Band: Uriah Heep

While they tend to be mostly forgotten these days by all but their loyalist fans, Uriah Heep were on par with the likes of Black Sabbath and Deep Purple in the 1970s heavy metal world in terms of success. Musically akin to both those bands but also with a progressive angle similar to that of Rush: early albums feature tracks of epic proportions with extended instrumental passages. From the mid-70s they stripped back to a more basic heavy rock style. Bass player Thain died from a heroin overdose on December 8, 1975.

The post-1980 period saw the band become more of a melodic hard rock act and less relevant but Uriah Heep has continued to record and tour to the present time. Their albums through to Return to Fantasy are worth checking out for primeval 70s metal; most of the rest are patchy although Abominog isn't too bad. Original vocalist David Byron died from liver failure on February 28, 1985.