I knew they were a hard rock band but that's all I knew about them. The one song of theirs I have on a compilation, "The Wizard" is a brilliant song but I wouldn't call it heavy metal. It took the 1982 album "Abominog" for me to discover that Uriah Heep should have been listed as one of my "Other Great Metal Influences." At the very least, they should have gone into the "Honourable Mention" post because this album totally resonates heavy metal. In fact, I will go out on a limb and state that Uriah Heep belongs with Rush and Deep Purple as key players in the creation of progressive metal.
"Abominog" is a totally kick ass progressive metal album. It reminds me of everything I have always loved about heavy metal. There are some fantastic guitar riffs, complimentary keyboards, strong vocals and I can't take anything away from their rhythm section either. Furthermore, I hear traces of bands like Dio, Autograph, Whitesnake, for sure in the track "Prisoner" and Hammerfall and I think there have been many a lesser known metal band who learned a trick or two from Uriah Heep who have been doing it since the early 1970s. So, I think I can say that many a band can trace their influences back to this band.
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Uriah Heep[/caption]
It has already come to my attention that Uriah Heep's 70s material is even better than what's on this album. I don't doubt this but I am looking forward to my journey of discovery of a great band which almost passed me by. Uriah Heep[/caption]Next post: Hawkwind- Church of Hawkwind
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