Uriah Heep – "Chaos and Colour"

Respect for one's elders gives character

Defying all contemporary trends and steadily releasing classic hard rock albums while way into their '60s and '70s, you could rightly say Uriah Heep is living proof that the world isn't such a bad place after all. Just as much, though, they're proof that I'm an ungrateful sumbitch who needs to get his priorities straight, the last one I heard from them being fucking 15 years old – 2008's excellent "Wake the Sleeper" LP.

I still remember them kicking a jaw-dropping amount of ass on that tour back then. And waddya know, they're back to kick more of said ass this year.

Yes, "Chaos and Colour" vertiably thrashes over the starting line. And I do not use that word lightly: Opener "Save Me Tonight" sets into an actual thrash metal pace, its energy being as tangibly virile as the one in its 51-year old classic big brother "Easy Livin'". And with that one being my favorite Heep track, I sure as shit ain't using those words lightly, either.

Neither am I, by the way, in comparing "Hail the Sunrise" to its 54-year old sibling "Gypsy". Only this one's not getting down and dirty in all its heavy half-time glory; it's rather grand and majestic, its lyrics telling of nature, cosmic bodies, and a sacred stone circle to praise the gods. And sure, vocalist Bernie Shaw might have known better days, but within the natural limitations of his 66 years on Earth, he's doing just as well as his colleague Bruce Dickinson.

Part of what makes this album so enjoyable is that it's the work of musicians. Musicians who played actual music fucking decades before you could compress it and copy/paste it into joylessness with three goddamn clicks on a laptop.

In short, everything here just plain rocks. The staunchly straightforward "Hurricane" has the attitude of a smaller goddamn army. And during the uptempo "Age of Changes", I find myself laughing heartily at how this album sounds like these last 50 years either hadn't happened, or like everything that did happen didn't really matter a whole lot, as its stalwart "aaah-aaaah-aaaaah" background vocals trample every musical trend since the early '70s.

Part of what makes "Chaos and Colour" so enjoyable is that it's the work of musicians. Musicians who played actual music fucking decades before you could compress it and copy/paste it into joylessness with three goddamn clicks on a laptop. Phil Lanzon's wonderfully blistering Hammond organ tone is just as iconic as that of late greats like Jon Lord and Ray Manzarek (2 x R.I.P.!). And Mick Box's guitar sound is just as fat and juicy as it's alive and organic. Oh man, if the bands of this century would only spend a little more time looking back instead of forwards.

And the same thing goes for the songwriting. Sure, classic rock isn't a very ground-breaking format, but with the amount of experience these guys have, the end product here is just guaranteed solid as shit. And while "Chaos and Colour" is, admittedly, one of those many albums whose side 1 is superior, there's still something to be said for the awe-inspiring structure of "You'll Never Be Alone", going from a cutesy piano figure over stadium chord block chops to a 7/8 time C-part, a harmonic minor bridge, and a dramatically uptempo D-part. I mean, this is as progressive as the band's ever been!

I find myself laughing heartily at how this album sounds like these last 50 years either hadn't happened, or like everything that did happen didn't really matter a whole lot.

Only the ending "Closer To Your Dreams" sounds a bit too much like it's copying aforementioned "Easy Livin'". But all else being equal, it's more than impressive that a band formed in 1969 can still display this amount of energy from start to finish. Especially when a band like Ugly Kid Joe, 20 years younger, seems to have run out of steam in their early '50s.

In fact, I'm getting a big, fat déjà vu here: Starting off January 2022 with a blast, Heep's contemporaries in Magnum put out what was arguably the album of the year. And given the incredibly miserable prospects for new releases this year, it wouldn't surprise me if the Heep's just gone and done the same thing.

Rating: 5 out of 6

Genre: Hard rock / heavy metal
Release date: 27/1/2023
Label: Silver Lining
Producer: Jay Ruston