Sanctuary Highway

Nowadays it seems that any music with the slightest hint of a synthesizer is labelled ‘electronic’. It is often a misnomer and cause for consternation amongst disciples of ‘full-fat’ electronic music. There is no doubt, however, that the work of Michael Shipway deserves this moniker. Mister Shipway composes bona fide electronic music and is one half of the much-admired duo, ‘VoLt’. Michael's trio of solo albums - ‘Into Battle’, followed by ‘Beneath Folly’ and then ‘Spirit Of Adventure’ - were released in the nineties to critical acclaim. They conjured-up melodies, rhythms and atmospheric sounds that helped define the zeitgeist of late-twentieth-century electronic music. All three thoroughly deserved their plaudits from the cognoscenti. They were going to be a hard act to follow, even a decade and a half on.

Raging Silence is the 17th album by British Rock group Uriah Heep. It marked the studio debut of Canadian vocalist Bernie Shaw. It was produced by Richard Dodd. The title is an allusion to the Manfred Mann's Earth Band album The Roaring Silence. It was the first Uriah Heep studio album to have a contemporary release on CD. It opens with the old Argent hit "Hold Your Head Up", although Mick Box was pleased to be able to add a guitar solo. This track was the lead single from the album. The second single was "Blood Red Roses", written by the band's erstwhile vocalist Pete Goalby. The 7" came as a poster-sleeve (UK cat. Legacy LGY 101) and had "Rough Justice" as the B-side. The 12" p/s came with a patch and also added a previously unavailable live version of "Look At Yourself" (UK cat. Legacy LGYT 101).