Rainbow was a cosmic circus of egos, coke, and unholy genius, led by Ritchie Blackmore, a guitar sorcerer who couldn’t sit still long enough to keep a lineup intact but somehow birthed some of the most myth-soaked, fire-breathing records in heavy metal history. They created rock ’n’ roll that mixed dungeons, dragons, radio hits, fistfights, and prophecy all into a fucking glorious sound. Out of the chaos came a handful of albums that can still level cities, and today we count down the top three slabs of Rainbow madness that every self-respecting headbanger needs in their bloodstream.

3. Down to Earth (1979)

This is Rainbow after the cocaine blizzard settled and the neon sleaze of the late ’70s seeped in, with Ritchie Blackmore swapping dragon-sorcery for FM swagger. Enter Graham Bonnet, who looked like he belonged in a Vegas lounge but sang like a sandblaster strapped to a jet engine, tearing through “Since You Been Gone,” the cosmic holdover “Eyes of the World,” and the bass-throbbing hangover headache of “Lost in Hollywood.” With Blackmore as riff-hitman, Roger Glover dragging the band out of Mordor and into the charts, Cozy Powell pounding like Zeus on war drums, and Don Airey firing off starbursts on keys, Down to Earth was Rainbow’s grab at the mainstream while still sounding like someone laced pop radio with dragon venom.

2. Long Live Rock ’n’ Roll (1978)

The last stand of Ronnie James Dio in Rainbow, Long Live Rock ’n’ Roll is Dio’s farewell sermon, screamed from a stone tower before torching the whole goddamn kingdom. “Kill the King” rips like proto-thrash insanity, “Gates of Babylon” slithers with exotic mysticism, and the title track remains an eternal drinking song for every leather-clad heathen. Blackmore’s riffs stab like daggers, Dio’s voice prophesies doom and glory, Cozy Powell smashes the kit like he’s declaring intergalactic war, Bob Daisley locks it all down with venomous basslines, and David Stone sprinkles hallucinogenic haze from his keys—together birthing an album that bridged myth and fury, Dio’s final bow before ascending into metal godhood.

1. Rising (1976)

Rising is the holy grail, the godhead, the meteor that burned the sky! Containing only just six songs of pure apocalypse, no fat, no filler, just fire. “Tarot Woman” opens with synth sorcery before Blackmore’s riffs slice through like lightning, “Stargazer” towers as the greatest metal epic ever written, and “A Light in the Black” gallops at proto-speed metal velocity. The lineup is untouchable: Blackmore, the mad sorcerer at his peak; Dio, not a man but a cosmic herald; Cozy Powell, a human earthquake; Jimmy Bain, grounding the storm with black magic bass; and Tony Carey, conjuring wormholes on keyboards. Rising is a fucking a ritual, the sound of Rainbow becoming immortal in 33 minutes flat.

Rainbow burned out like a supernova, too unstable, too brilliant, too damn wild to last—but what they left behind are records that demand dangerous volume, cheap whiskey, and zero apologies. These three albums are the holy trinity: Down to Earth for the pop-laced swagger, Long Live Rock ’n’ Roll for Dio’s final thunderous prophecy, and Rising for the god-tier ritual that rewrote heavy metal itself. Long live Rainbow, long live chaos, long live rock and fucking roll.