Album Reviews : Uriah Heep – Wake The Sleeper

Uriah Heep has always been one of those nerdy-70s-prog-rock bands that was stuck somewhere between the innovation of the 70s rock scene and a more fictional – but not quite D&D – subject matter. Due to the line-up of the band, they have always been compared to the largely more successful Deep Purple, and as a result were in their shadow for most of their musical careers. Their musical catalogue, perhaps, most suffered from the unpredictability of their albums and songs, which would range from everything from heavy guitar riffs to standard blues to piano ballads to demonic sounding keyboard solos. Their core fan base no doubt loves and admires this musical virtuosity, but it is obvious why their popularity and influence never reached the spread of their contemporaries, like Deep Purple and Rush, in the mainstream. After their golden years with David Byron at the helm throughout the 70s, the band went into a period of forgettable music that is essentially considered irrelevant at this point in time.

Since about 1989, however, with new front man Bernie Shaw at the helm, it seems to me like the band has been going from strength to strength. Their song writing at least has improved immensely. Well, after 10 long years of non-stop touring, refining and experimenting with their sound, Uriah Heep has finally found time to record and release a brand new album – their first since 1998’s Sonic Origami. There was only one line-up change for this album, with Lee Kerslake leaving to make place for a lesser known new drummer, Russell Gilbrook. Personally, I’ve always found Lee Kerslake to be a huge personality in any band he’s featured in – both live and in the studio – so I was a bit sad to see him go and didn’t think I’d be too happy with any replacement for him. All bias aside though, Russell does a phenomenal job on this album, stamping his authority all over the album. He may not have played with half-a-dozen multi-million dollar bands in the past, but he’s been a quality drummer for a long time and it certainly shows on this album.

Given it was 10 years, I was really interested in hearing what the guys could come up with – and luckily, they don’t disappoint. The album is instantly introduced by the title track, which is essentially a short 3-and-a-half minute instrumental whirlwind. What we get is a trademark Uriah Heep sound: the banshee-like organ, Mick Box’s frenetic guitar wizardry and the crisp and steady drum beat mixing together, as Bernie Shaw’s soulful voice croons “Wake the sleeper” over the top, over and over again. It’s a perfect opening track to an album after a 10 year absence, getting right into that heavy metal feel that has inspired so many bands. What follows is a number of brilliantly composed tracks. Starting with “Overload”, we see a band that has carefully written each part to each song. It’s the sort of song structure that doesn’t sacrifice appeal for odd drum patterns and constantly changing rhythm sections; it keeps both. The same idea can also be seen in the song “Ghost Of The Ocean”, which is also another great example of that heavy prog sound that is only enriched by Bernie Shaw’s flawless vocals. “Tears Of The World” once again showcases classic Heep. It’s a song with a bouncy, tap-a-long rhythm that never loses its integrity, reminiscent of early songs like “Easy Livin’”. Again: catchy yet complex; accessible yet impressive. Like most of Uriah Heep’s material, it’s a positive anthem, urging unity. The album gets a bit softer from there, and while not quite ballads, these songs are very poetic and seem like a natural progression from song to song. Going on from a song about unity, we move onto a song about the determination to live (presumably through a war) to get back to that special someone. The war theme is then echoed again in the song “What Kind Of God”, as Bernie Shaw tries to make sense of the purpose of conflict, which is once again a very poetic and epic composition.

The lyrics are intelligent and add to the versatility of the album. For example, mesmerizing lines like:

“I stood by the river – And breathing the air that is life – Within the black hills – My spiritual calling”

are contrasted well with philosophical rhetoric like:

“The white soldiers – One hundred or more in a line – Kill for the land – Saying their law will stand – What kind of God do they see?”

Although I was largely impressed with this album, I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed by the last three songs. They seemed to lack in inspiration a bit. I was going to say they’re both a bit slower than the other tracks, but they really aren’t, they just seem to lack that complex combination of instruments I was so impressed with at the start, not to mention the subpar lyrical content. To be fair, they do differ in style from the previous songs (and from each other as well), so given the trend of albums having songs that sound too much alike too often, this can be taken as a positive.

Taking it all into regard, however, it has to be said that it’s an exceptional effort by the old Brits. Their passion and dedication to music can really be heard in this album, despite a poor ending, and they have clearly put in an effort to record an appropriate addition to their giant musical legacy. I’ll refrain from calling this a “come back”, since it’s an ambiguous term, as well as a restrictive one. All I can say is it’s good to be able to hear an old band coming out with something fresh and inspired as this that can really stand up head to head with some of their classics.  7.7/10

Band: Uriah Heep
Album: Wake The Sleeper
Year: 2008
Genre: Progressive Rock, Heavy Metal
Label: Sanctuary Records/Universal Music
Origin: England
Myspace: www.myspace.com/uheep

Tracklisting:
1. Wake the Sleeper
2. Overload
3. Tears of the World
4. Light of a Thousand Stars
5. Heaven’s Rain
6. Book of Lies
7. What Kind of God
8. Ghost of the Ocean
9. Angels Walk With You
10. Shadow
11. War Child

Reviewed by Micheal Rapoport