Iron Butterfly-Heavy (1968)

Iron Butterfly is a true legend of 1960s psychedelic rock; however, their career is overshadowed by the worldwide hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", an album and single that have sold a staggering 30 million copies worldwide to date. Such a feat would overshadow any other album in their discography, something that has unfairly happened to this iconic band. Part of the West Coast psychedelic movement, they released their debut album, "Heavy" in 1968. While they are considered early pioneers of avant-garde rock and heavy metal, it's also true that at that time the term "heavy" was used for any style of heavy and dark music, not the fast-paced, frenetic, and strident style of today. On this debut album, the quintet comprised of Darryl DeLoach (vocals and percussion), Danny Weis (guitar), Doug Ingle (organ), Jerry Penrod (bass), and Ron Bushy (drums) showcases a series of psychedelic-tinged songs with hints of garage, soul, and rhythm and blues. Standout tracks include the melancholic "You Can't Win", the hypnotic "Look For The Sun", the upbeat "Gentle As It May Seem", the catchy "Possession", and the acid-tinged instrumental "Iron Butterfly Theme". Ultimately, this was an intriguing debut brimming with creative and promising ideas that would be brilliantly developed on their subsequent albums.

Iron Butterfly-Metamorphosis (1970)

After the overwhelming lysergic success of the "Ball" released in 1969, Iron Butterfly a year later on 1970 released their fourth studio album "Metamorphosis".
Despite the sudden departure of guitarist Eric Brauun caused by differences with his companions, two new members of great weight on the six strings join the band; Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt and the historic Mike Pinera, who provide the band and the album in question with nuances of visceral hard rock, of course without abandoning their ingrained flower power style.
The album comes out in a period in which bands of perhaps more renowned for many such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath or Deep Purple were going through an epic moment in the history of rock and roll, because by then they were established as the main managers of the hard rock and heavy metal clearly influenced by blues and psychedelic passages. Despite this, the creativity of the band was not overshadowed because thanks to the talent of the old figures of the group and the appearance of these two majestic guitarists, they launched a sound project that although it has airs and melodies much softer than the previous ones, has an amalgam of baritone voices, acoustic, sharp pieces and extensive riffs in the best style of hard rock with hints of acid as well as the evidence of temperate developments in terms of progressive sound embodied in the last two pieces of said work as they are "Easy Rider" and "Butterfly Bleu".

Iron Butterfly-In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (1968)

Founded in the midst of fever, flower power and effervescent acid Iron Butterfly have gone down in history for having composed one of the most legendary songs in rock history such as "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".
Originally from San Diego, shortly after its foundation they moved to Los Angeles, where they began to compose what would later become the repertoire of their first album "Heavy" published in 1967.
In this first album, the band shows a style full of atmospheres that run between psychedelic and progressive and excellent sounds.
After multiple problems with the Warner label, the band breaks up completely except for their keyboard player Doug Ingle who soon recruits new musicians to continue without delay and enter the studio for a new recording.
"Heavy" was a resounding success despite the general rampage, so the label left Doug freely choosing new musicians and producers for a new album.
Shortly after the new members arrive; Ron Bushy as drums, Lee Dorman as bassist and guitarist Erik Brann.
In this new album Iron Butterfly they would be lost in the vastness of the psychotropic cosmos. Perhaps they were considering solving an arithmetic problem. They searched for the perfect riff among thousands of alphanumeric combinations and hit it, by chance or not, we will never know.
A classic album, steeped in psychedelia from start to finish. Thanks to his central hit, “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”, the song of the same name and the most successful of his career, he remains alive in the memory of rock.
This was the first platinum record in history, it was released in 1968 by the Atlantic Records label and contains 6 songs. Inside the album we find on his A-side with a whole display of psychedelia and incessant guitar playing, reflected in cuts like "Most Anything You Want", "Flowers and Beads", "My Mirage" or "Termination".
However, the culminating moment comes with “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”, a star song that occupies the entire B-side of the vinyl with more than 17 minutes duration and which closes a legendary album.
An album that after fifty years since its publication continues to be one of the most successful in history with more than 30 million copies sold.