This is where the story starts... The first Heep album is opened by one of the most defining and most successful songs in the band's entire career: "Gypsy". Mick Box' heavy riffing, Ken Hensley's crashing hammond organ, the vocal harmonies - this song already features the typical Uriah Heep trademarks. It was the band's first single (not counting the one released by Spice), and it is in fact still part of the live set today. "Gypsy" is followed by the Newton/Byron-penned "Walking In Your Shadow" and the beautiful "Come Away Melinda" which is a cover version. Most impressing on "Come Away Melinda" are the thoughtful lyrics and David Byron's vocal performance. The fourth track of the album, "Lucy Blues", is a bit untypical for Heep. It is a traditional blues number and includes one of the best keyboard solos I have ever heard, but this isn't played by Ken. As well as "Come Away Melinda", "Lucy Blues" was recorded - prior to Ken's reception in the band - with Colin Wood on keys. Colin also appears on "Dreammare" and "Wake Up (Set Your Sights)", while Ken plays (next to "Gypsy" and "Walking In Your Shadow") on "Real Turned On" and "I'll Keep On Trying". Track No. 5 (or the first on side B) is "Dreammare". This song can be regarded as Heep's first step into the world of fantasy lyrics. The following number, "Real Turned On" is a bit unspectacular, but this is just natural if you consider that this is the first UH album and that most of the band members had no experience in doing proper recordings at this time. But even in that early phase, the band are open for different sounds and styles. This is proved by "I'll Keep On Trying" and "Wake Up (Set Your Sights)" which features progressive rock and jazz influences. "I'll Keep On Trying" might not be as "difficult" as "Wake up" but is nevertheless an interesting song with a few time changes and a stunning guitar solo. The album sounds a bit rough - a bit heavy and humble, as the title implies - but it is a strong debut, and it shows the potential of this band. And who will doubt that, three decades and 19 studio albums later...

SALISBURY marks the beginning of Ken Hensley taking control on composing. From the six present tracks, Ken has written three alone, another two with Mick Box and David Byron, and one, the album opener "Bird Of Prey" together with Mick, David and Paul Newton. "Bird Of Prey" was first released on the American release of the first album (where it was just dubbed URIAH HEEP), but the European fans had to wait for SALISBURY to hear it. The song can be regarded as a link between VERY 'EAVY... and SALISBURY. It is a mid-tempo rock 'n' roller that sounds live even more explosive than on the album. The second song, "The Park", then shows the progression that the band made since the first album. Composed by Ken on an harmonium and featuring several interruptions in the middle part, it sounds more like early King Crimson than like Heep. Also remarkable is that David sings the complete track in falsett. Very interesting are the lyrics of the next number "Time To Live": David tells a story of a man who was imprisoned for twenty years. But, as Ken emphasizes in the original sleeve notes of SALISBURY, David "isn't singing from experience!" The last song on side A is perhaps the most successful and the most well-known Heep track of all times: "Lady In Black". When the band re-released "Lady In Black" as a single in Germany in 1977, it made its way to the top and stayed on No. 1 for thirteen weeks! It is also the first time that Ken takes the position of lead vocals. He is singing the next track, "High Priestess", too. This one is the fastest song of the album and goes in the same direction as later recorded classics such as "Look At Yourself" or "Easy Livin". SALISBURY is closed by the title track, perhaps the most interesting experiment the band ever did. The band are joined by a 22-piece brass and woodwind orchestra, while the song itself lives from a very complex structur with quiet and emotional parts but with heavy sections as well. The song also features one of Mick's best solos of all time. Because of its length of almost 17 minutes it might take some time to get into the song and its structure, but once you get it, this song won't let you go anymore!

A proverb in the music business says "The third album of a band is gonna make it or break it". And Heep's third album definitely made it!!! Some of the seven tracks might have been "forgotten" over the past thirty years but from its potential, LOOK AT YOURSELF is possibly the best Heep album of all time (together with its successor DEMONS AND WIZARDS). It starts with the high energy title track which keeps its high tempo until the end where it is even speeded up. Members of the band Osibisa have a guest appearance on "Look At Yourself" doing some percussion work. "I Wanna Be Free" is one of those tracks that got lost in the course of the years. The first two lines of the lyrics ("As I wake up everyday with no new songs to play/Feeling like I ought to pack my bag and run") were supposed to become autobiographical for Ken and his departure from the band ten years later. The next song is possibly THE perfect UH song: "July Morning", an epic piece in the class of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven" and Deep Purple's "Child In Time". Manfred Mann playes a moog solo on this track. Side B begins with the heavy rocker "Tears In My Eyes" and the bombastic "Shadows Of Grief". "Tears In My Eyes" starts with a riff that could have been composed by Black Sabbath guitarrist Tony Iommi, but when David starts singing, even the deafest should hear that this is Heep and not Sabbath! Kenny plays second guitar on this track. "Shadows Of Grief" is based on a threatening keyboard melody that creates a dark mood. It is the second epic song of this album, almost nine minutes long. The band continue with the change of moods with the next (and last) two numbers, "What Should Be Done" and "Love Machine". The first is a quiet song that features some interesting guitar sounds, the latter, just like the title track, another uptempo rocker that rounds up a perfect album.

