Band : Uriah Heep
Album title : Into The Wild
Label : Frontiers Records
Distributor : Rough Trade Benelux.
Release Date : 15/04/2011
Release : CD

This band is almost as long around as I am myself.  You can easily call them one of the dinosaurs of the rock genre, except that all dinosaurs are long extinct, while ‘The Heep’ is still alive and kicking.
For the not so old around, Uriah Heep started out in 1969.  Their first name was Spice but soon they changed to Uriah Heep.  Since then they’ve sold some 30 million albums worldwide, and have since their beginnings been touring the world.  If you’re not familiar with the band, you nevertheless might know a few of their hitsongs, like ‘Easy Livin’ or ‘Lady in Black’. Of course the line-up of the band has changed quite often over the years.  As a matter of fact there is only one founding member left, and that’s guitarist Mick Box.  Since 2007 the only change has been that Lee Kerslake has been replaced byRussel Gilbrook on drums.

Now they might be dinosaurs, they’ve not fossilized over the years.  The sound is typically Uriah Heep, hell why would you change a winning recipe.  I love those eighties style keyboard sounds, it might no longer be a vintage Moog synth, but a more modern example, but that sound… The band itself also sound as if they’ve enjoyed themselves while writing and recording these songs.  Whereas I’m of the impression that the latest Deep Purple albums are lacking a bit of drive or enthusiasm, this cannot be said about this album.

They might not be that known anymore to a wider public, and the youngsters among us might not even know the band, but Uriah Heep is a band that deserves a place on Graspop Metal Meeting.  That way they will again be known by a wider public.  Maybe next year ?

95/100

Erik Morren.