the bridge. There is also most certainly a psychedelic/acid rock component to their sound on here, with tracks like the aforementioned Child In Time and.. well, pretty much most of it really fitting into that late ’60s early ’70s Iron Butterfly/Cream sort of vibe, but of course, much heavier.
Those trademark Deep Purple instrumental sections are here in droves, with Blackmore’s harmonized guitars and Jon Lord’s organ trading off super hot leads. Speed King, the first track, features one of these dueling sections right in the middle, quieting down and building back up again in a very satisfying way. Flight of the Rat is also a highlight for me, it really reminds me of early Black Sabbath, except it’s 8 whole minutes of goodness. Like Speed King, it features many harmonized guitars and organ solos. Both Blackmore and Lord really ball out here, and even Ian Paice gets a drum solo! Shame it’s never been played live. Flight of The Rat really reminds me of Light In The Black from Rainbow’s Rising, and that’s high praise.
One thing I love this release for is its guitar tone. I’m not sure why Ritchie Blackmore moved away from this crunchier sound, since on here, his shreddy moments are actually really impactful and good due to how abrasive it is, and the filthy blues riffs he plays establish a framework for what would come in the following decades. But then you switch to releases like Machine Head, and by comparison, it’s a very dulled down, much less heavy sound. It really sounds like a single coil going through a very meager amount of distortion on his later albums. Me and my buddy have talked extensively about why he hates Smoke On The Water, and it really boils down to the fact that the guitar tone on later releases is pretty weak for no reason. I’ll also tack on here that Roger Glover’s bass tone is really good, as usual. I really admire that slightly distorted, trebley-but-still-heavy sound of his.
This isn’t a perfect release obviously, it’s a little loose and wild at times, with Gillan’s vocals, Lord’s organ, and Blackmore’s sizzling guitar really making a lot of noise. However, I think that this aspect sort of enhances this album and makes it heavier, especially on cuts like Bloodsucker. I’m not so crazy about Living Wreck’s vocal performance, but the riffs are good so I can look past it. To be frank, this album doesn’t really have many flaws that aren’t vindicated under the pretense of it being psychedlic proto metal. The abrasive, filthy aspects seem to just make the whole experience that much more endearing.
I have a great fondness for this album, and maybe it’s colored a bit by nostalgia for those times I’d drive around in my old 2001 Camry with this album in the tape deck, but I don’t think I’m so wrong in praising something so revolutionary for its time. While the solos and songwriting got better on Machine Head, the trailblazing filthy riffs and attitude of Deep Purple In Rock warrant the utmost acclaim as well.
rafazardly 