Released May 1970 Producer Anders Henriksson | Label Harvest | |
Recorded Abbey Road Studios, London
1970 Genre Progressive rock, hard rock Length 50:37 (original)
61:01 (1990 reissue/Repertoire) | ||
Quatermass is an album by British progressive rock band, Quatermass, first released in May 1970. It has been described as "a keyboard dominated chunk of heavy progressive rock... a popular part of the eccentric Harvest label." Based around organ, bass and drums, Quatermass is regarded as a quintessential British prog rock album, destined to remain a cult classic and also one of the first albums in the vein of progressive metal. Overall, the album is well-rounded, technically competent and complex, yet retaining a distinctive swing time rhythm as would be expected from a trio that were at their core a strong rhythm section. Throughout, the album flows easily from mid-tempo rock to avant-garde instrumental to bluesy soundscapes.
Contents
Impact
Ritchie Blackmore's departure from Deep Purple has often been linked with this album: during the recording of Purple's Stormbringer in 1974, Blackmore's request to cover "Black Sheep of the Family"
...fell on stony ground [and] he ended up taking a relative back seat in the studio... Blackmore then followed his own muse by recording it on the Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow solo album in early 1975, backed by members of Deep Purple's regular support act Elf."
This is considered the pivotal moment that led to Blackmore's departure.