URIAH HEEP - Into The Wild

To put this album in context you really need to look at a career spanning over forty-years and an amazing array of releases. Uriah Heep’s first five records, along with Rainbow’s first three, are blueprints for modern day melodic and power metal, and I implore any modern metal fan to listen to these albums if you are unfamiliar with them and immerse yourself in this history.

I actually saw these guys at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney earlier this year, on the eve of this release, and they were astounding. To see a band that has had such a career still bring the house down and be relevant is a special thing. There was such a cross section in the audience – from the die-hards to the curious - and they won everyone over.

Now to Into The Wild. The challenge for bands with such a history as Uriah Heep’s is to be able to rise above its rich history; create albums that are relevant today; break free of the older material, and this is exactly what Uriah Heep has done. On first listen it didn’t hit me in the chest like the previous release, Wake The Sleeper, did; Wake The Sleeper was released in 2008 to rave reviews and Uriah Heep fans alike. However, after a few listens a much more complex and layered piece of art emerges. There is a real balance here between straight out metal tunes – yes metal, not hard rock – and progressive tracks.

The opening track ‘Nail on the Head’ is very straight forward with a repetitive chorus that chugs along with a real sincere feel. The next track ‘I Can See You’ really blew me away from the outset. The vocal melody on this song is brilliant, very well written and executed. Bernie Shaw has a great voice, a huge range and a feel of his own, and he really comes to the fore not only on this track but the whole album. I would say eight of the eleven songs come off like this one, strong melodies and very punchy, that really flow naturally from start to finish. I can’t wait to hear this material live!

Now to the more progressive tracks on the album – ‘Trail of Diamonds’, ‘Southern Star’, ‘Believe’ and ‘Kiss of Freedom’. Interwoven with the music on these tracks are the lyrical journeys that are put before you, in particular ‘Trail of Diamonds’. This is a song that Boston wishes they could have written; if they were heavy enough and better musicians. This is a very surreal story that takes you on a journey of a dream and you really get lost in the narrative, an interesting read even without the soundtrack.

I am sure that most people who are reading this are Mick Box fans and he doesn’t disappoint on Into The Wild. He is the one metal guitarist who originated in the seventies that really does not receive the accolades that he deserves, and I think that this is because his guitar playing on one level is quite subtle, and not overpowering like a lot of his seventies’ counterparts. To me, he is a song writer first, and a guitarist second, and this does not underplay the talent that he is, but merely contextualises it into the artist that he is.

The other musician I would like to point out here is Phil Lanzon, keyboards. He is the principle song writer alongside Box and his contribution cannot be underplayed. He is a keyboardist who is not overpowering but complimentary to the music and the sound. It really takes a few spins to unpack the complexity of this guy.

This really is a strong album that won’t disappoint any Uriah Heep fan and one that has the potential to attract a new audience of younger metallers. As I’ve said earlier, I would encourage any metal fan who has not embraced the shores of Uriah Heep to give this a serious listen alongside The Magician’s Birthday and Demons and Wizards and immerse yourself.

Album: Into the Wild

Release: April, 2011

Track Listing:

1. Nail on the Head
2. I Can See You
3. Into the Wild
4. Money Talk
5. I'm Ready
6. Trail of Diamonds
7. Southern Star
8. Believe
9. Lost
10. T-bird Angel
11. Kiss of Freedom

Visit: www.uriah-heep.com