Uriah Heep – Chaos & Colour

I’ve been a Uriah Heep fan most of my life. It was sometime in middle school that I first heard “Easy Livin'” via my dad, and I’ve been hooked ever since: Buying every album and single I could get my hands on, sneaking into 21+ venues to see them live (I was a mischievous 16 year old.), almost getting into a full blown fight with some dork who wanted me to sit during their set when they opened for Judas Priest, subsequently interviewing Mick Box and Phil Lanzon. What can I say? I’m a full blown Heep head who’s willing to literally throw down if you get in the way of my love for this band.

On that note, the 2010s were a GREAT decade to be a Heep fan. The band returned to America for the first time in many, many years. They released a pair of excellent albums with Into the Wild (2011) and Outsider (2014), the latter being a personal favorite since its accompanying tour was my first Heep show. Come 2018, they dropped Living the Dream, which shockingly managed to be infinitely better than both Wild and Outsider, going toe to toe with any of the classic David Byron era albums. And now, in 2023, Uriah Heep continue their reign as the kings of early metal with their 25th studio album, Chaos & Colour.

What made Living the Dream so brilliant in retrospect is that it packed every nuance of Heep’s then 50 year career into one offering of all killer, no filler classic Heep. Chaos & Colour does the exact same, but perhaps to even greater effect. On the surface, Chaos & Colour comes off as heavier than its predecessor. This could be because Mick “The Wizard” Box’s riffs and solos remain powerful as ever, but it’s also the energy of the overall performances and song arrangements that give the listener a roundhouse kick in the pants. “Save Me Tonight” is a melodic metal tour de force, a perfect opener if there ever was one. “Age of Changes” enthralls with its infectious hooks and melody, while cuts like “Golden Light” and “Fly Like an Eagle” prove that Heep can still write a song with dramatic bombast.

Equally appealing to the prog crowd as much as the headbangers, there’s no shortage of lengthy suites and adventurous musicianship on Chaos & Colour either. “Hail the Sunrise” is a total throwback to the Byron era, with its ‘eavy guitars, grinding organs, and choir vocals recalling the proto-prog metal of The Magician’s Birthday (1972). The passionate “One Nation, One Sun” is one of the strongest ballads you’ll hear all year, not coming off as forced or cliché, while the twists and turns that make up “You’ll Never Be Alone” take us on a ride for the ages. For those of a more simple disposition, Heep has you covered too. Uplifting rockers like “Silver Sunlight”, “Hurricane”, and “Closer to Your Dreams”, which may as well be a cousin of “Easy Livin'” and “Free ‘n’ Easy”, scratch that free lovin’, free livin’, hedonistic early 70s metal itch.

Much like Saxon, Overkill, and a small handful of other veteran acts, Uriah Heep is a band who DOESN’T sound their age. Next year, the band will be celebrating their 55th anniversary. Now I implore you to listen to this album, look me dead in the eye, and tell me with a straight face that Chaos & Colour sounds like a band who’s been at it for THAT long. You won’t, because you’ll be too mesmerized by the old school sublimity on display. Uriah Heep is still very ‘eavy and very ‘umble. That makes me one ‘appy camper.

10 out of 10

Label: Silver Lining Music

Genre: Heavy Metal/Hard Rock

For fans of: Deep Purple, Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group