Iron Butterfly is truly an amazing success story in the record business. For more than 40 years this band remained a significant force in the classic rock world with their original mix of rock, metal and classic leanings, solidifying them as one of the true purveyors of the progressive rock movement.

Founded by the multi-talented keyboardist/vocalist Doug Ingle in San Diego in 1966, the band hit the charts immediately with their very first album Heavy and soon became one of the key favorite biker bands and west coast hard rockers alongside entities like Steppenwolf, Grateful Dead and The Doors. Their music was challenging, loud, exciting and definitely original, which brought them huge popularity in a very short period of time.

1968 changed everything as "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" became a massive smash hit single and LP garnering Iron Butterfly gold and platinum success globally. This tune displayed the first example of a driving hard rock jam and lyric, with classical, organic and tribal rhythms, making it one of the most important songs of our time. Featuring Doug Ingle's keyboard and vocal expertise, Lee Dorman's power bass, guitar shredder Erik Brann, and Ron Bushy's primitive drum beat, this amazing song will forever be associated with the acid rock era, which paved the way for heavy metal bands into the seventies and beyond.

Through the years, more successful albums like Ball and Iron Butterfly Live followed. Two new members joined the band, vocalist/guitarist Mike Pinera (Blues Image) and the late great lead guitarist Rhino Reinhardt (Captain Beyond). They both added to the groove on the brilliant Metamorphosis album.

In 1971, Atco Records awarded the stellar hard rock champions with their first greatest hits album called "Evolution - The Best Of Iron Butterfly", which contained 11 smokin' selections from their first four hit LP's. Smashes are plentiful like the hit single "In-A Gadda-Da-Vida" and other killer jams like "Soul Experience", "Easy Rider", "Termination", and the awesome "Iron Butterfly Theme". This masterwork has been out of print on vinyl for many decades... that is until now !

Friday Music is very proud to offer the first installment in our Iron Butterfly 180 gram audiophile vinyl series with their classic 1971 smash album "Evolution - The Best Of Iron Butterfly". Impeccably mastered from the original Atco tapes by Joe Reagoso (Grateful Dead / Yes / Deep Purple) at Friday Music Studios with Kevin Gray, this limited edition 180 gram LP is also presented in the original album cover layout, featuring the original photos and artwork elements not seen in years. We believe this is the definitive sounding version of this monumental recording and will be one of the more anticipated audiophile releases of 2012.