![]() “Falling Under Your Spell” is a distinct and direct hard rocker with a good punch and rawer base. It’s pretty straight-forward with a hard bite and a king-size groove that will probably go down like crazy live. “Goodbye To Innocence” is an uptempo Classic Rock tune that comes across like a mix of classic Uriah Heep and Deep Purple. The melodies overall and the chorus are on the catchy side without being the least Pop-oriented or radio-friendly. The verses are on the laid-back, soft-ish side with a proggy twist before the tune turns into a faster pace with a heavy 70’s Hard Rock vibe and for the rest of the tune, it alters between the laid-back and the heaviness which makes for a dynamic and varied contrast. “It’s All Been Said” starts off with a big, punchy and heavy groove. The tune is more of a big ballad than an actual rocker and the peaceful, spacey and floating arrangement makes the tune almost tranquilizing. The song also reminds me of some of the stuff that appeared on Phil Lanzon’s brilliant solo album If You Think I’m Crazy (2017). “Waters Flowin'” is a slower paced piece that opens with an acoustic, orchestral arrangement, it’s a bit trippy, folky and progressive in a Led Zep kind of way where the striking melody is at front. Then in comes a crunchy organ which melody brings Deep Purple’s “Perfect Strangers” to mind before the tune leaves you almost breathless. The song then takes a soft keyboard-laden turn that brings on a late 60’s Doors-like vibe before it moves into a pumping groove with a twist of psychedelia. The tune holds an infectious groove in a faster pace, bouncy and raging and really in-your-face where a quite pompy arrangement is also let in. “Rocks In The Road” is the album’s monster – an epic, proggy eight and a half minutes of extra everything. It’s a somewhat complex yet easy-going Hard Rock number with both its feet in the mid 70’s that kicks and bites down hard. A winner! Rough guitars and a raging organ is the core of the bouncy, groovy and heavy rocker “Knocking At My Door”. It’s big on harmonies, a raunchy organ, a stompy rhythm and the fat, 70’s laden guitar riff is a real beast together with a memorable main melody and a catchy refrain. Latest single “Take Away My Soul” is an uptempo and punchy thing where a Pomp influence is present. There’s also a faster, groove-laden middle-break that kicks up some dust for good measure. Again, Lanzon’s big, robust organ-sound brings on the Classic Rock vibes together with the raunchy guitars which contrasts good to the chorus’ catchy, hook-laden melodies. The title-track is slower in pace, quite heavy and dark 70’s based Hard Rock that opens up with the refrain sung in a’capella. The tune is a pretty even mix of Classic Rock and Melodic Rock, very memorable that holds a good, meaty wah solo from Box and a big Hammond sound from Lanzon. It’s an upbeat, punchy and raw Hard Rock tune that both takes Heep back to the 70’s but also holds a slight 80’s twist. They open the album with the leading single “Grazed By Heaven”, co-written by Rimmer and Jeff Scott Soto (Sons Of Apollo, Talisman, Eyes, Journey, Axel Rudi Pell). The new album is their first in four years and to date, Uriah Heep has released 25 albums including the new one. Both singer Bernie Shaw (Praying Mantis, Grand Prix) and keyboarder Phil Lanzon (Grand Prix, Lionheart, Sweet) has been with the band since 1986 while drummer Russell Gilbrook joined in 2007 and bassist Davey Rimmer joined in 2013. Today, the only remaining original member is guitar player Mick Box but the truth is, many of the current members have been in the band for ages. Since the formation in 1969, Uriah Heep has gone through lots of changes in both musical and line-ups and especially in the 80’s, the band got loads of criticism for becoming too radio-friendly and cheesy when they took the AOR route that many bands did at time so when they were finally back on track musically, the band had to start all over again to get the love and recognition from both fans and media. Sure, I have listened to the odd album or two in the eighties and yes, I have heard their most famous songs – “Easy Living”, “Lady In Black”, “Gypsy” and the likes and sure, some of them were really good but still, something kept my interest at bay. As a classic Hard Rock band and one the first, they should really had come along for the ride but for some reason, I just wasn’t interested. But one band that I read about constantly but never stuck with me was Uriah Heep. ![]() ![]() Led Zeppelin, I didn’t get at first so they came onboard later – much later. Kiss and Sweet came first, as a kid in the 70’s, but when all Hell broke loose for me, it was with bands such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Ozzy Osbourne, Rainbow and Whitesnake. Ever since I became a real Hard Rock / Metal fan in my teens in the early 80’s, 70’s based acts were my first loves. ![]()
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