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URIAH HEEP

Heavy Prog • United Kingdom


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Uriah Heep biography
Founded in 1969 in London, England - Still active as of 2018

URIAH HEEP came into being in 1970, the band evolving from SPICE. The multi talented Ken HENSLEY, who had previously been a member of CLIFF BENNETT'S TOE FAT, and THE GODS (who also featured GREG LAKE in their line up) was brought in, initially to add an organ to the band's sound. In the early years, Hensley, together with Mick Box (guitar) and David Byron (vocals) formed the nucleus of the band. The rhythm section was somewhat transient with both bass and drums being played by a succession of band members. Of these, Paul Newton was probably the most influential member, particularly as early on his father was involved in managing the band.

It wasn't until their fourth album "Demons and Wizards" that the rhythm section was finally sorted out. Lee Kerslake (who had previously played with Hensley in The GODS) took over on drums, and Gary Thain (ex KEEF HARTLEY BAND) on bass. The difference was immediately obvious, and the "classic" line up was born. Sadly, Thain died in 1975 and Byron in the 1980's, both having been previously sacked by the band at different times due to drug and drink related problems respectively.

Line up changes have been a feature of the band throughout their career, with John Wetton, John Lawton, and Trevor Bolder being among the lengthy list of names to feature in the line up. These changes have not always proved to be for the better, and have at times resulted in disappointing albums, the most notorious of these being generally regarded as "Conquest". The band has on a number of occasions been on the brink of extinction, or at least a change of name. Guitarist Mick Box has however carried the torch and ensured that even today, the songs which made URIAH HEEP one of the top acts in the world, are still performed live.

The line up of Bolder, Kerslake, Box, Lanzon, Shaw holds the distinction of having been together for the longest period of any line up in the band's entire career. They still tour regularly, and released their latest album, "Wake the sleeper" in 2008. On that album, Russell Gilbrook plays drums, Kersalake having been forced into retirement for health reasons.

URIAH HEEP's music covers a multitude of styles. In prog terms, they lean towards heavy rock with symphonic overtones wh...
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URIAH HEEP discography


Ordered by release date | Showing ratings (top albums) | Help Progarchives.com to complete the discography and add albums

URIAH HEEP top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.38 | 540 ratings
Very 'Eavy...Very 'Umble
1970
3.59 | 254 ratings
Uriah Heep
1970
4.19 | 933 ratings
Salisbury
1971
4.13 | 830 ratings
Look at Yourself
1971
4.07 | 918 ratings
Demons and Wizards
1972
3.86 | 704 ratings
The Magician's Birthday
1972
3.44 | 430 ratings
Sweet Freedom
1973
3.11 | 364 ratings
Wonderworld
1974
3.15 | 365 ratings
Return to Fantasy
1975
3.20 | 300 ratings
High and Mighty
1976
3.57 | 318 ratings
Firefly
1977
2.88 | 244 ratings
Innocent Victim
1977
2.45 | 229 ratings
Fallen Angel
1978
2.60 | 199 ratings
Conquest
1980
2.86 | 215 ratings
Abominog
1982
2.39 | 171 ratings
Head First
1983
2.00 | 157 ratings
Equator
1985
2.55 | 145 ratings
Raging Silence
1989
2.10 | 136 ratings
Different World
1991
3.64 | 211 ratings
Sea Of Light
1995
3.23 | 147 ratings
Sonic Origami
1998
3.42 | 200 ratings
Wake The Sleeper
2008
2.73 | 97 ratings
Celebration - Forty Years Of Rock
2009
3.38 | 179 ratings
Into the Wild
2011
3.25 | 118 ratings
Outsider
2014
3.74 | 161 ratings
Living the Dream
2018
3.86 | 61 ratings
Chaos & Colour
2023