The next step in a row of brilliant albums: DEMONS AND WIZARDS easily reaches the class of its predecessor, LOOK AT YOURSELF, and also marks the international breakthrough for Heep. This masterpiece record starts with the ballad "The Wizard" and the experimental "Traveller In Time" which is dominated by Mick's wah-wah guitar sound. Of course, DEMONS AND WIZARDS has - like every album of the Byron era - an outstanding classic. This time it is track No. 3, "Easy Livin'", also the fastest song of the album, and a standard in the live set ever since. Then the mood is turned into the opposite. From the happy, good-time rocker "Easy Livin'" the listener is thrown into the gloomy, almost threatening atmosphere of "Poet's Justice". It is followed by the epic "Circle Of Hands" in which the keyboard takes the dominating part. The "dark mood" carries on until the next song, "Rainbow Demon" and then turns again with the traditional rock 'n' roll number "All My Life". The end of the album is marked by two songs with a flowing transition. (That's why they occasionally appear on compilations as one track). The first of these two songs is the quiet "Paradise" that ends with a duet by David and Ken. The second is the mini rock-opera "The Spell" which shows the band experimenting with progessive rock elements like several time changes, different moods etc. Most of the songs on DEMONS AND WIZARDS as well as some of those on the next album, THE MAGICIAN'S BIRTHDAY, have fantasy lyrics. This has influenced the band's image ever since. While Deep Purple showed up with Ian Gillan's humorous tongue-in-cheek lyrics and Black Sabbath explored the dark side of the human soul most of the time, Heep's world was one of dark clouds, demons and time travelling...

Heep's fifth album showed the band on the top level of creativity. THE MAGICIAN'S BIRTHDAY was a natural follow-up to LOOK AT YOURSELF and DEMONS AND WIZARDS, lyrically especially to the latter. "Sunrise" opens the album. It is one of the most "complete" UH songs, featuring the aforementioned typical trademarks of the band (see reviews of SALISBURY and LOOK AT YOURSELF). It has also become one of the favourites amongst both, band and fans. Then the band hit the accelarator for "Spider Woman" before carrying on with "Blind Eye" and "Echoes In The Dark" that especially Ken uses as a playground for sonic & rhythmic experiments. The last song on side A is the wonderful piano-based ballad "Rain" with one of the best of David's performances. Side B begins with the party song "Sweet Lorraine", a song that I would like to hear live again! Ken's moog solo in the middle section is one of my all time favourite parts of Heep's music. "Tales" is a quiet, beautiful ballad, another song with a great variety of different sounds. For the last song the band use a lot of different ideas, more than some bands have for one LP! Originally, Ken planned to make this record a concept album (working title: FRIDAY THE 13TH) about the fight between good and evil. But the rest of the band and manager Gerry Bron weren't keen about this idea and so only the title track kept the story. In the second part of "The Magician's Birthday", after possibly the best of Mick's guitar solos, David captivates with a stunning vocal performance whilst singing both, the part of the good magician and the part of the evil demon. The song marks also the start of searching for the weirdest methods of recording. Lee, for example, wrapped up parts of his drum kit in toilet paper for the title track. It sounded so good that it made its way on the album!

SWEET FREEDOM starts with one of the wildest Heep tracks, "Dreamer" (though the title might imply a quiet tune). It tells the story of a fan who dreams of meeting his favourite band backstage after a show. Song No. 2, "Stealin'" should be common to most Heep fans. It is based on a simple bass line and a catchy keyboard melody, and features funny tongue-in-cheek lyrics that are a sort of follow up to the lyrics of "Gypsy". I think the fact that the song has been part of the live set ever since speaks for itself for the quality of "Stealin'".The album carries on with "One Day". Here the band return to one of their calmer moments. It features one of the best bass performances by Gary Thain who co-wrote the song together with Ken Hensley. After that comes the brilliant title track, a little gem that the band rediscovered in 2000 for the recordings of their live effort FUTURE ECHOES OF THE PAST. Lyrically this one is about a lost love. With "If I Had The Time" the listener is taken to more experimental fields - at least for the keyoard sounds. It is another calm song, but this time with a strong psychedelic approach. Compared to that, "Seven Stars" is a bit quicker. Ken Hensley said in the liner notes of the 1996 re-issue that the song would have a new meaning to him, referring to his believe in God and especially to the book of Revelations (chapter 2:1), but I don't think that the original meaning of the track had something to do with religion. But I have to confess that I really wonder who had the idea of this stupid "abc..."-part at the end of the song... "Circus" is a bit mysterious. Not only from it's gloomy and quiet atmosphere but also from its developement: the basics were composed by Gary Thain and Mick Box in a completely dark studio room. According to Mick, the two "did not say a word to each other and just completed the music". Also interesting is the fact that the lyrics have been written before the music. Normally it is the other way round. The last song of the album is "Pilgrim", a very pathetic piece with interesting anti-war lyrics and a mighty end section. Another great album, though not as brilliant than its three direct predecessors.

