Let me start by letting some things out in the open. I currently own every Uriah Heep studio album and a couple of their live and Best of records. I spent quite some time searching for a specific Uriah Heep box set that proved pretty elusive and when I found it, it was on permanent rotation for a long time.

What does this have to do with the album? Well, when I put this CD into my CD player I was shocked. It wasn’t only the intensity of the first track, ‘cause the Uriah Heep tend to stand their albums quiet and build from there, it was also the aggressiveness and of course the evident 70s vibe to it. But after that first track I kinda got disillusioned. You see it sounded wrong to my ears. The guitars were way to in front in the mix and the keys were way too back. Trevor Bolder’s bass, which usually weaves it’s wonderful way through the songs was nowhere to be found and the steady drumming of Lee Kerslake which I had grown to love was replaced by a technical rapid-fire of aggressive beats, churned out by this powerhouse of a drummer who took his place. And worse of all was that I could hear bits and pieces of previous albums in the new songs. I have to admit I was disappointed at first… but only at first…

Ok, so what changed you ask? Well, I’ll tell you… I’m unfortunately one to judge an album by it’s first impression, so I’d normally file this in my CD rack never to be heard again. With this album though there was something dragging me to listen to it again. So I did and you know what I discovered? It’s like a childhood friend you haven’t seen for 10 years. Then you suddenly meet and they’re completely changed. At first you’re shocked. But if you sit down and give them the time, that’s when you discover that what you always loved about them is still there. It’s just that they look different. And who wouldn’t after 10 years?

Ok, ok… Enough with the sentimentality… What about the album, I hear you say. The album’s good. It may not be one of those albums that grab you at first, though I think that the first notes of “Wake The Sleeper” will definitely make a lot of people stand up and listen even if their only contact with Heep is “Lady In Black”. And it’s also an answer to whether Heep can still perform as they did in their heyday. They can. It is a more aggressive album than you’d expect from a band who are mostly pushing 60 and it’s invigorating to hear them do it. The old band definitely have life in them yet. If I had to surmise the album in one sentence I’d say that “Wake The Sleeper” sounds like “Sea Of Light” merged with all their classic 70s albums. It does sound like a debut but from a band who’s managed to be around for almost 40 years. And just that makes it worth more than just one listening session.