URIAH HEEP Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

4.00 | 210 ratings
Uriah Heep - Live
1973
2.76 | 38 ratings
Live At Shepperton '74
1986
2.80 | 40 ratings
Live in Europe 1979
1986
3.16 | 45 ratings
Live in Moscow
1988
3.08 | 34 ratings
Spellbinder Live
1996
2.96 | 21 ratings
Live On The King Biscuit Flower Hour
1997
3.67 | 19 ratings
Future Echoes Of The Past
2000
4.25 | 58 ratings
Acoustically Driven
2001
3.94 | 30 ratings
Electrically Driven
2001
4.14 | 54 ratings
The Magician's Birthday Party
2002
3.42 | 12 ratings
Live in the USA
2003
3.16 | 18 ratings
Magic Night
2004
3.34 | 13 ratings
Live at Sweden Rock Festival 2009 (Official Bootleg)
2010
2.23 | 11 ratings
Live in Budapest Hungary 2010 (Official Bootleg Volume II)
2010
4.04 | 9 ratings
Live in Kawasaki, Japan 2010 (Official Bootleg Volume III)
2011
4.29 | 17 ratings
Live In Armenia
2011
4.00 | 4 ratings
Live In Brisbane Australia 2011 (Official Bootleg Volume IV)
2011
3.33 | 6 ratings
Live In Athens, Greece 2011 (Official Bootleg Vol. V)
2012
4.00 | 4 ratings
Live at the Rock of Ages Festival Germany 2008 (Official Bootleg Volume VI)
2013
3.97 | 14 ratings
Live at Koko London 2014
2015
3.15 | 4 ratings
Raging Through the Silence - - The 20th Anniversary Concert - Live At The London Astoria 18th May 1989
2017

URIAH HEEP Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

3.98 | 11 ratings
Easy Livin' - A history of Uriah Heep
1985
3.74 | 12 ratings
Gypsy (DVD)
1985
4.00 | 3 ratings
Raging Through The Silence
1989
4.00 | 3 ratings
The Legend Continues... A Celebration of 30 Years in Rock
2000
4.00 | 3 ratings
Classic Rock Legends (DVD)
2001
4.62 | 33 ratings
Acoustically Driven (DVD)
2001
2.00 | 2 ratings
Sailing The Sea Of Light
2001
3.86 | 12 ratings
Moscow And Beyond (DVD)
2002
4.09 | 22 ratings
The Magician's Birthday Party (DVD)
2002
3.38 | 8 ratings
Live In The USA (DVD)
2003
3.89 | 9 ratings
Inside Uriah Heep - The Hensley Years 1970-1976
2004
3.89 | 9 ratings
Inside Uriah Heep - The Hensley Years 1976-1980
2004
3.53 | 13 ratings
Magic Night (The Magicians Birthday Party 2003) (DVD)
2004
4.44 | 12 ratings
Inside Uriah Heep - The Hensley Years 1970-1980
2004
4.23 | 35 ratings
Classic Heep - Live from the Byron era
2004
3.00 | 1 ratings
The Ultimate Anthology
2004
3.07 | 9 ratings
Between Two Worlds (Live In London 2004) (DVD)
2005
3.00 | 1 ratings
The Live Broadcasts
2005
3.00 | 3 ratings
Access All Areas (Live in Moscow)
2014
3.00 | 2 ratings
Access All Areas (20th Anniversary Concert)
2015
3.67 | 3 ratings
Live At Koko - London 2014
2015