1974 was the first year in the band history since 1970 in which Heep released just one album. This is also the last studio album that features Gary Thain on bass guitar, who was sacked from the band after the world tour due to his ill-health caused by heavy drug consumption. WONDERWORLD starts with the quiet title track. This title was Ken's idea, who calls the place, where he goes in his dreams, "Wonderworld". The song itself is typically Heep: a catchy melody, thoughtful lyrics and loads of vocal harmonies in the chorus. Besides, the backing vocals on "Wonderworld" sound really good - in contrast to those of most of the following songs. This is in my opinion the biggest point of criticism on WONDERWORLD. An example for these very thin vocals is track number two, "Suicidal Man". I dare say, this song would have just ended up as a single b-side, if it was written a couple of years earlier! I think, "What Can I Do" (the b-side of the "Something Or Nothing" single) would have been a better album track instead. But this is compensated by the third song. "The Shadows And The Wind". It is marked by one of the most brilliant keyboard melodies I have ever heard and features a fantastic performance by Gary as well. The lyrics aren't another fantasy text in the style of "Rainbow Demon" or "Poet's Justice" though the title might imply this. After that, "So Tired" blasts out of the speakers. A rock 'n' roller composed by the entire band and musically up the same street as "Easy Livin'" or "Spider Woman". With "The Easy Road" the band offer us another ballad - one of the finest in their career. It is the first time since "Salisbury" that Heep experiment with orchestration on one of their songs. In 2000, "The Easy Road", as well as "Wonderworld" and "The Shadows And The Wind", had a remarkable resurrection by being part of the ACOUSTICALLY DRIVEN concert. "Something Or Nothing", another up-tempo song and kind of "traditional" rock 'n' roll song, has the same problem as "Suicidal Man": it is suffering from the bad backing vocal sound that is lacking of power. The keyboard melody sounds a bit like the "Green Onion" tune... The seventh song, "I Won't Mind" is musically more comparable to the stuff the band did on VERY EAVY... It is mainly based on Gary's stoic bass playing and Ken's slide guitar and features once more an intriguing guitar solo by Mick. After that comes "We Got We", a song title that confuses me still to this day. Perhaps this is some kind of English slang or dialect I don't know... Lyrically it seems to be another song about love. And like all preceding Heep albums (except for LOOK AT YOURSELF), WONDERWORLD ends with an epic song, too. Like "The Shadows And The Wind", "Dreams" has a brilliant melody albeit this time for the keyboards as well as the lead vocals. The "backing vocal problem" occurs once more, but not as strong as on some of the other tracks, so that I can still rank "Dreams" as my favourite track of this album. A little story for non-insiders: at the end of the track we can hear David Byron sing parts of "Dreamer" and "Sweet Freedom" of the direct predecessor SWEET FREEDOM.

RETURN TO FANTASY... Well, just for some parts, actually. The brilliant title (and opening) track is definitely a return to the material of DEMONS AND WIZARDS and THE MAGICIAN'S BIRTHDAY, both musically and lyrically. But apart from that, the only song that is tending into a fantasy direction lyrically is "Beautiful Dream". The music of this number is really psychedelic and Ken is again presenting interesting keyboard sounds here. Another back-to-the-roots-song is the closing track of the album "A Year Or A Day". It is marked by a brilliant melody and a chorus that won't let you go for days! The other prevailing style is the classical rock 'n' roll with the tracks "Shady Lady", "Devil's Daughter" (that resurfaced in the setlist of the 1994 tour), "Prima Donna" and "Showdown". The lyrics of these songs (except for "Devil's Daughter") are sort of "good time stories". The remaining offerings of the album are the calm, blues based "Your Turn To Remember" and the melancholic ballad "Why Did You Go". Really interesting is the fact that RETURN TO FANTASY is a kind of a teamwork result. Just "Your Turn To Remember" and "A Year Or A Day" were written by Ken alone. The only band member that doesn't get any credits for composing is John Wetton. RETURN TO FANTASY was the first of two albums he recorded with Uriah Heep. According to his playing he was a good choice to replace Gary Thain, who unfortunately died 1975, the same year that this album was originally released. But John has never settled for long time with any band he was in, except for Asia. So, he remained Heep's bassist for less than two years. Another reason might be bad luck in timing. He joined the band, when some of the members had to face serious drug problems and when the work of the band was marked by a lot of inner fightings and arguments. Which is a bit ironic if you consider the fact that the band wrote so many songs together for the album... Ken Hensley writes in the liner notes of the 1996 re-release that he wouldn't listen to the album anymore but I really like it. Especially production-wise it is a lot better than WONDERWORLD!

