Album review: URIAH HEEP – Raging Through The Silence

URIAH HEEP - Raging Through The Silence

Uriah Heep Records [Release date 08.09.17]

One for hard rock and prog fans – you really can’t beat a bit of Uriah Heep. Really. Especially when it’s a well recorded live show. Even more so when it plugs a nice hole in the collection.

This 20th anniversary show was recorded In 1989, and originally released on VHS, with a bonus Chris Tetley interview released on a picture disc. And here it is. Glorious.

Touring in support of their 17th studio album ‘The Raging Silence’, this saw the debut with Canadian vocalist Bernie Shaw and the start of the long lived classic line-up of Shaw, pianist Phil Lanzon, drummer Lee Kerslake and bassist Trevor Bolder all next to the ever present (ever grinning) guitarist Mick Box.

Recorded in London to an enthusiastic crowd, the set kicks off with ‘Bad Bad Man’ and ‘Cry Freedom’, both from ‘Raging Silence’ which go down well. The familiar ‘Stealin’ is introduced as “One you might know” and the bass/keyboards intro gets the crowd clapping along. The song builds into one of Heep’s best and best known songs, and classic it is too.

‘Too Scared To Run’ is more uptempo with some quite heavy and frenetic guitar work, and the single ‘Blood Red Roses’ (much more melodic) gets a work through, showcasing Shaw’s vocal range and power.

The latter half of the set moves more towards the older songs (I won’t use the cliché of classics here, because they’re all good, and those who purely hark after the old material for any band really annoy me).

That said, ‘July Morning’ gets a huge cheer, 10 minutes of magic. Shaw here is already adept at talking to the audience, some nice touches. A nine minute ‘Gypsy’ is opened with a decent guitar solo, the rhythm section handle it as deftly as if it were recorded yesterday and Lanzon’s keyboards are spot on. The surprise hit ‘Easy Livin’ is a real blast and is shot through here at high speed and power.

The 14 track set closes with a 12 minute ‘Look At Yourself’, one of Heep’s best, and includes a crowd/band interplay segment and a bit of a jam too.

The album closes with that aforementioned Chris Tetley interview, recorded on the day of the show, which (along with the DVD) makes for a complete show and package.

Worth anyone’s money.  *****

Review by Joe Geesin


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.

In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

Next session: Sunday 1 December

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio


David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 3 November 2024.


UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 29 October 2024.

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com


Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)



Popular (last 10 days)


This entry was posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply