What to Listen to Now: Chaos & Colour by Uriah Heep

Uriah Heep’s new album Chaos & Colour takes listeners on an epic rock journey that both long-time and new fans will love. If you a fan of 1970s rock and its influences, but unfamiliar with this band, I encourage you to dive into their 25 studio albums, including Chaos & Colour. It’s a fantastic follow-up to their 2018 album Living the Dream, which fans devoured, and revered as one of their best albums yet. Much like it’s predecessor, Chaos & Colour brilliantly fuses the classic Uriah Heep sound with music that feels bold and innovative. Many tracks incorporate the things we fans love like a thundering organ, killer guitar riffs, a hard hitting rhythm section, and vocals that range from beautifully soft harmonies to gritty and powerful.

I’ve been a fan of the band since my husband (a long time fan) and I saw saw them live for the first time in 2011. At the time I was not very familiar with their music, but I immediately connected to the energy and joy they radiated while performing. I began exploring their massive catalog, starting with their first album in 1970, and we have taken every opportunity possible to see them on their U.S. tours. If you ever get the chance to see this band live, take it! I guarantee it will be one of your favorite live music experiences.

About half of Chaos & Colour’s songs were written by the band’s powerhouse writing duo: Mick Box and Phil Lanzon. They continue to masterfully create songs that feel uplifting, complex (in the best possible way), and satisfyingly cohesive. Two of their bandmates have writing credits for the additional five songs. Drummer Russell Gilbrook teamed up with Simon Pinto to write four tracks, including an amazing fantasy tune. Bassist Dave Rimmer partnered with Jeff Scott Soto on the album’s opener “Save Me Tonight”. It’s a fast, hard hitting song that rivals their popular collaboration on the last album.

Overall, Chaos & Colour taps into classic sounds and moods, but also feels enlivened, inspired, and very timely for a world emerging from a pandemic. Here are 10 things I love about the album and I know you will too.

1. Elements of Fantasy

Many classic Heep songs include fantastic stories and creatures, and Chaos & Colour introduces us to a brilliant new track “You’ll Never Be Alone.” It’s a frontrunner for one of my favorites on the album. Written by Gilbrook and Pinto, they crush it at suspenseful storytelling, treating us to compelling lyrics, and music that builds beautifully and takes us on a wild ride. Bernie Shaw’s vocals are stellar, ranging from soft and sweet to slightly dark and foreboding. I love the dichotomy of Bernie’s voice as storyteller vs the beckoning chorus of the mysterious creature. This song is quite enchanting and made my imagination whirl. Is anyone else craving a Uriah Heep rock opera that would weave together all of their epic fantasy tunes?

“Silver sunlight fill my eyes looking over
Crystal valleys, mountain tops flying over”

2. Sea of Light

The sun and elements of physical and metaphorical light are referenced in several songs, including “Silver Sunlight,” “Golden Light,” “One Nation One Sun” and “Hail the Sunrise.” Some of my favorite classic Heep songs and albums also reference the sun and light: Sunrise, July Morning, Sea of Light. . . Are the new songs an intentional nod to the classics? Even if it is happenstance, I really connect to it. Light, the sun, and the stars were such important touchstones to me during the height of the pandemic. They were constants and predictable when everything seemed so chaotic. Our human connections to the beauty of light and their sources are universal and timeless, and ultimately something that connects us all. Light, whether literal or metaphorical, gives us hope.

“Reach out and touch the light inside your soul
Seeds of confusion are the chains”

3. One Nation, One Sun

I don’t think I can adequately describe just how much I connect with and love the last two minutes of this song. It’s a simple lyric that repeats over and over: “Sleep now peaceful world. Rest your weary head.” Bernie’s voice is magnetic and beautiful. I love the meditative feel of the repetition and how the vocal and music fade. I would love to know the inspiration for this song. It is a dream for a future? Is it pure fantasy or based on something experienced? It’s an emotional lyric that exemplifies the unity and hopefulness that Uriah Heep masters so well.

