10 Underrated Hard Rock Albums Of The 1990s
5. Slaves And Masters - Deep Purple
Deep Purple are one of those few bands in the 90s (like The Ramones) which were continuing to make great music decades after they originally formed, and kept giving it their all despite being out of the main spotlight.
Slaves And Masters, the band's 13th studio album, came at the turn of the decade with the acquistion of vocalist Joe Lynn Turner, who had previously worked with Ritchie Blackmore in Rainbow. As a result, the songs feel slightly softer than some of the band's earlier efforts. Still, the vocals are strong here, especially on 'King Of Dreams', the debut track, which has a great build-up of an opener, followed by some classic riffs from Blackmore. 'Love Conquers All' is also one of, if not the, greatest Deep Purple ballad.
It's a shame, because the album dramatically sold below expectations upon release and it led to Turner being replaced by Ian Gillan on their follow-up.