“I think every serious fan of hard rock music would love Stargazer. It’s one of those all-time epic masterpieces. It’s Ritchie Blackmore in his most experimental mode”: How guitar hero Blackmore created his magnum opus with Rainbow

The legendary track that inspired Metallica, Opeth, Dream Theater and Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson

Released in 1976, Rainbow’s Stargazer made its mark as one of the most creatively ambitious rock songs of its time.

Recorded by the all-star cast of Ritchie Blackmore on guitar, Ronnie James Dio on vocals, Cozy Powell on drums, Jimmy Bain on bass and Tony Carey on keys, Stargazer spans eight and a half minutes and marries the thunder of early heavy metal with a big fat dose of Eastern mysticism.

In that sense, it follows a similar musical concept to Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir, which was released in February 1975 as a cornerstone of Zep’s double album Physical Graffiti.