A surprise at the beginning of HIGH AND MIGHTY! This is not David Byron singing! A look in the booklet liner notes reveals the secret: bassist John Wetton took over the position as lead vocalist for the album opening track "One Way Or Another". But with the second number "Weep In Silence" we hear the voice we all know so well... What I think is most remarkable about HIGH AND MIGHTY is that it is the calmest album of the Byron era. The typical heavy rock songs are just a minority, the album is dominated by more commercial ballads. Also intriguing is the fact that all of the tracks were composed by Ken Hensley alone, except for the two ballads "Weep In Silence" and "Footprints In The Snow" that he has written together with John Wetton. But what else has the album to offer? There is "Misty Eyes", a song that would have also fitted on SWEET FREEDOM or WONDERWORLD, its combination of the hammond organ and Mick's acoustic guitar even reminds me of "The Wizard" though "Misty Eyes" certainly does not have the class of the former. It is followed by "Midnight". This song is characterized by changes of quiet and heavy passages and a striking melody. Ken also uses the song to experiment with different keyboard sounds. The following three tracks mark the top of the album. The rocker "Can't Keep A Good Band Down", which is the fastest number of HIGH AND MIGHTY (though it is not as fast as the likes of "Easy Livin'" or "So Tired"). Then comes the most funny track "Woman Of The World". Funny according to its sound, and funny because of the lyrics that the backing choir sings during the chorus: "You can take the contract and stick it up your flue" - a verbal kick towards the band's manager Gerry Bron. The third top song is the aforementioned "Footprints In The Snow", another playground for Kenny and his infinite number of different keyboard sounds. Track No. 8 marks the absolut low point of the album. "Can't Stop Singing" should have better been used for a b-side. But perhaps there is someone out there who likes this one... Not that I am such a purist that I shut myself off from any kind of new influences, but in my eyes the song really can't match up with the rest of the material. "Make A Little Love" then shows again the rocking side of Heep with Ken playing second guitar. Mick gets also another chance to move back into the spotlight (which is great especially because you can hardly hear him on "Can't Stop Singing"). The last track of the album is "Confession" which features very interesting lyrics. Musically, this is another quiet but this time more pathetic song. All in all, I would agree to Ken who called HIGH AND MIGHTY a grower. But it is certainly a good album, with a great performance by the rhythm section John Wetton/Lee Kerslake throughout all of the songs.

When my interest in Heep's music arose, I asked a friend of mine, Andreas Schöwe of the German "Metal Hammer" magazine, what Heep Greatest Hits album he could recommend me. He answered me, he wouldn't like best of compilations and that I should buy all albums till RETURN TO FANTASY and (the then latest releases) SEA OF LIGHT & SPELLBINDER. Since the only song of the Lawton-era that I knew so far ("Free Me") was very poppy, I got the impression that everything between RTF and SOL wouldn't be worth a dime. But pedantic as I am I decided to complete my collection at least of the Byron-era and of the current line-up. When I found out that those remaining three studio albums are great as well, I decided to buy the rest of the albums, too. Meanwhile I'm glad I did! I remember the first time I put FIREFLY in my CD player. It was the first "Lawton album" that I heard. The first three tracks, "The Hanging Tree", "Been Away Too Long" and especially the Kerslake-penned rock 'n' roller "Who Needs Me" suprised me totally. I wondered why a lot of people declined the quality of the band after David Byron's demission. FIREFLY is a lot better than it's direct predecessor HIGH AND MIGHTY and John Lawton is a fantastic singer who obviously felt more happy with Heep's music than with the stuff he was doing with his former outfit, the Les Humphries Singers. But FIREFLY has much more to offer than just the fantastic three tracks at the beginning of the album. The very intense ballad "Wise Man", "Do You Know" (the follow up to "Easy Livin'") show that the band managed the balance between progression of their music and the way "back to the roots" without repeating themselves. Things get calmed down a bit with track number six called "Rollin' One" before the album closes with "Sympathy" (based on a twin-guitar harmony) and the title track, argueably one of the best songs of the entire band's career. There's just one advice for Uriah Heep starters: BUY IT!!!

On INNOCENT VICTIM the band continued on the way on which they started with FIREFLY. Some of the tracks are more commercial, like the opener "Keep On Ridin'" or "Free Me". But the rock 'n' roll side isn't neglected as well. Just listen to the wonderful melodious "Flyin' High" or "Free 'n' Easy", probably the fastest track, the band has ever composed. Also interesting is the slow "Roller". This one features some rhythm experiments. The chorus is once more based on traditional rock 'n' roll elements (as you would guess from the song title...). "Illusion" is another song to close your eyes and dream away. Actually, it is just the first half of a long track called "Illusion/Masquerade"which is featured as a bonus track on the 1997 re-release of INNOCENT VICTIM. After that come the aforementioned "Free Me" and "Cheat 'n' Lie". "Cheat..." - like "Roller" - is varying the tempo a few times and has an up-tempo chorus. "Free Me" has a bit of a personal story for me. My first contact with UH was "Easy Livin'". I was listening to that song countless times and wanted to explore more of the band's music. So, I went through the old LP collection of my parents because I knew there was at least a sampler with a Heep song on it. As it turned out, this song was "Free Me". But when I put the LP on and listened to the song, I was completely disappointed because the song was so commercial. What a contrast to the sheer power and the crashing hammond organ sound of "Easy Livin'"! But at the end of the day I got used to "Free Me", and though I don't regard it as one of the best songs, I find it nevertheless enjoyable. And it turned out to be another hit single and marked kind of a resurrection for the band that had to face a declining commercial success since WONDERWORLD. The last two songs of the album are "The Dancer" and "Choices". Both were written by Jack Williams, a friend of Ken Hensley, and are two more examples for the growing commercial appeal of Heep's music. Perhaps a bit untypical for the band but quite nice... Last but not least a little anecdote: the eyes of the snake on the front cover are in fact Lee Kerslake's eyes!

