''Stormbringer'' is the ninth studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the English rock band Deep Purple, released in November 1974 and the second studio album to feature the Mk III lineup including vocalist

David Coverdale David Coverdale (born 22 September 1951) is an English singer who is best known as the lead vocalist of Whitesnake, a hard rock band he founded in 1978. Before Whitesnake, Coverdale was the lead singer of Deep Purple from 1973 to 1976, after ...

and bassist/vocalist

Glenn Hughes Glenn Hughes or Glen Hughes may refer to: *Glenn Hughes (musician), born 1951 *Glenn Hughes (American singer) (1950–2001) *Glenn Hughes (cricketer), born 1959 *Glen Hughes Glen Hughes is an Australian former professional rugby league footbal ...

Album cover and title

The cover image of ''Stormbringer'' is based on a photo. On 8 July 1927 a tornado near the town of Jasper, Minnesota was photographed by Lucille Handberg. Her photograph has become a classic image, and was used and edited for the album's cover. The same photograph was used for

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

' album ''

Bitches Brew ''Bitches Brew'' is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Miles Davis. It was recorded from August 19 to 21, 1969, at Columbia's Studio B in New York City and released on March 30, 1970 by Columbia Records. It marke ...

'' in 1970 and

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. Q (maga ...

' album ''

Tinderbox A tinderbox, or patch box, is a container made of wood or metal containing flint, firesteel, and tinder (typically charcloth, but possibly a small quantity of dry, finely divided fibrous matter such as hemp), used together to help kindle a fi ...

'' in 1986. '' Stormbringer'' is the name of the second Elric of Melniboné novel by

Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English people, English writer, best-known for science fiction and fantasy fiction, fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic nov ...

. It is the name of a magical sword described in many novels and comics by Moorcock and others which enjoyed enormous success in the 1960s and '70s. David Coverdale has denied knowledge of this until shortly after recording the album. In an interview with

Charles Shaar Murray Charles Shaar Murray (born Charles Maximillian Murray; 27 June 1951) is an English music journalist and broadcaster. He has worked on the ''New Musical Express'' and many other magazines and newspapers, and has been interviewed for a number of ...

in the ''New Musical Express'' he claimed that the name was from mythology. A few years later, Moorcock collaborated with

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles " (Don't Fear) The Reaper", " Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla". The ba ...

to write " Black Blade," a song that actually was about the sword Stormbringer. According to Glenn Hughes, the slurred gibberish that is spoken by Coverdale at the beginning of the title track just prior to the first verse is the same backwards dialogue that Linda Blair's character utters in the film ''

The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitt ...

'', when she is questioned by the priest.

Release and reception

In a posthumous review Alex Henderson of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

writes that "''Stormbringer'' falls short of the excellence of '' Machine Head'' and '' Who Do We Think We Are'', but nonetheless boasts some definite classics – including the fiery "Lady Double Dealer," the ominous title song (a goth metal treasure), the sweaty "High Ball Shooter," and the melancholy ballad "Soldier of Fortune." Guitarist

Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guit ...

left Deep Purple following ''Stormbringer'' and its subsequent tour, publicly citing his dislike for the funky direction the band was taking. Glenn Hughes nevertheless praises the album and Blackmore's contributions: "People who listen to ''Stormbringer'', please listen...Ritchie Blackmore is damn funky, whether he likes it or not. He played wonderfully on the album."

Reissues

In 1990, the album was remastered and re-released in the US by

Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distr ...

, with distribution by Warner Bros. The Friday Music label released a version in the United States on 31 July 2007 (along with '' Made in Europe'' and ''

Come Taste the Band ''Come Taste the Band'' is the tenth studio album by the English rock band Deep Purple, originally released in November 1975. It was co-produced and engineered by the band and longtime associate Martin Birch. It was the final Deep Purple studi ...

''). It is unclear which tapes were used as a source for this release, but the label's website claims that the album was digitally remastered (but not expanded). Additionally EMI (Deep Purple's label for much of the world outside the US) worked with Glenn Hughes on a remastered, expanded version of the album (much like the ''

Burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur mainl ...

'' rerelease) which included bonus remixes and alternative takes. ;35th Anniversary Edition On 23 February 2009 the 35th Anniversary Edition of ''Stormbringer'' was released for the European/international market only. The release was expanded into a limited edition two-disc set: the first disc contained the full remastered album along with the new remixes, and the second disc was a DVD containing the quadraphonic mix in 5.1 audio as originally released in the USA on Quad reel back in 1974. After a limited run of the CD/DVD edition, the album became available in a single CD edition. A limited double gatefold vinyl edition was also released.

In popular culture

The song "Stormbringer" is used in the series finale of the US television series '' Ash vs. Evil Dead''.

Track listing

Personnel

;Deep Purple *

– lead guitars *

– lead vocals (all but "Holy Man"), backing vocals *

– bass guitar, lead vocals ("Holy Man"), backing vocals (all but "Soldier of Fortune") *

Jon Lord John Douglas Lord (9 June 194116 July 2012) was an English orchestral and rock composer, pianist, and Hammond organ player known for his pioneering work in fusing rock with classical or baroque forms, especially with the British rock band De ...

– organ, keyboards, electric piano, backing vocals *

Ian Paice Ian Anderson Paice (born 29 June 1948) is an English musician, best known as the drummer and last remaining original member of the rock band Deep Purple. He is often cited as one of the greatest drummers of all-time. He remains the only memb ...

– drums, percussion ;Production * Produced by Deep Purple and

Martin Birch Martin Birch (27 December 19489 August 2020) was a British music producer and sound engineer. He became renowned for engineering and producing albums recorded predominantly by British rock bands, including Deep Purple, Rainbow, Fleetwood Mac ...

* Recorded at

Musicland Studios Musicland Studios was a recording studio located in Munich, Germany. It was established by Italian record producer, songwriter and performer Giorgio Moroder in the early 1970s.

, Munich in August 1974 * Engineered by Martin Birch, assisted by Reinhold Mack and Hans Menzel * Additional recording and mixing by Martin Birch and Ian Paice, assisted by Gary Webb and Garry Ladinsky at The Record Plant, Los Angeles during September 1974 * Mastered at Kendun Recorders, Burbank, California * 35th Anniversary Edition digital mastering and remastering by Peter Mew at Abbey Road Studios, London * Remixes for the "35th Anniversary Edition" mixed by Glenn Hughes with Peter Mew at Abbey Road Studios, London, 3 November 2006 * "High Ball Shooter" (instrumental) mixed by Gary Massey at Abbey Road Studios, London, April 2002 * Original Quad mix by Gary Ladinsky at The Record Plant, October 1974 * Reformatted for 5.1 surround sound by Peter Mew at Abbey Road Studios, London, February 2008

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Accolades

References

External links

9th studio album

The Deep Purple Podcast - Episode #18 – Stormbringer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stormbringer (Album) Deep Purple albums 1974 albums Albums produced by Martin Birch Warner Records albums Purple Records albums Hard rock albums by English artists Blues rock albums by English artists Funk rock albums by English artists