IRON BUTTERFLY — Heavy (review)

Album · 1968 · Proto-Metal

3/5 · 2024-05-16
siLLy puPPy

These days the 1960s band IRON BUTTERFLY has virtually become a synonym for the band’s biggest selling album and single “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.” I mean who could even think of anything else the band has released, with the exception of heavy psych addicts of course. While true that the band’s 1968 album which has to date over 30 million albums worldwide completely eclipses any other thing the band had released, the band is not only still officially together (albeit in name only) but released a total of six albums from 1968 to 1975.

HEAVY was the band’s debut and although the IRON BUTTERFLY is credited for influencing both progressive rock and the heavy metal scenes that would develop, in 1968 when this album was released, we’re not talking HEAVY in today’s vernacular referring to loud, raucous and quickened but rather 60s style as in “man, that’s heavy!” Yeah here HEAVY refers to cosmically deep which was what the psychedelic 60s were all about of course with some bands a bit more adroit at tapping into their inner cosmic nature than others.

IRON BUTTERFLY was the product of the West Coast psychedelic scene which took over the USA during the latter half of the 1960s however this band emerged from the unexpected conservative city of San Diego. The band’s lineup changed substantially even before this debut was released with this first album of 1968 which appeared in January featuring Doug Ingle (organ, vocals), Ron Bushy (drums), Darryl DeLoach (tambourine, vocals), Jerry Penrod (bass, vocals) and Danny Weis (guitar). Although “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” would quickly follow in June of the same year, the lineup had already been reduced to a quartet with only Bushy and Ingle remaining.

Graced with the coolest and most groovy album cover of the band’s career which depicted a statue of a giant ear, the music itself is nothing really to get overly excited about. While referred to as hard rock retrospectively, this was not even close to the noise level of contemporary bands like Blue Cheer or even some tracks from The Kinks. What HEAVY offers is a 30-minute ride into the world of 60s psychedelic acid rock based on blues rock, beat music and rhythm and blues. The tracks at this point were quite short with most only a couple minutes long.

This is a pleasant slice of late 1960s acid rock with a strong emphasis on dramatic organs and eccentric vocals however the music is basically blues rock that seems like it just got its feet wet in the world of psychedelia. Despite the plaudits the band has received as a proto-prog or proto-metal band, none of those have manifested on this debut album HEAVY which unfortunately doesn’t convey its modern titular connotations. While the music doesn’t exactly blow me away i have to say that i like the moody vocals quite a bit and how can you not possibly love that bitchin cool cover art? THAT’s worth the price of admission alone!