Uriah Heep

Sonic Origami

Heep big mess

Review Score:

(4/10)
There was no bigger Uriah Heep fan the me. And I was fortunate to see them live with David Byron (Wonderworld tour) and John Lawton (Firefly tour). I loved the chorale harmonies, the swelling Hammond organ of Ken Hensley that seem to lift you right off the ground and, of course, the infectious wah-wah of Mick Box's guitar.

Sad to say, I haven't paid much attention to Heep of late and was happy to learn some semblance of the band is carrying on -- with Box and Lee Kerslake (drums) being the only original members of the classic lineup still remaining. Nonetheless, I was curious to see what they might have cooked up lately, so I purchased "Sonic Origami," most in part because of the rave reviews it got here on Amazon. When it came in the mail, I couldn't wait to pop it in my CD player. So I did.

Yikes.

This ain't Uriah Heep. In fact, there's nary a resemblance to anything Uriah Heep did its first 12 years in existance. Now, I like for a band to grow and evolve, don't get me wrong, but that's not what's happening on "Sonic Origami."

If anything, this version of the band has given up on anything remotely innovative that the ol' version did and has drifted toward the derivative as the cliches pile up one after another on this disc. Can anyone say Spinal Tap? Yeesh!

Bernie Shaw is no David Byron, believe me. David's vocals were elegent, sometimes as fragile as blown glass (listen to "Rain" or "Circle of Hands"). Even when he was doing his best heavy metal screams, Byron sounded ethereal. Shaw sounds like hundreds of other heavy metal crooners you've heard in local beer-soaked, urine-smellin' dives over the past three decades. It's a generic heavy metal voice, technically right-on, but devoid of any nuance or true emotion. And extremely heavy-handed.

The lyrics are trite, convoluted and sophmoric.

The problem here my friends: no Ken Hensley. Hensley's writing kept the band focused and grounded and more importantly, unique. Consequently, it becomes a real chore even to give "Sonic Origami" a complete listen from beginning to end.

If you're a U.H. fan from the '70s and early '80s, don't bother with this one. This is another band all together.

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