Following the success of "Free Me", the trend into commercial fields continues... FALLEN ANGEL is marked by a "light" sound, even the quick opening track "Women Of The Night". From its production you wouldn't guess that this song was composed by Mick Box, John Lawton and Lee Kerslake who are normally responsible for the heavier side of Heep (e.g. "Who Needs Me", "Free 'n' Easy"). On track number two, "Falling In Love", the band continue in up-tempo. Just like almost every other Heep album, FALLEN ANGEL features some traditional rock 'n' roll songs, too. For example "One More Night (Last Farewell), which was composed by Ken Hensley. With the Lawton-penned "Put Your Lovin' On Me" things get cooled down for the first time. This is continued with the wonderful ballad "Come Back To Me" (with a very personal text by Lee). "Whad'ya Say" is a bit crazy song, another experimental playground, especially for Kenny. Then comes "Save It", which is kind of accompanying "One More Night", so this is another steamy rock 'n' roller (including the addition of a saxophone). With "Love Or Nothing" the band returns to the "poppy" side. But apart from that commercial approach, "Love Or Nothing" is a nice song with a really catchy chorus. After that, John Lawton holds the flag of rock high with "I'm Alive", another one of his compositions. It shows Trevor Bolder (who is kept a bit too much in the background on some songs, unfortunately) in full flight as well. In my opinion this is one of the best songs of the album, together with "Save It" and "Come Back To Me. Also cool is the title track that rounds up the album. Musically, it can be described as the "little brother" of "Firefly", relatively calm with interesting keyboard sounds. At the end of the day, FALLEN ANGEL is quite a good album with a great cover artwork, but it could have been better with a more powerful production.

What no one could know during the recordings of CONQUEST: this album was meant to be historic! Not musically, but because of the fact that Heep's 13^th studio album was also the last they would ever record with Ken Hensley on the keyboards. It starts with "No Return" - a perhaps unlucky choice for the opening position. The song is untypical for Heep both rhythmic and sound-wise. Plus, "No Return" together with the second song "Imagination" are in my opinion the weakest numbers of CONQUEST and therefore a clumsy introduction of the new singer John Sloman, who joined the band prior the recordings together with former Manfred Mann's Earthband-drummer Chris Slade (replacing Lee Kerslake who went on to join Ozzy Osbourne's new solo band). Besides, both were meant to record just this one album with UH. Actually, John Sloman is one the reasons why the first two songs of the album are so weak. A lot of fans had, and still have, problems to get used to his voice, myself included... But with track No. 3 things get better (at least a bit). This is a track called "Feelings" which was written by Ken for the infamous "Five Miles Sessions" that were planned to lead to the fourth album with John Lawton (which never saw the light of day as we all know today). "Feelings" is followed by "Fools", a calm but solid Trevor Bolder-composition. After these four slow tracks, "Carry On" is the first up-tempo song. Musically strong but John Sloman's voice is failing again. The same goes for the mid-tempo "Won't Have To Wait Too Long". And on a track like that, another problem becomes apparent: the guitars and especially the hammond organ could sound much more powerful. But here, we get at least a little bit of compensation by an interesting funky rhythm, slight samba influences and a tremendous performance by Trevor. With "Out On The Street" things get calmed down again, although it features a rocking middle section. The last number is "It Ain't Easy", another ballad (though a good one). To sum it up, CONQUEST is light and shade, unfortunately more of the latter! Obviously, Kenny lacked really strong ideas and John Sloman wasn't really fitting the band. Also, I have to confess that I cannot understand people who say CONQUEST would be a return to heavier music after the very commercial albums with John Lawton. To me, CONQUEST just lacks of sheer power, and just two guitar solos by Mick Box during eight tracks is not enough for me... The two important events in 1980 (Ken's departure and the band's 10^th anniversary) really deserved to coincide with a better album.

