Heavy (Iron Butterfly Album)

Heavy (Iron Butterfly album)

Heavy is the debut studio album by the rock band Iron Butterfly, released in early 1968. Most of the songs are strikingly simple, based on two or three riffs. The lyrics are also simple; with the exceptions of "Unconscious Power" and "Gentle as it May Seem", each song has but a single verse of eight lines or less, repeated in whole or in part as needed.

The first two tracks, "Possession" and "Unconscious Power", were released as the respective sides of a single.

Three of the group's members (Jerry Penrod, Darryl DeLoach and Danny Weis) left the band shortly after the album was recorded, leaving Ingle and Bushy to find replacements. Despite being a debut album with no hit single to provide an entry point for the casual listener, Heavy was a commercial success, reaching #78 on the Billboard Charts and eventually going Gold in the US.

Contrary to rumor, tambourine player Darryl DeLoach contributed lead vocals to only a few songs on Heavy. As with all of Iron Butterfly's albums prior to Scorching Beauty, most of the lead vocals are by Doug Ingle.