But it is not just the lyric that I find inspiring. There is so much depth, especially in the final minutes. Dave Rimmer plays a super intriguing rhythm on the bass. Get yourself a pair of good headphones and listen to it! At the same time, Russell Gilbrook compliments and adds to the rhythm perfectly. There is something so comforting in this piece. Almost like feeling in synch to a heartbeat. But that’s not all. Simultaneously Mick Box is playing one of my favorite riffs on the album, and Phil Lanzon adds tones that create even more depth and emotion. There is so much going on here, yet it’s not chaotic. To me, the feeling is of unison and peace.

4. The Organ

Many classic Uriah Heep songs incorporated the Hammond organ and I’m always delighted when the organ makes an appearance in contemporary songs. On Chaos & Colour the organ sound adds much to the drama and storytelling. It helps create the chaotic feeling of a hurricane, contributes to an ominous mood in “You’ll Never Be Alone,” and adds depth and interest to many of the other tracks.

5. Very ‘Eavy

Like Living the Dream, this album includes some heavier tracks. As much as I love the softer moments of Uriah Heep, I also love the power and velocity of some of the new songs. Dave Rimmer and Jeff Scott Soto produced another winner with “Save Me Tonight.” This is one that I can’t wait to see performed live (Please come back to the U.S.!) I also love Russell Gilbrook’s intensity on “You’ll Never Be Alone.” Songs that showcase his power and energy always stand out to me, and in this one his intensity creates a feeling of an epic battle.

6. The Cinematic Feel of “Hurricane”

The lyric is at times overly simplistic but the music makes this song a standout. It’s intense, loud, and fast. The rumble of the organ, crashing cymbals, and driving pace give this song so much ferocity and creates the feeling of a tumultuous storm. I am also obsessed with that riff Mick plays between Bernie’s vocals in the first two verses. It’s super catchy.

“So on you go victorious
I see your light it shines beyond the stars
So on you go my friend- it’s all for you”

7. Optimism

“One Nation, One Sun” isn’t the only track with optimistic lyrics. One thing I love about Heep songs, and especially those written by Box and Lanzon, is that positivity and hopefulness is layered throughout many of their songs. Some lyrics include messages of support and encouragement. Other times they are empowering, suggesting that we find strength and hopefulness within ourselves or drawing from the positivity around us.

“An endless ocean of hopes and dreamers
Washes over me.”

Heep lyrics sometimes also show us that what we need is within ourselves and that we don’t need to change for anyone else.

“Just let me be myself and keep my feet on the ground.”

“Reach out and touch the light inside your soul
Seeds of confusion are the chains”

As a result of the varied messages within the lyrics, different Uriah Heep songs connect with me more at different times, but overall when you finish listing to a Uriah Heep album, including this one, you just feel energized.

8. Classic Harmonies

Uriah Heep’s classic harmonies are one of the things that initially drew me to their music. In recent albums I’ve also noticed more layering of Bernie Shaw’s voice in lieu of using different voices, and this makes for fantastic listening as well. I especially love when we are treated to harmonious “Ahhhhhhs” like in the new track “Age of Changes.” It’s reminiscent of the “Ahhhhhhs” we all know and love on songs like “July Morning,” “Lady and Black,” “Corridors of Madness,” and others.

9. Save Me Tonight Demo

If you purchase the deluxe CD you get two additional tracks, including a demo version of “Save Me Tonight.” I love getting insight into a song’s origins and development, so I’m a sucker for demos and alternative tracks. As someone who is not at all a musician, I am still fascinated by the creative process and seeing how a piece evolves. I always want more of the backstory, so please keep giving us more of this! It’s also super cool that the demo highlights the work of outside contributors to the album. This demo encouraged me to look into Jeff Scott Soto’s other work.

10. Progressive Jams

I love when Uriah Heep creates longer songs, and on this album we get an eight minute jam called “Freedom to be Free.” This one builds into something really spectacular, especially about five minutes into the song. Each instrument is jamming their heart out and I just want to listen to it over and over to fully appreciate all that is going on here. The eight minutes whirled on by and left me wanting more.

The longer songs like “Freedom to be Free” and “One Nation, One Sun” stand out to me as favorites on this album. They are really creative, compelling songs that showcase the skill and cohesion, but also the evolution of these incredible musicians.