It’s hardly a secret that I’m a bit of a Uriah Heep fan. You may have guessed by other posts and concert reviews spattered about this blog. Now, in my ‘umble (pun intended) opinion their finest recording output is the mega-classic Demons and Wizards from all the way back around 40 years ago.
Back then of course there were no CDs or downloads. We bought all our stuff on a big slab of plastic (well, vinyl actually) which was 12 inches in diameter with a little hole in the middle. This was known as a record and we listen to them on a record player. Vinyl rocked and old farts like me miss it. But enough of the history lesson as records are on the comeback trail and Demons and Wizards is available on vinyl I have learned.
It is the album which truly cemented Uiah Heep in to Enormodome territory and right at the forefront of the emerging progressive heavy metal scene that would in turn influence the NWOBHM movement a few years later. But what makes Demons and Wizards so special?
As was de-rigour at the time the sleeve artwork is by Roger Dean with his usual sci-fi/mystical leanings. Marvellous to carry around under ones arm. But the music was truly magical also. A tremendous blend of mystical hippiness, proggy influences via stuff like Ken Hensley’s swirling Hammond organ moves, heavy riffs and mazy solos from guitarist Mick Box backed up by a solid rhythm section of Gary Thain and Lee Kerslake. Oh – almost forgot – the vocal histrionics of the multi-octave, charismatic and ever so slightly barking David Byron are peerless.
This was classic Heep from start to finish. The acoustic intro to The Wizard lulls the listener in to a false sense of security before the heavy stuff arrives. The melodies all fit together with it and the entire album is about as flawless as it gets. A band on absolutely top form.
It broke them in to the big time building on the gradual success of the preceding trio of albums. Demons and Wizards sold mega-millions, must be Heeps’ best seller and even to this day songs from it form part of their live set as I have witnessed many times. The Wizard, Rainbow Demon and they are all but obligated to play Easy Livin’ – or else….
Whether you’re a Heep fan or not, whether you’re in to vinyl or want to replace that long lost slab of plastic this is your chance to do all those things and rediscover (or discover for the first time) a true bona-fide rock classic which still is as fresh today as it was forty years ago.
Demons and Wizards was the template for many who followed and highly influential. It’s so good it should be against the law not to own a copy. So why haven’t you got yours?
It’s heavy, trippy, folky, proggy, psychedelic, melodic all rolled up in to one musically tightly arranged heavy prog perfection. And now you can enjoy all that again on vinyl. Awesome!