"Stormbringer" is a song by the English band Deep Purple. It was written by David Coverdale and Ritchie Blackmore, vocalist and guitarist respectively of the loudest British hard rock band on the planet.
It was released in November 1974 on the album Stormbringer where the band, after suffering the departures of Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, showed a more funk and soul sound. This album was re-released and remastered in 2009 and brings several new tracks that are good for every rock fan.
It is one of the band's most famous songs because it managed to surpass all expectations about the band and their new musical experimentation and gave fans that strident and melodic sound they were looking for in the band.
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The title of the song is based on the black sword that belongs to the fictional character Elric of Melniboné created by fantasy-heroic author Michael Moorcock. This powerful enchanted weapon is part of a race of demons that take the form of a sword, and as such is a force of chaos and ruthless evil. According to the book, the Stormbringer's blade possesses such power that it is capable of cutting through virtually any material that is not protected by an equally powerful spell.
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According to Moorcock, the band members were familiar with his work before they chose that name, but were apparently under the mistaken impression that Stormbringer was a name from mythology, when in fact it is a name invented by Moorcock for his story.
The latter can be evidenced in the lyrics of the song where, when analyzing it, it seems to speak of a ruthless being with dark powers and whose mission is to exterminate lives. At no time does it give the impression that it talks about a sword or something similar, although the only reference to it is that when encountering this character it is useless to run away because you will be hit and at that moment you will find the dreaded and inevitable death.
The song is built on a six-bar rhythm with a requinto segment in the middle. The drums set the heavy rhythm of the melody in a spectacular way and give it that energy that goes a little further than the much covered "Smoke on the Water".
Although Jon Lord keyboard is hardly heard on the recording, it is he who marks the entrance to the other instruments of the band. "Stormbringer" is the kind of song that has a surprising ending, as opposed to those pieces that end with the musical sound fading away giving the impression that they were eternal.