The experiment with John Sloman just lasted for one album. So, ABOMINOG features a new singer: Peter Goalby, ironically the one that Ken Hensley originally wanted to replace John Lawton... The album starts most promising with the fast and furious "Too Scared To Run". Here, two things are already obvious: a) the band decided to return to a more rocking approach, probably due to the fact that now Mick Box was in charge instead of Hensley, who left after CONQUEST, and b) that Goalby's style fitted the band better than Sloman's singing though Goalby was never comparable to John Lawton or the "almighty" David Byron. Hensley himself was first replaced by Gregg Dechert who just stayed long enough to record a single ("Think It Over") and play one tour with UH (w/ John Sloman). On ABOMINOG, the "piano man" was one John Sinclair who later went on to join Ozzy Osbourne. Apropos Ozzy (and to make the line-up chaos perfect): Lee Kerslake returned to the folds of Uriah Heep, joined by bassist Bob Daisley who left the ex-Black Sabbath singer as well. Daisley replaced Trevor Bolder who had previously joined Wishbone Ash... But back to the music. The second song is called "Chasing Shadows", a mid-paced heavy rocker, followed by the Russ Ballard composition "On The Rebound" which proved that Heep had arrived in the eighties. You can hear this especially regarding the keyboard sound. Actually, this is the big difference to all other Heep albums that were recorded before. Gone was the crashing Hammond organ, in came a flat, typically eighties keyboard sound. Song number four, "Hot Night In A Cold Town" starts quiet but develops into a melodic rocker, but not as good as the three tracks before, though. Then come the up-tempo "Running All Night (With The Lion)" and the stomping "That's The Way That It Is" with a catchy chorus. Unfortunately, the next two songs aren't as good as most of the other tracks of ABOMINOG. The calm "Prisoner" is especially nerving with its backing vocals in the chorus, and "Hot Persuasion" is a bit irrelevant in my opinion, lacking of surprising or exciting moments. At least, Mick's guitar work here is worth to be mentioned in a positive way. But the end is conciliatory. First, there is the fast "Sell Your Soul", another track for Mick to show what a great guitarist he is. Plus, this is one of just a few numbers where you can hear an organ in certain passages. Second and last (but not least) is a re-recorded version of the aforementioned "Think It Over", now sung by Peter Goalby (and that a lot better than on the single version with Sloman). If you just know the old Heep material with David Byron, you really need time to get used to ABOMINOG and to see that it is a good album. Not the strongest but quite nice...

The second album with Peter Goalby follows the path that the band had entered with ABOMINOG. It should also be the last that Heep recorded for their long time partner Bronze Records, who were the band's record label since day one. HEAD FIRST is opened by "The Other Side Of Midnight", a medium paced song in the tradition of "Chasing Shadows" or "Running All Night (With The Lion)". Then come two cover versions: the funky "Stay On Top" (besides, this track is the name giver for the German UH Fan Club), and the Bryan Adams hit single "Lonely Nights", a very commercial half-ballad but surprisingly, it fits well to the other stuff that UH recorded in the Goalby era. Then comes the low of the album, namely "Sweet Talk", again mid-tempo (referance: "That's The Way That It Is"), and - you name it - another cover track called "Love Is Blind" which is slightly quicker than "Sweet Talk". The next couple of tracks belong together. "Roll-Overture" is an instrumental that is the intro the the first real speedy song of HEAD FIRST, the wild "Red Lights". It proves to be one of the catchiest numbers of the album. "Rollin' The Rock" starts very quiet, and then changes between a heavy chorus and calm passages through the verses. The following "Straight Through The Heart" is NOT a cover version of the DIO hit of the same name, but it's a band effort in its own right. It is another mid-paced number. Unfortunately it is very hard to remember... The last track of HEAD FIRST is in my opinion the best: "Weekend Warriors", the second fast song after "Red Lights". Lyrically, it is kind of a biker hymn. HEAD FIRST was recorded with the same personell like its predecessor (for the first time since 1978), but the line-up didn't remain stable after that. Bob Daisley went back to Ozzy Osbourne, so the way was free for Trevor Bolder to return. I think it's needless to say, that he has been with Heep since then!

In comparision to the other two albums of the Goalby-era (ABOMINOG and HEAD FIRST) EQUATOR has a more mature approach and tends musically towards AOR - a trend that should last until DIFFERENT WORLD. The album has an unusual start with the experimental track "Rockarama" which is dominated by different crazy vocal and keyboard sound effects. The next one is "Bad Blood". This is a mid-tempo rocker dominated by Mick's guitar. The keyboard sound reminds me of Lionheart, the first band of Dennis Stratton after his departure from Iron Maiden. "Lost One Love", the third song, is the absolut low point of EQUATOR and in fact one of the lowest points in the band's career. The reason for my opinion is not the commercial appeal of this ballad but (sorry, Mick!) the teeth pulling guitar sound during the chorus. After that, "Angel" sounds like a relief! You can hear a hammond organ on this track, a better guitar sound (see above!) and pleases with it's pounding upper mid-tempo rhythm. But the tempo is slowed down a bit with "Holding On", a half ballad that features interesting vocal harmonies in the end section. "Party Time" shows the band back on the rocking side of the world! Relatively fast, punching bass lines by Trevor Bolder (who returned to replace his own successor, Bob Daisley) and lyrically tending in a similar direction as classics like "Sweet Lorraine", but this time in 80ies style! This pattern of "one fast song, one slow song" is continued until the album's end. The seventh track, "Poor Little Rich Girl", turns from a quiet intro into an intense number with a wonderful performance by Peter Goalby. With "Skool's Burnin'" follows another hit on the accelerator. I really wonder if the lyrics are based on the personal experience of one of the band members... Track number nine is "Heartache City", another mid-paced song that is also featured on the famous LIVE IN MOSCOW album. Heep's 16^th studio album closes with its highlight: "Night Of The Wolf". Introduced by a gloomy keyboard solo, it turns into a fast song with another fantastic performance by Pete. At the end of the day, the music of EQUATOR is still way ahead of what other bands are doing, but obviously it is lacking of the magic that characterized the 70ies albums and that the band fortunately rediscovered in 1995.

