Is there a shelf life for bands putting out new music? Once you hit 40, 50…even 60 years I get the drive to keep putting out fresh music, but to my ears it overwhelmingly results in bands I love releasing bland, toothless music assembled via committee. Recent output by bands like Deep Purple and the Rolling Stones have left me underwhelmed, the tunes lacking any bite. So when I heard Uriah Heep were not only still kicking but releasing new music I was intrigued but honestly not hopeful. And yet here we are with Chaos & Colour, the best Deep Purple album Deep Purple never released, and a fantastic modern version of what the band was doing in their prime. It’s heavy, it rocks hard, and best of all the band still sounds hungry 50 years on.

To be clear, nothing on Chaos & Colour is an exact replica of the past – the band, with now only Mick Box remaining from the beginning – is channeling a more streamlined heavy rock sound, though the keyboards and vocal layering are still prominent factors. Any questions as to the band’s vitality should be quickly put to rest with the opening track. “Save Me Tonight” has a massive guitar riff that kicks the song off in grand, modern style. At 76 Mick Box hasn’t lost any of his attack, and the song drives forward furiously. Speaking of old guys still bringing it, Bernie Shaw has been the band’s vocalist since 1986 and at 67 might have one of the best voices in modern rock, period. Dude is a powerhouse, and his voice combined with Box’s guitar drives a lot of what makes Chaos & Colour a success for me.

Side A continues in this vein for most of its runtime. “Silver Sunlight” has some really nice up front keyboards from Phil Lanzon, and the chorus is a definite earworm. You can hear those sweet backing vocals as Shaw moves into the “Sensation….” part of the chorus. “Hail the Sunrise” comes really close to vintage Heep, which its stabbing guitar chords and organ. Again the chorus is a mountain, and it’s cool to see the entire band contributing to the songwriting. I’ll always miss Gary Thain’s bass playing, but it’s hard to deny that Dave Rimmer does a fine job holding down the bottom end. Keyboardist Phil Lanzon add s a lot of color (or colour) throughout, and his flourishes on “Hurricane” help elevate the track from its rote hard rock structure. If there’s a down moment for me, its on the overlong “One Nation, One Sun” that struggles to break out of its ballad format. Vocally Shaw is fantastic, but the simple piano and bass accompaniment doesn’t work to ignite the song – it’s a different story when the drums and electric guitar kick in, but at that point it’s still following the same basic template as before, adding little to an already plodding momentum to the track.

It’s a minor quibble, though, and kudos to Rimmer for finding some space to let his bass have some fun instead of simply following the flow. Side B immediately gets back on track with the exotic “Golden Light” which really amps up Lanzon’s keyboard pyrotechnics. This is another vintage Heep track, rocking hard but still allowing for some surprises like the change in attack in the chorus, opting for a slower, more thoughtful refrain before returning to the stomp of the verses as well as the keyboard break before the solo. That’s followed by “You’ll Never Be Alone,” and with its piano and bouncy rhythm and guitar punctuation it maybe counts as the progressive epic of Chaos & Colour. Co-written by drummer Russell Gilbrook, it’s also an opportunity to discuss his drum work, which is retrained but alive, never showing off but never boring. It’s a hard line to play, making sure you’re fully present but at the same time providing the beat for the band to riff off of, and he does a great job, particular on this track which goes through a lot of different vibes over the course of its nearly 8-minute runtime. Next to “Save Me Tonight” it might be my favorite track on the album, displaying the ambition that made me fall for Uriah Heep in the first place.

Not sure what would induce anyone to name a new song “Fly Like an Eagle” when the Steve Miller Band kinda has that locked, but at least the song rocks hard and has a really sweet Mick Box guitar solo. There’s also an ominous element to it, bringing it closer to heavy metal status rather than heavy rock. It’s also super short, and leads into the final track, the super fun and slinky “Freedom to Be Free”. Keyboards are fantastic on this track, really entertaining and pairs nicely with “Fly Like an Eagle” in that it’s also in tone hewing closer to thre heaver side of music. Production is also stellar throughout, but on the closer here you can really get a sense of the band playing with each other, vibing off each other with room in the mix for everyone to be heard – especially Rimmer’s gnarly bass tone during his multiple (!!) solos. Oh, and did I mention the coda which tacks on another killer piece of music to an already standout track? Yeah…THIS might be my favorite track, and the fact that it keeps changing is evidence the guys have put out a new classic.

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I don’t know if the “best Deep Purple album Deep Purple never made” comes across as faint praise – it isn’t meant to be. Uriah Heep are simply continuing to blow the competition out of the water when it comes to legacy classic rock acts pushing forward with killer music. Chaos & Colour continues to be a quick grab for me when I want to just rock out, and the fact that I’d pull this just as easily as anything from their classic 70s run speaks volumes to their ability.