URIAH HEEP Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

5.00 | 2 ratings
Downunda..
1974
4.33 | 3 ratings
The Best Of Uriah Heep
1974
4.00 | 3 ratings
The Best Of Uriah Heep Vol. 2
1974
4.00 | 3 ratings
Best Of Uriah Heep
1974
4.00 | 2 ratings
The Very Best Of Uriah Heep
1974
4.00 | 3 ratings
The Best of Uriah Heep
1975
3.22 | 16 ratings
The Best Of Uriah Heep
1976
4.00 | 1 ratings
Goldener Löwe
1978
3.46 | 10 ratings
The Best Of (1985)
1985
4.00 | 1 ratings
Anthology Volume One
1986
2.22 | 4 ratings
Still 'eavy, Still Proud
1990
5.00 | 1 ratings
Two Decades In Rock
1990
0.00 | 0 ratings
July Morning / Rain
1991
3.54 | 12 ratings
Rarities From The Bronze Age
1991
3.42 | 16 ratings
The Lansdowne tapes
1993
4.00 | 1 ratings
The Ballads
1994
3.79 | 11 ratings
A Time Of Revelation - 25 years on
1996
2.96 | 4 ratings
Remasters - The Official Anthology (AKA Uriah Heep Gold - Looking Back 1970-2001)
2001
3.08 | 5 ratings
20th Century Masters: The Millenium Collection: the Best of Uriah Heep
2001
3.05 | 3 ratings
Come Away Melinda: The Ballads
2001
0.00 | 0 ratings
Empty the Vaults: The Rarities
2001
0.00 | 0 ratings
You Can't Keep A Good Band Down
2002
3.00 | 1 ratings
The Golden Palace
2002
3.00 | 3 ratings
Revelations - The Uriah Heep Anthology
2004
4.50 | 6 ratings
Gold from the Byron Era
2004
4.00 | 6 ratings
Travellers In Time Anthology Volume 1
2005
4.04 | 8 ratings
Chapter And Verse
2005
0.00 | 0 ratings
Greatest Hits
2006
3.00 | 1 ratings
Wake Up - The Singles Collection
2006
3.71 | 7 ratings
Easy Livin' - The Singles A's & B's
2006
3.33 | 3 ratings
Platinum Collection
2007
0.00 | 0 ratings
Best Of
2009
4.00 | 8 ratings
On The Rebound (A Very 'Eavy 40th Anniversary Collection)
2010
3.87 | 6 ratings
Wizards - The Best Of Uriah Heep
2011
0.00 | 0 ratings
Icon
2012
4.44 | 9 ratings
Totally Driven
2015
0.00 | 0 ratings
The Classic Rock Years
2016
4.00 | 5 ratings
Your Turn To Remember - The Definitive Anthology 1970-1990
2016
0.00 | 0 ratings
50 Years in Rock
2020

URIAH HEEP Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

3.91 | 3 ratings
Wake Up (Set Your Sights)
1970
4.22 | 9 ratings
Look At Yourself
1971
3.25 | 9 ratings
Lady In Black
1971
4.00 | 6 ratings
July Morning
1971
3.86 | 7 ratings
Gypsy
1971
3.00 | 4 ratings
Spider Woman
1972
0.00 | 0 ratings
Special DJ Copy of Uriah Heep
1972
3.50 | 8 ratings
The Wizard
1972
4.00 | 8 ratings
Easy Livin'
1972
4.00 | 3 ratings
Sweet Freedom
1973
2.67 | 3 ratings
Seven Stars
1973
2.67 | 3 ratings
Something Or Nothing
1974
4.00 | 1 ratings
Uriah Heep Live
1975
2.33 | 3 ratings
Prima Donna
1975
3.75 | 4 ratings
Return To Fantasy
1975
3.00 | 2 ratings
Make a Little Love
1976
3.00 | 3 ratings
Wise Man
1977
3.09 | 14 ratings
Free Me
1977
2.50 | 2 ratings
One More Night (remix)
1978
3.00 | 3 ratings
Come Back To Me
1978
2.33 | 3 ratings
Love Or Nothing
1978
2.57 | 7 ratings
Carry On
1980
3.00 | 6 ratings
Love Stealer
1980
2.50 | 2 ratings
Feelings
1980
2.23 | 7 ratings
Think It Over
1981
3.25 | 12 ratings
Abominog Junior EP
1982
2.83 | 6 ratings
That's The Way That It Is
1982
2.80 | 5 ratings
Lonely Nights
1983
3.50 | 6 ratings
Stay On Top
1983
3.80 | 5 ratings
Poor Little Rich Girl
1985
2.43 | 7 ratings
Rockarama
1985
3.20 | 5 ratings
Easy Livin' (live)
1988
3.60 | 5 ratings
Lady In Black
1988
2.33 | 3 ratings
Hold Your Head Up
1989
2.60 | 5 ratings
Blood Red Roses
1989
3.20 | 5 ratings
Dream On
1995
3.00 | 3 ratings
Come Away Melinda
2001
3.67 | 6 ratings
Lady In Black
2001
0.00 | 0 ratings
Official Bootleg Bad Rappenau 2009
2009
0.00 | 0 ratings
Official Bootleg Krefeld 2009
2009
0.00 | 0 ratings
Official Bootleg Salzburg 2009
2009
0.00 | 0 ratings
Wolverhampton Official Bootleg 2011
2011
3.40 | 5 ratings
One Minute
2014
4.00 | 3 ratings
Grazed by Heaven
2018

