...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble is the debut studio album by British rock band Uriah Heep, released on 13 June 1970 by Vertigo Records in the UK. The original vinyl release was a gatefoldsleeve, featuring frontman David Byron on the front sleeve, almost unrecognisable beneath cobwebs.
It was issued in August 1970 by Mercury Records in the United States as just Uriah Heep with different sleeve artwork (a centipede type monster), and with the track "Bird of Prey" in place of "Lucy Blues". The album was reissued by Bronze Records later in 1970 after the band signed to that label.[2]
The album shows the band trying out various genres – a mix of heavy metal and progressive rock – rather than the hard rock that they would become known for on later albums.[1] Tracks 3 and 8 were recorded as Spice songs prior to the band's renaming as Uriah Heep, and featured session player Colin Wood on keyboards.[3] When Ken Hensley joined Spice in late 1969, the tracks were not re-recorded.
The album was generally panned by the mainstream critical press upon its release, although it has since been acknowledged as an early classic of the heavy metal genre. Rolling Stone magazine's Melissa Mills began her review by saying, "If this group makes it I'll have to commit suicide. From the first note you know you don't want to hear any more."[4]
