DEMONS AND WIZARDS

Quite a landmark album, and very important for prog music (radical progheads will cringe at this). The fantasy themes are here for the first time and UH was the first major band to use this kind of subject that I can remember. It´d influence many other artists in the future, both in prog and heavy metal. And, as a band, they reached their peak here and on The Magician´s Birthday.

With the addition of Gary Thain on bass and Lee Kerslake on drums, the group finally found the right line up and the perfect overall sound. What was promising in the past was now fully delivered. The chemistry was perfect and I must say that Thain is one of the most underrated bassist is rock history. The guy was simply amazing, with a style that reminds of Paul McCartney (fluid, melodic, filling all the gaps, amazing!). Ken Hensley has always pointed how important he was to form the classic UH sound and often cited him as the best musician the band ever had. Too bad th guy wa also very shy and addicted to heroin. But that´s another story.

Teh music is also amazing and influential over the years. There are no weak tunes and the sound is quite unique. Personally I found Circle Of hands, Easy Livin´and the Wizard the most remarkable songs, but everything fits very well, with the fantastic Roger Dean cover to wrap up the perfect album.

Like Bob wrote, it´s not easy to write about this album without passion. It was one of the most important rock albums in history and if the band never really got the recognition they deserve it was not their fault. This is a truly prog album, in the deep (and subtle) meaning of the concept. And although I still think The magician´s Birthday is better, this is a classic, a masterpiece. And a must have in any prog music collection. Five stars.