Legendary metal act Uriah Heep is set to perform in Malta in under a week. Supporting the band are a number of Maltese acts. The Sunday Times takes a look at what’s happening behind the scenes.
As Maltese metal heads get pumped up in anticipation of British band Uriah Heep’s forthcoming concert, supporting acts Crux and Nomad Son are also generating a significant amount of buzz on the local scene, not least because they, too, are leaving their mark on an international level. We caught up with them, as well as other acquaintances of Uriah Heep, to hear what they have to say about the band.
Crux are known for being a one-of-a-kind act, showing up on stage as veiled musicians, delivering electronic wizardry and pulsating synth-pop. There is but one word linking all these different elements, and that word is ‘Crux’.
Formed sometime in 2014, this is a musical collective brought together by a love for synthesised sounds, and the music relies as much on the three-man formation that performs onstage as it does on the production team that comes to life in the studio.
The end result is a seamless sound that, all at once, references the electronic vanguard of our time, yet also evokes the spirit of those artists who pioneered the genre.
Crux will provide a supporting role with a difference for Uriah Heep.
Crux. Photo: Matthew James Borg“We are excited at this great opportunity to play with one of the most iconic progressive cult bands of the 1970s and 1980s. We look forward and we are sure it will be an amazing experience. Although we now produce electronic music, our roots dig deep into blues, progressive rock and 1970s heavy metal, and we’re influenced by bands such as Uriah Heep. The latter have had an exceptional career.
“Collectively, our favourite album and the album that actually introduced us to Uriah Heep is the popular Demons and Wizards. Their work has been and will always be inspirational and influential in our musical journey.”
Albert Bell, songwriter, guitarist and University lecturer, leads Nomad Son and Forsaken. Both bands are his brainchild and, over the years, both bands have flourished here and abroad. Lately, they received particularly good feedback at the Rock Hard Free Ride Festival, held in Golienow, Poland. Bell all recently embarked on a new project entitled Sacro Sanctus.
Their work has been and will always be inspirational and influential in our musical journey
“I first came across Uriah Heep earlier on in my hard rock and heavy metal trajectory, through their seminal and timeless gem Uriah Heep Live 73 album. I still consider this to be one of the most captivating live albums ever to be released in the genre, along with Motorhead’s No Sleep ‘Till Hammersmith, Thin Lizzy’s Live and Dangerous and Scorpions’s Tokyo Tapes, in an era when live albums still mattered. Uriah Heep Live 73 introduced me to the Heep’s unique, dark, epic and often dreamy soundscapes, which are a hallmark of the band, particularly in their 1970-1975 album repertoire, which remains very close to heart.
“Demons and Wizards and Magicians Birthday (both from 1972) remain my favourite Heep albums and sound fresh and exciting to this day. This said, the band’s extensive discography has had very few gliches and the quality shines through all their releases to date, with 2008’s Wake the Sleeper proving to be a very strong case in point – a very strong album all round. Kudos to founder member and lead guitarist Mick Box for maintaining such consistent song writing over the band’s long and somewhat tumultuous history.
Uriah Heep“The man is indeed a legend. I am really excited that Nomad Son has been invited to support Uriah Heep. We have played with some awesome bands over the years, but this perhaps tops them all. What’s sure is that I will be there upfront, headbanging away during their show.”
Gino Micallef is a veteran musician of High and Dry fame and a good acquaintance of Iron Maiden, Scorpions and Uriah Heep among many other bands. He explains how he first started following Uriah Heep back in the late 1970s.
Nomad Son. Photo: Loudpix/Alexia“The first band that I played with covered bands like Gypsy, Easy living, Paradise and the like. I must say I was a fan and, in those days, Uriah Heep were really big. My favourite album is Demons and Wizards, but other albums had some fantastic tracks. There have been a lot of changes in the line-up, but Mick Box is still going strong.
“I was lucky to have a chat with him and Bernie Shaw, the current lead singer in Zurich some four years ago. Then, they were supporting Krokus and Marc Storace invited me to attend to one of their concerts. Heep played a lot of both old and new material. Sadly, a year later Heep’s bassist Trevor Bolder, also an ex-David Bowie bass player, died.”
Uriah Heep, Crux and Nomad Son perform on Friday at Ta’ Liesse, Valletta, at 8pm. Tickets are available online.
www.ticketline.com.mt