RAGING SILENCE is the first album of a reformed (and still present) line-up. It features Phil Lanzon (formerly of Grand Prix and The Sweet) on keyboards as well as new lead singer Bernie Shaw (ex-Praying Mantis, ex-Grand Prix) next to the old veterans Box, Bolder & Kerslake. The album starts with a cover of the Argent classic "Hold Your Head Up" that fits the Heep style surprisingly well. Track number 2, "Blood Red Roses", is a composition of Bernie's predecessor Peter Goalby. A nice mid-paced rocker where Bernie can show for the first time the powerful side of his voice (while "Hold Your Head Up" is a bit more quiet). The song marks kind of a bridge between the Goalby- and Shaw-eras. One can easily imagine "Blood Red Roses" with the voice of Peter, and musically it follows the traces of songs like "The Other Side Of Midnight" and "Rockarama". The third track is the first "real" composition of the current line-up, though the Box-Lanzon-penned "Voice On My TV" isn't the first attempt of Mick and Phil to write together. They already composed "Corina" and "Pacific Highway" which were only released on LIVE IN MOSCOW (as well as "Mister Majestic", written by Phil alone) and later as demo versions on STILL 'EAVY, STILL PROUD. After "Voice On My TV" the album carries on with "Rich Kid", a rocker in typical Bolder-style. "Cry Freedom" is very interesting. It starts with a spoken Russian intro as an addition to the lyrics which are about an ice skating girl from the Soviet Union who longs for the freedom of the so called "western world". It also features a little referance to the bands earlier days in the chorus: 'Cry freedom, sweet freedom...'. Afterwards Phil can prove that he isn't just a great performer but a good song-writer, too. "Bad Bad Man" is an up-tempo song with interesting lyrics telling a story of a cop in a futuristic Los Angeles which reminds me of the film "Blade Runner". The song is also the source for the album title (in the line 'There's a raging silence'). "More Fool You" rocks as well, though it is slower than "Bad Bad Man" and starts with a calm intro. The song was also part of the ACOUSTICALLY DRIVEN concert in December 2000. It is suprising how good this song works in an acoustic outfit. The following two tracks cannot hold the level of quality of the former tracks. This confirms my opinion that I prefer to see originals rather than cover versions on UH albums. "When The War Is Over" and "Lifeline" (especially the former) aren't bad songs but I don't think they can match up with the rest of the material. Perhaps it would have been better to put Phil's "Miracle Child" (b-side of the "Hold Your Head Up"-Single) on RAGING SILENCE instead of "Lifeline". "Rough Justice" then marks the end of the album. This one can really be called a band effort. It was written by Mick, Phil, Trevor and Bernie (one of his rare contributions!). It's another rocking track in faster mid-tempo and relatively heavy for Heep. I think it is really interesting that in the eighties Heep did a lot of covers, but almost all of them are calm songs. Perhaps the band lacked of good ballads since the departure of Ken Hensley??? (It is pretty well known that Mick is an expert for the heavy side of UH). Two other positive aspects of RAGING SILENCE: Richard Dodd did a brilliant job as the album's producer (I wonder what DIFFERENT WORLD would have sounded with him on the mixing desk); and the album's sleeve artwork is quite good. By the way, this crying face actually is a mask of Mick's face. But I suppose you already guessed it from the clear-cut shape of the nose...

A lot of fans consider this album as the low-point of the band's career, or at least of the Shaw-era. Well, I have to confess, that I had some problems with DIFFERENT WORLD at first, too. What actually helped me to find access to this CD was the unplugged live album ACOUSTICALLY DRIVEN (released 2001) featuring brilliant versions of "Different World" and "Cross That Line". Because of these two tracks I was keen to listen to the studio versions again, what I in fact hadn't done for a long time up till then. When I listened to them I realised the problem that probably most fans have with DIFFERENT WORLD: The songs themselves were great but the production was too thin. The Guitar and Bass sound is o.k. but the drums and keyboards are really lacking any depth. I suppose that the double strain (bassist & producer) was asking too much of Trevor Bolder... Anyway, when I was through with "Different World" and "Cross That Line" I also listened to the first two tracks of the album, the up-tempo opener "Blood On Stone" and the mid-paced rocker "Which Way Will The Wind Blow". The chorusses of both are really catchy! Afterwards I decided to hear the rest of the album, too, now that I got in the mood of the music. And I was surprised how much more this album had to offer: "All God's Children", again an earcatcher, featuring a children choir, the powerful numbers "Step By Step" and "Seven Days". The remaining three tracks, "All For One", "First Touch" and "One On One" (on the CD falsely entitled "One By One") cannot keep the quality standard of the aforementioned songs but are definitely better than some of the material recorded with John Sloman or Peter Goalby. You should give this album the time it deserves (I needed two years...), then it can unfold it's magic. It may not be the best Heep output, but it is definitely not the worst as well!

