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Forty years have passed since that humble and heavy debut.
Mick Box and his Uriah Heep are still on the road, reasonably proud to tell tales of demons and sorcerers, fireflies, and fallen angels, boasting a perseverance that has few equals and the honor earned with weapons and sweat. Weighed down and aged, of course, because this life makes no concessions to anyone. But how much emotion is still behind those sounds. Vibrations that survive the passing of seasons, the numerous lineup changes, the companions lost along the way, the few lights and many shadows of the eighties and... Melissa Mills. Now, I sincerely hope the venomous Rolling Stone journalist did not keep her promise, but with equal frankness and ideally in unison with the Heepsters, I would like to tell her today: go to hell!
Luckily for us, the "Beach Boys of heavy rock" made it, despite the many (too many) detractors. Time has in part restored them their undeniable merits, while they have continued to gift us precious gems over the years, such as this “Sea of Light.” An album that celebrates 25 years of career in the best way and recalls the flavors of those early seventies, right from the splendid and celestial cover by the rediscovered Roger Dean.
Mickey and company succeed in the arduous task of forging a modern and aggressive sound, which will also be the basis for subsequent and equally valid works, while at the same time remaining true to its roots. All thanks to a now seasoned lineup (Box-Kerslake-Bolder-Lanzon-Shaw), demonstrating enviable harmony, and which is likely to be remembered as the most enduring of the band. The sea of light is the elixir of long life for the Heep, the pleasure of returning to vibrate, a timeless formula that mixes aggressiveness and sweetness, echoes of the past and temptations of the present.
Hard rock 360°, which brushes the coasts of AOR and lets itself be intoxicated by progressive aromas, but does not divert its attention from its own course in search of melody. One realizes that ultimately little has changed since that distant 1970: the passion and persistence are the same, and they marry with a newfound vigor that other seventies dinosaurs can now forget about. And then there’s their trademark, those unmatched vocal harmonies that caused so much nose-turning at the time, between delicate falsettos and piercing high notes, which even today are still so powerful and recognizable.
It may or may not be your genre, but these gentlemen deserve the respect of all of us.
Long live the Heep.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Against the Odds (06:12)
(the way of life that must change)
In the court of kings I look around
My blood runs cold, I close my eyes
Out of my head a vision flows
I'll make the rules I need
For my survival, for my survival
I pull the strings, you take the glory
I load the gun, you shoot me down
I'm on the edge about to fall
Destructive power will make you
Lose your mind, use your mind
Trapped inside my nightmare
You are there
As I turn I feel your evil stare
We give our life, invest in time
To only fools who take controll
I spend another cold day in hell
Against the odds I fight
For my survival, for my survival
Your useless life gets crushed
Into the ground
The time has come
To turn it all around
05 Universal Wheels (05:39)
(natures retalliation)
All the fields are
Smoke and flame, fire in the sky
It's a state of emergency
Much more than meets the eye
Just hide away your tears
There are many more hidden fears
As the universal wheels
Go round n' round n' round
Rivers of pollution
Taking life from living things
Running out of oxygen
There is no way to win
We ignore the signs of nature
Got to learn to live beside her
As the universal wheels
Go round n' round n' round
Better take good care of
All the things you say and do
Round n' round n' round ...
Look out for the warning sign
Now it's up to you
There's a mighty eight point six
Waiting in the ground
When she opens up
This world will humble to the sound
There is only one real power
Creating life by the hour
See the universal wheels
See the universal wheels
See the universal wheels
Go round n' round n' round ...
08 Logical Progression (06:12)
(new perceptions)
You say her love has gone forever
And something has
Gone from your soul
It's left you so cold
Though you wish
You had the answer
The question is always untold
Always on hold
What's in the mirror
What do you see
It's a logical progression
When you think that
You lost all that time
It's all in your mind
What's in the mirror
What do you see
Lay down now and close your eyes
It's only just begun
'cause mind and body
Flow in perpetual motion
Set free all your memories
They're tearing you apart
'cause you know that
Love is the only direction
That reputation that you live by
Says something about what's inside
Nowhere to hide
There is no amount of heartache
That could ever
Wash over this burning
Forever learning
Look in the mirror
Will you do it all again
You got time on your side
You know you'll find
The truth within you
You got time on your side
As the seconds tick away
Love is waiting for you
You got time on your side
You say her love has gone forever
And the image has left you so cold
Still in your soul
There's no way
You're gonna turn back
You'll never wash over this burning
Forever learning
Look in the mirror
Will you do it all again
Lay down now and close your eyes
It's only just begun
'cause mind and body
Flow in perpetual motion
You got time on your side
As the seconds tick away
Love is waiting for you
10 Words in the Distance (04:46)
(love awareness)
Dancing with danger and
Tears in my eyes
Love ain't no stranger
So many goodbyes
Words in the distance
Are calling me
Just when I thought
I could make a a new start
Here comes another fire
Burning in my heart
Words in the distance
Are calling me
And to get to heaven
You gotta go through hell
I cut my heart on the wishing well
You know that I'm crazy
I'm just a fool
To say I love I love I love you
You know that I'm crazy, just a fool
To say I love I love I love you
My senses burning from
The heat of your skin
Deeper than deep
I feel you movin' in, oh
Words in the distance
Are calling me
You know that I'm crazy
I'm just a fool
To say I love I love I love you, well
You know that I'm crazy, just a fool
To say I love I love I love you
I love you
I hold this moment of magic
I hold it in my hand
A single moment of heaven
Don't you know that I'm crazy
I'm just a fool
To say I love I love I love you, yeah
You know that I'm crazy, just a fool
To say I love I love I love you
Don't you know I love you baby
Can't you feel it in my heart, yeah
And I don't know what to say, no
Well I've got a fire in my soul
I don't know which way to go
Or I don't know what to do, no
11 Fires of Hell (03:56)
(The futility of war)
Oh, I was born your only son
And I will think of you
Before this day is done
The fires of hell surround me now
So I must fight for freedom
Against their raging guns
In all my life I never said
How much I loved you
In all this time
I never really said I cared
This war is wrong and so
I write these words
Before I give my life to the somme
In all my life I never said
How much I loved you
In all this time
I never really knew you
The fires of hell surround me, oh
The guns of hell will
Take my breath away
From my life this day
The fires of hell surround me, oh
The words I say
Must never disappear
Keep them locked inside your heart
I can hear the piper's song
And it will play for me
Before this day is done
So I will hold my head up high
If I must give my life
To stop their raging guns
Oh, I was born your only son
And I thank God for that and
That that will be done
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