URIAH HEEP Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Sweet Freedom by URIAH HEEP album cover Studio Album, 1973
3.44 | 430 ratings

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Sweet Freedom
Uriah Heep Heavy Prog

Review by Etherea

3 stars Perhaps the last truly consistent album in the Dave Byron era of the band. The band have scaled down their compositions somewhat but some of the material such as 'Seven Stars' can clearly be heard in the DNA of the British metal bands of the 80s- Iron Maiden in particular. Highlights include 'Pilgrim' and the soaring 'If I had the Time' which finds vocalist Byron in full peacock-like flight on the word 'siiiinggggg!'. Truly one of his best vocal performances. 'Stealin'' is a catchy, rollicking road trip of a hit single which displays the trademark sonic Heep casserole of swirling organs, wah-wah guitar, operatic vocals and the censorship worthy line 'I done the ranchers daughter' which allegedly prevented the band's natural ascendancy in puritanical America.
 High and Mighty by URIAH HEEP album cover Studio Album, 1976
3.20 | 300 ratings

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High and Mighty
Uriah Heep Heavy Prog

Review by Hector Enrique
Prog Reviewer

3 stars By 1976, things were not going very well in the nuclear bosom of Uriah Heep: the expulsion of Gary Thain and his regrettable death due to drug abuse at the end of the previous year, the discussions about the direction of the band between Ken Hensley and David Byron added to the growing alcoholism of the singer, and the discomfort of John Wetton in these situations, configured the unstable context in which the Brits released "High and Mighty", the ninth of their discography.

The album travels along a paved and flat road, without dangerous curves or major glimpses of venturing into routes that deeply challenge the band, and just like its predecessors "Wonderworld" and "Return to Fantasy", it has outstanding moments such as the promising beginning of "One Way or Another" with a great guitar riff and its fresh and energetic vibe, the psychedelic half-time of the excellent "Weep in Silence" and Mick Box's great solo, the elaborate structure of the intense "Midnight" and Hensley's hammond, and the crystalline beauty of Box's acoustic strumming on "Footprints in the Snow".

But the rest of the work fails to sustain a solid compositional regularity and cohesion, neither with "Can't Keep a Good Band Down", a kind of agile rock and accessible pop that welcomes a repetitive chorus, nor with the vaudevillian and simplistic "Woman of the World", nor with the disconcerting "Can't Stop Singing", which is halfway between gospel and soul, nor with the bland country boogie "Make a Little Love", songs that lack the vitality and hardock substance that at that stage of the band already seemed more part of a distant past even though it was not so much.

The brief and melancholic "Confession", starring Hensley's piano and containing an apparent confessional apology in Byron's singing, closes the irregular "High and Mighty", and sadly marks the end of the iconic singer's relationship with the band and also the departure of John Wetton.

2.5/3 stars

 Return to Fantasy by URIAH HEEP album cover Studio Album, 1975
3.15 | 365 ratings

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Return to Fantasy
Uriah Heep Heavy Prog

Review by Hector Enrique
Prog Reviewer

3 stars Following the route traced by their previous works, "Sweet Freedom" and "Wonderworld", Uriah Heep reiterates their inclination towards accessible formulas for "Return to Fantasy" (1975), their eighth album.

After a very interesting start with Mick Box's guitar riffs intertwined with Hensley's keyboards and synthesizers and David Byron's wide-ranging vocals on the eponymous title track, "Return to Fantasy" gives pride of place to melodies more in keeping with the sounds of bands like the Eagles, America, Bread and the like, where the melodic takes priority over complex and intricate developments, and is reflected in the light country rock of "Shady Lady", "Showdown" and "Why Did You Go" (a ballad supported by the Pedal Steel guitar of the guest B. J. Cole), in the spirited boogie of "Prima Donna", and in the gentle soft blues of "Your Turn to Remember", songs that inevitably lead to memorable and easily digestible choruses.

There are, however, some efforts to flesh out the sound and get closer to early Uriah Heep heavies, with Box's guitar solo preceded by the great counterpoint between Hensley's keyboards and Box's own riffs in the substantial middle section of the vigorous "Devil´s Daughter", one of the album's best, and with Hensley's cutting moog effluvia backed by Lee Kerslake's stubborn drumming on "Beautiful Dream", and not much else.

