Hola, metalheads! First installment of Band of the Week for you. First, a little introduction to this simple exercise. I have several impediments to being able to enjoy metal indulgence as often as I would like: a wife who does not appreciate the stuff (actually, she won’t let me listen to it in the house when she’s around—I know, don’t say it…), a five-year-old daughter who tends to monopolize my time, and a job with reasonably long hours.

After my last BOW debacle, I didn’t let your bad attitudes stop my current BOW — Deep Purple.

I’m still not sure how much I like them, and I think it is primary Jon Lord’s annoying organ playing that makes them sound more dated than either Sabbath or Zeppelin. Their first album was also largely psychedelic nonsense (released in 1968–before either of the others debut), with a few protometal rockers on display.