Demons And Wizards

Uriah Heep, named after the Charles Dickens character, was certainly one of the most critically-derided bands of the era. The classic quote goes something like "if this band makes it I'll have to kill myself ". Sadly, a few of the members did. Bassist Gary Thain died in 1976 while lead singer David Byron took his own life a decade later. Byron and guitarist Mick Box had previously been in the band Spice, while keyboardist Ken Hensley came from The Gods. Uriah Heep's debut album appeared in 1970, followed quickly by two albums in 1971. Heep's sound was much closer to the heavy thunder of Deep Purple or Lucifer's Friend than anything progressive, but their albums were original enough. All through this, the band went through several personnel changes before settling down with Thain on bass and Lee Kerslake on drums. Demons and Wizards is certainly their finest hour. It has all the accoutrements of a good prog rock record - songs about wizards and demons, plenty of Hammond organ, and a Roger Dean cover. But the one element that raises the bar is quite simply, great songs. Whether "The Wizard" or "Traveler In Time", each track rocks hard and is full of tasty hooks. From start to finish, the album moves with total consistency and sets a blueprint for the stadium-sized anthem rock that appeared later in the decade. The Heep nearly had a hit single in the classic "Easy Livin'" and the album reached the Top 20 in both the UK and US, earning gold status as well. The follow-up album, Magician's Birthday, was (according to the band) even more "experimental", yet later efforts veered farther and farther away from anything progressive. The band continues to this day.