And between the keyboards, acoustic harmonies, John Wetton's accomplished bass (correct as in the rest of the work, although without much prominence), and the choruses that provide a peaceful epic aspect to "A Year or a Day", the album ends with more conciliatory will than brilliance and inventiveness.

"Return to Fantasy" is one of the British band's least appreciated works in the epilogical moments of their most renowned period, and although it is not a faded album, it doesn't add much to the band's legacy either.

2.5/3 stars

 Wonderworld by URIAH HEEP album cover Studio Album, 1974
3.11 | 364 ratings

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Wonderworld
Uriah Heep Heavy Prog

Review by Hector Enrique
Prog Reviewer

3 stars Increasingly melodic and distancing themselves from the harsh sonorities of rough and raw rock, with Ken Hensley playing an almost exclusive role in the composition of the songs, Uriah Heep deepened the tendency to make their approach more accessible with the release of "Wonderworld" (1974), their seventh album.

After a promising start with Hensley's moog and David Byron's plethoric voice in the moving "Wonderworld", the album is a hard rock of common places, lacking in explosiveness and fantasy, even though at least some doses of agility and a certain aggressiveness appear in Mick Box's guitar riffs in "Suicidal Man", in the rushing rhythm of "So Tired" and the boogie joy of "Something or Nothing", but not in the bland "The Shadow and the Wind" and Byron's excessive histrionics, the dreary "We Got We", and least of all in the inoffensive and mellow orchestrated ballad "The Easy Road".

The final section raises the level with the bluesy half-time of "I Won't Mind" and the guitar display of the always diligent Mick Box accompanied by the great bass of Gary Thain, and with the interesting approach to space rock in the conclusive "Dreams", surely among the best moments of the album.

Once "Wonderworld" was finished and showing signs of exhaustion due to the frenetic rhythm of releases and tours, the most stable of the Uriah Heep line-up (four albums in a row with the same musicians), began to dismember with the dismissal of Thain (who unfortunately died a year later from a heroin overdose), replaced by John Wetton (King Crimson/Asia, etc.) for the two subsequent albums.

3 stars

 Sweet Freedom by URIAH HEEP album cover Studio Album, 1973
3.44 | 430 ratings

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Sweet Freedom
Uriah Heep Heavy Prog

Review by Hector Enrique
Prog Reviewer

3 stars There are no more demons, magicians or symbolism in Uriah Heep's imaginary for their sixth album, 'Sweet Freedom' (1973), replaced instead on the cover by a bland and vaporous image of the musicians blurred in a reddish Martian background, for a proposal that opts for melodic and accessible structures, with a reduced but equally present contribution of the band's hard rock DNA and including some symphonic touches.

And so it is that "Sweet Freedom" unfolds between direct and neat atmospheres, like the restless guitar Funky of "Dreamer", the boogie rock of the active "Stealin'', the glam of the brief "One Day", the compact acoustic/electric ensemble of "Seven Stars", and the unexpected sonorities very close to the bossa-nova of the relaxed "Circus", whose contribution is limited, in my opinion, to the anecdotal and contrasting nature of its inclusion in the album.

But the band also gets 'serious' and dense with Ken Hensley's galloping, intense keyboards and David Byron's singing on the emotive "Sweet Freedom", despite the tiresome and unnecessary repetition of its chorus, with the mesmerising mid-tempo "If I Had the Time" and Hensley's lysergic moog, and finally also with Mick Box's affiliated guitar solos over the excellent sound carpet that Hensley's Hammond builds accompanied by Gary Thain's bass and Lee Kerslake's percussion, in the grandiloquent and epic "Pilgrim", a track that could be considered as one of the first ones that would feed years later on the still budding progressive metal.

"Sweet Freedom" may not carry with it all the magic of the band's previous works, but it manages to pull through because of the sheer quality of its performers.

3/3.5 stars

 The Magician's Birthday by URIAH HEEP album cover Studio Album, 1972
3.86 | 704 ratings

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The Magician's Birthday
Uriah Heep Heavy Prog

Review by Hector Enrique
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Less than six months after the successful "Demons and Wizards" and still under the echoes of its resounding general acceptance, Uriah Heep released their fifth album, "The Magician's Birthday" (1972). A work that once again uses allegories and sorcery as a metaphorical thematic vehicle to transmit profound reflections on the existential questions of the human being and that have their correspondence with the surreal graphic design of the album (Roger Dean), loaded with symbolisms such as the confrontation between the Magician and the Devil and the expectant naked woman hiding behind the plants.