Heep's 25^th anniversary coincides with a suprising turn back to the roots. Mick and Phil decided to concentrate on stylistic elements that were responsible for the band's success in the seventies. The result you can hear on SEA OF LIGHT which almost all fans consider to be the best post-byron album. But you can see it as well. The cover artwork was painted by Roger Dean, the man who also painted the covers for DEMONS AND WIZARDS and THE MAGICIAN'S BIRTHDAY! The music begins with a thunderbolt: "Against The Odds"! The listener is suprised by a heavy guitar sound. Bernie proves that he made an immense step forward since DIFFERENT WORLD and easily manages to combine powerful and melodic singing. Due to the brilliant production the backing vocals sound better than on the last albums, too. This is emphasized by the following songs, the Bolder-penned "Sweet Sugar" and "Time Of Revelation", the 1995-incarnation of "Easy Livin'". Another aspect that the listener can discern is the "return" of a traditional, heavy and crashing hammond organ sound. Phil shows that he is able to replace Ken Hensley and he makes the fans forget the flat and thin keyboard sounds of the eighties. With track number four, "Mistress Of All Time" the band plays the first ballad, but the album turns again to heavier tunes with the live favourite "Universal Wheels" and "Fear Of Falling" where Trevor takes over the lead vocals. Now after having heard half of the album, it's already obvious, that Trevor has never played better since FIREFLY! "Spirit Of Freedom" and "Logical Progression" lead us in mid-tempo through the middle section of the album, especially the former with a catchy chorus. Then things get calmer again with "Love In Silence". This ballad starts with a nice acoustic guitar melody and sensitive singing. But the intensity increases and the end section is introduced by a punching rhythm played by acoustic guitar and bass. Some fans already knew "Words In The Distance" before - the band played it live almost a year before the release of the album. Musically it's another up-tempo rocker. The last two songs are both written by Trevor. The first is "The Fires Of Hell (Your Only Son)", a slow number with anti-war lyrics. It features a very short bagpipe interlude in the middle. Finally, "Dream On" closes the album. Here is the name programme: just close your eyes and dream away to the melody of this beautiful ballad. In retrospective, it's really a shame that the album failed commercially. Anyone who likes the old albums should love SEA OF LIGHT!

The band's 20^th studio output - and a highly underrated gem! SONIC ORIGAMI was critisized by a lot of people for a lack of power. But I think that you cannot measure the quality of Heep's music just by it's heavyness. Of course, the album is more quiet than its direct predecessor SEA OF LIGHT, but nonetheless, it has a lot to offer. The opening track "Between Two Worlds" for example. A melodious rocker dedicated to former band members Gary Thain and David Byron, who passed away in 1975 respectively 1985. It is followed by the mid-paced track "I Hear Voices" which is even more intense when played live. "Perfect Little Heart" then cannot keep the high standard of the former two songs. Another problem is that it is relatively similar to "I Hear Voices" referring to its structure and tempo. Anyway, with track number four, the band is back on the right track. "Heartless Land" is definitely one of the best Heep ballads of all time! It was also released as a single (but failed due to a lack of promotion). The following song, "Only The Young" is also radio-compatible (as far as I am concerned). It is an earcatcher that lives on a brilliant performance by Bernie Shaw. Then the album carries on with "In The Moment". On this track (as on "Between Two Worlds as well) I would wish that producer Pip Williams had mixed the keyboards a bit louder. Phil Lanzon is without question a great player with an incredible technique and it would be great if this was "honoured" with a better sound... Tracks 7 - 10 take the listener on a roller coaster ride of moods. "Question" marks the start, another ballad with the same quality like "Heartless Land", then the band rocks through "Change". Remarkable: At the end of "Change" the band picks up the same melody as at the end of "Question", just this time more rocking (of course). Things get calmed again with the ninth song "Shelter From The Rain" which is in my opinion a bit unspectacular but the next number, an up-tempo rocker called "Everything In Life" (and besides a leftover from the SEA OF LIGHT sessions) more than compensates for that. When I heard SONIC for the first time and came to "Feels Like", the eleventh track, my first thought was that Mick's opening lick reminded me of Geezer Butler's bass intro to the Black Sabbath classic "N.I.B.". Apart from that, this is another cool track with a rocking basic rhythm and a catchy chorus. Coming to track 12 we are confronted with a song that was the second point of critisism: the Survivor-cover "Across The Miles". The band's performance is o.k. and I think the song for itself isn't bad. But I normally prefer originals more than cover songs on an album. And considering that one of the best (original) songs just ended up as CD bonus track (another up-tempo rock 'n' roller called "Sweet Pretender"), I really ask myself why the band didn't do it the other way round and released "Sweet Pretender" as an official album track and "Across The Miles" as bonus song. Whatever the reasons were for this doubtful decision, there surely are no doubts that the last official track of SONIC ORIGAMI, "The Golden Palace" is a really tremendous composition. Introduced with an orchestral piece that almost sounds like a part of a film soundtrack, the song developes into a half ballad living on the Heep-typical vocal harmonies. It is also the longest track of the album with a lenght of nearly nine minutes and proved to work great as an acoustic version (as recorded in December 2000 and released on ACOUSTICALLY DRIVEN in Spring 2001).