(Sanctuary)

 www.sanctuaryrecordsgroup.com/

Back during the early-to-mid-70s, Uriah Heep was the band that the critics hated, but the little boys understood. One of the crucial artistic building blocks - along with Black Sabbath and Deep Purple - of what would later become known as "heavy metal," Uriah Heep's brief commercial peak pales in comparison to the band's enormous influence and amazing longevity...these guys are the "Energizer Bunny" of rock music, and nearly 40 years after their first recording, Uriah Heep stands as loud and proud as ever.

A lot of the credit for the Heep's death-defying lifespan must go to guitarist Mick Box, a genuinely nice guy and rock & roll true believer that has kept the band going long after even its most fervent followers had given up on 'em. With the release of Wake The Sleeper, the first Uriah Heep album in a decade (since 1998's Sonic Origami), the band has hungry metal fans climbing the barricades once again as critics begrudgingly give the band their (past) due props.

Wake The Sleeper follows the tried-n-true Heep formula: equal parts vocal histrionics, blistering torch guitar, explosive rhythms, and prog-rock-tinged keyboard riffing. Whereas often-maligned vocalist David Byron and talented keyboard wizard/songwriter Ken Hensley once manned the castle walls, Box has since put together a virtual doppelganger of that '70s-era band with big-lunged singer Bernie Shaw, keyboardist Phil Lanzon, and former Bowie bassist Trevor Bolder.

Wake The Sleeper has been receiving a modicum of acclaim, hailed by many as a "return to form" for the band. Considering that the classic Uriah Heep sound has varied little through the years, maybe metal tastes have simply circled around and caught up with the band. "Tears Of The World," is a perfect example of the sort of melodic power metal that Heep wrote the blueprint for three-anna-half decades ago, guidelines that have since been used by everybody from Iron Maiden to Stratovarius to build their own musical dynasties.

With a circular keyboard riff nicked straight from Sweet Freedom, the song's unrelenting rhythm and soaring vocals are matched by ethereal harmonies and Box's cutting six-string slash. "Ghost Of The Ocean" is afforded a wiry, psychedelic guitar intro before launching into a galloping gangfight of crashing drumbeats, stabbing keyboard licks and scorched-earth guitar mangling.

Truth is, if you enjoyed any of Heep's best albums in the past - industrial strength wrecking-balls like Return To Fantasy (1975), Abominog (1982), or Sea Of Light (1995) - then you'll most likely groove to Wake The Sleeper as well. The album is not so much a "return to form" as it is a continuation of that which Uriah Heep has done so well through all these years....

Standout Tracks: "Wake The Sleeper," "Tears Of The World," "War Child" REV. KEITH A. GORDON