And despite respecting its hard rock roots in the intense and epic "Sunrise" with its Purplelian beginnings with Ken Hensley's keyboards and David Byron's powerful voice, the album has, on the one hand, a less aggressive orientation with more agile and direct tracks like the light blues rock of "Spider Woman", the semi-unplugged soft rock of "Blind Eye" and the lilting "Sweet Lorraine" and its catchy choruses. On the other hand, it tones down its revolutions to initiate a lysergic, dreamlike immersion with Mick Box's Floydian slide guitar on the hazy mid-tempo "Echoes In The Dark", with Hensley's emotive piano chords and Byron's mournful singing on the soulful "Rain", and with the atmospheric pedal steel guitar contributions of guest Brian Cole (renowned session musician) on the acoustic vaporousness of the introspective "Tales".

Finally, the Englishmen resort to changing harmonies in the convoluted "The Magician's Birthday", ranging from energetic hard rock, verses in ironic rhythm of the traditional Happy Birthday accompanied by the Kazoo (an informal 19th century wind instrument), intriguing sound effects preceding Box's lucid and generous guitar jams in counterpoint with Lee Kerslake's frenetic drumming, to Byron's falsetto voice to pompously close the most progressive piece of the album.

The very good "The Magician's Birthday" was the break point that imaginatively marks the end of Uriah Heep's most brilliant period, after which the band's musical proposals would gradually become duller.

3.5/4 stars

 Demons and Wizards by URIAH HEEP album cover Studio Album, 1972
4.07 | 918 ratings

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Demons and Wizards
Uriah Heep Heavy Prog

Review by Hector Enrique
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Preceded by the versatile "Salisbury" and the solid "Look at Yourself", both of great quality but without so much commercial repercussion, perhaps due to their image being overshadowed by their highly successful references Deep Purple, Uriah Heep finally obtained general recognition with "Demons and Wizards" (1972), their fourth album. A work that, without leaving aside the rough edges of their muscular hard rock spiced with symphonic elements, shows a more refined proposal, already noticeable from the fanciful and surrealistic cover entrusted to the iconic graphic artist Roger Dean.

Configured within a wide sonic spectrum, 'Demons and Wizards' unfolds between the exquisite acoustic guitars of Mick Box accompanied by the rhythmic base of Mark Clarke's bass and Lee Kerslake's percussion in the limpid "The Wizard", the virtuosic guitar flexibility with Box's wah wah effects in the adventurous "Traveller in Time", Ken Hensley's dizzying keyboards on the vibrant "Easy Livin'", David Byron's vocal power on the energetic "All My Life", and the thick mid-tempos that intertwine hard rock roughness with progressive overtones on the emotive intensity of Circle of Hands (surely among the album's best moments), and on the ghostly "Rainbow Demon".

And with an acoustic tuning of a certain similarity to Zeppelin's 'Friends', the lilting but very linear "Paradise" dissolves into the introductory chords of the active and hasty "The Spell", the very good closing piece in which different musical planes coexist, such as piano rock, progressive elements with Genesian tints and the vocal interaction between Byron and Hensley.

With more than 3 million copies sold and the placement of the single "Easy Livin'" at position #39 on the North American Billboard, the allegorical "Demons and Wizards" is the most successful album of the English band.

4 stars

 Firefly by URIAH HEEP album cover Studio Album, 1977
3.57 | 318 ratings

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Firefly
Uriah Heep Heavy Prog

Review by Lobster77

4 stars here can be no tangible argument against the school of thought that David Byron left some big boots to fill. Although it was perhaps inconceivable that Uriah Heep soldier on without him, "Firefly" is most likely the best album of the John Lawton trilogy (the other two, though passable, were too pop-oriented in my book). Notable tracks include "The Hanging Tree", featuring some nice synthesizer textures, the ballad "Wise Man", the rollicking "Who Needs Me", the bluesy (though lengthy) "Rollin' On" and the title track, employing a long keyboard intro and melding together classical, rock and folk elements. Like the preceding "High and Mighty", "Firefly" unfortunately seems to be another Ken Hensley "solo" record as he wrote nearly the entire album. Even though Heep were in the midst of their late seventies decline, "Firefly" rates checking out as it is an enjoyable set. It just isn't a classic one and can hardly be put on the same scale as "Demons and Wizards" and "The Magician's Birthday".

