Despite having had their album "Machinehead" join the ranks of Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" and Led Zeppelin's "Zeppelin IV" on the British Holy Trinity of Hard Rock, the band's fame never quite surpassed the latter two. However, Deep Purple played an extremely important role in pioneering a what was then very unique sound and style. From Ritchie Blackmore's dazzling, classically arpeggiated solos to Jon Lord's swift keyboard melodies, they were able to first assimilate vocals and instrumentation that would become a sound more consistent with today's definition of heavy metal. Perhaps their success was relatively a flop, but to deny their massive contributions would be to deny the existence of one of the most popular genres of music today.
- spitfirejunky
