Machine Head (1972)
Machine Head is a 1972 arena rock album by Deep Purple.
Recorded in a freezing Montreux hotel after a casino fire chased Deep Purple out of their planned studio, the band's sixth album turned chaos into their defining hard-rock statement. The Mark II lineup of Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice plays tight and heavy, built on Blackmore's riffs and Lord's growling Hammond organ. It opens with the freight-train charge of 'Highway Star' and carries the four-note riff that half the world learned first on a guitar. Loud, muscular and endlessly copied, Machine Head is where Deep Purple's sound locked fully into place.
Quick answers
What is Machine Head about?
Recorded in a freezing Montreux hotel after a casino fire chased Deep Purple out of their planned studio, the band's sixth album turned chaos into their defining hard-rock statement. The Mark II lineup of Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice plays tight and heavy, built on Blackmore's riffs and Lord's growling Hammond organ. It opens with the freight-train charge of 'Highway Star' and carries the four-note riff that half the world learned first on a guitar. Loud, muscular and endlessly copied, Machine Head is where Deep Purple's sound locked fully into place.
When was Machine Head released?
Machine Head was released in 1972.
Who made Machine Head?
Machine Head is by Deep Purple.
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A few thoughts on Machine Head
'Smoke on the Water' is the first riff nearly every beginner learns, which is why guitar games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero treat it as a rite of passage. The film School of Rock preaches the same gospel of loud classic-rock worship, a fitting screen companion to Deep Purple's heaviest, most quoted record.
Cornerstone hard rock and heavy metal records
Machine Head is where Deep Purple's heavy sound locked into place, all Blackmore riffs and growling Hammond organ. These are the neighboring pillars of the era, the foundational hard rock and metal records that taught a generation of guitarists their first riffs and turned sheer volume into an art form.