Demons And Wizards

Uriah Heep, named after the Charles Dickens character, was one of the more critically-derided bands of the era. The classic quote is this: "If this band makes it, I'll have to kill myself" (Rolling Stone, Melissa Mills, 1970). Sadly, a few of the members did pass away too early: New Zealander Gary Thain in 1976, while David Byron (born David Garrett) died in 1985. Lead singer Byron and guitarist Mick Box had previously been in the Essex-based band The Stalkers, which mutated into Spice in 1967. With the arrival of bassist Paul Newton the following year, they recorded a lone single, but also signed on with manager Gerry Bron. Former The Gods' keyboardist Ken Hensley came on board during recording sessions in late 1969, at which point Spice changed their name to Uriah Heep. Recorded at Lansdowne Studios with engineer Peter Gallen (as were most of their albums), their debut album appeared in 1970, followed quickly by two more albums in 1971. Heep's sound was much closer to the heavy thunder of Deep Purple than anything strictly progressive, but their albums were original and contained epic gems such as "Salisbury" and "July Morning." During this time, the band endured several personnel changes (mainly with drummers) before settling down in 1972 with Thain (formerly with the Keef Hartley Band) on bass and Lee Kerslake (another The Gods' alumnus) on drums. Demons And Wizards embodies Uriah Heep's 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 the great songwriting. Whether "The Wizard," "Traveller in Time" or "Circle of Hands," each track rocks hard and delivers catchy hooks. From start to finish, the album moves consistently and sets a blueprint for the stadium-sized anthem rock that would appear later in the decade. The Heep nearly had a hit single in the classic "Easy Livin'" b/w "Gypsy," and the album reached the Top 20 in both the UK and US, earning gold status as well.