4.0

 Look at Yourself by URIAH HEEP album cover Studio Album, 1971
4.13 | 830 ratings

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Look at Yourself
Uriah Heep Heavy Prog

Review by Hector Enrique
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Less than a year after the versatile and very good 'Salisbury', Uriah Heep released "Look at Yourself" (1971), their third album, one of the band's most solid and polished works, with a marked orientation towards heavy and raspy sounds, but without leaving aside enriching experimental nuances.

The album shows a great sense of cohesion and maturity right from the start with the frenetic and homonymous "Look at Yourself" and the rhythmic "I Wanna Be Free", hard rocking tracks that combine Mick Box's fiery riffs and awakened guitar solos that at times go a few decibels further, creating spaces for the still embryonic Heavy Metal, with the timeless sonorities of Ken Hensley's hammond protagonist, and are reaffirmed in the energetic "Tears in My Eyes", a raw road rockabilly very well coloured by Box's guitar wah wah and brief acoustic chords in between.

Without straying from the path traced by the hard rock roughness, "Look at Yourself" also incorporates elements of progressive rock to give a greater sound flow to their proposal, with the stupendous and growing "July Morning", which goes through introspective and intense atmospheres from the instrumental display of the duo Box/Hensley, the cosmic moog of the guest Manfred Mann and the powerful vocal flashes of David Byron, surely one of the best pieces on the album, and with the complex "Shadows of Grief", which after a fierce first half with the whole band in full swing, plunges into mysterious places with aromatic hints of Floydian 'Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun' and into an experimental and psychedelic denouement with Hensley's keyboards.

And after "What Should Be Done", a ballad that doesn't quite seem to fit with the unified feel of "Look at Yourself", the raw hardrock returns with the frenetic and concise development of "Love Machine", leading the album towards a punchy and forceful finale.

"Look at Yourself", despite its lesser impact in the mainstream than contemporary works by bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, is among the group of albums that helped define the basis of Heavy Metal.

4 stars

 Salisbury by URIAH HEEP album cover Studio Album, 1971
4.19 | 933 ratings

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Salisbury
Uriah Heep Heavy Prog

Review by Hector Enrique
Prog Reviewer

4 stars The Purplelian influences, among others, very present in Uriah Heep's debut album, the rudimentary and crushing 'Very 'Eavy... Very 'Umble' from 1970, continue to hover over their second album, 'Salisbury' (1971), with Mick Box's gritty guitar riffs and corresponding solos, the rough textures of Ken Hensley's analogue hammond keyboards and David Byron's powerful and expressive tenor voice, very similar to Ian Gillian's, although a little more uniform, in pieces immersed within the hard-rock spectrum such as the persistent intensity of 'Bird of Prey', the aggressive and rugged mid-tempo of 'Time to Live' and the overwhelming agility of 'High Priestess'.

But 'Salisbury' goes a few steps further, and adds nuances that give interesting tonalities to the work and somehow help build an identity of their own for Uriah Heep, with delicate pieces such as the baroque 'The Park' and its arpeggiated acoustic guitars over Byron's falsetto voice and the choral whispers of the rest of the band including a brief jazzy interlude, and the lilting 'Lady in Black', a refined folk melody sung by Hensley, who also gives it a notable touch of melancholy with the mellotrons.

And the really disruptive part comes with the extended 'Salisbury', a symphonic suite that departs from the general mood of the album and develops its own path from the profuse wind orchestration of arranger and musical composer John Fiddy, which contrasts with the rock structures and generates huge spaces for Hensley's virtuoso performance on keyboards and above all Box's with some splendid guitar improvisations in the last third of the song and prior to the epic and chaotic closing of one of the band's most progressive songs.

'Salisbury' is a pioneering work in the creation of a new direction in which the energetic structures of hard rock converge with the sophisticated elaborations of progressive rock, and the starting point for the most fertile stage of Uriah Heep.

4 stars

Thanks to Easy Livin for the artist addition. and to Quinino for the last updates

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