Earlier Heavy Metal/Hard Rock/Progressive Rock has a strong and deep appeal on our modern days. That's not only because there's a revival of the style now, but as well due the research of many fans for works of bands like DEEP PURPLE, LED ZEPPELIN, RAINBOW, SCORPIONS and many more. The only disgusting aspect is of many bands thinking that they have more to offer than those giants have already offered in those glorious days. There is a lot of boring dolly clones from these bands. It's desecration in the deeper sense of the world.

But there are some bands that are doing the thing with heart; putting their very soul in the songs. And this is the case of "Very Heepy Very Purple IV", a fine work from Israeli of AVI ROSENFELD and his invited friends. And the list of the guests took a lot of my time to be written.

Of course, by the album's name, you can have the idea that this album is done in homage to DEEP PURPLE and URIAH HEEP. Of course you will feel the presence of their influence in the songs of the album, but Avi has a lot to say with his work, not cloning these names, but doing the things in his own way, using that mix between Progressive Rock and earlier Heavy Metal to bring us a tasteful music, melodic and hooking, and even with some Classic Music inserts on the album (there's a traditional Israeli music on the CD, "Hava Nagila", with a more Hard Rock/Heavy Metal orientation and playing style, that everyone know, but don't know the song's true name). Of course it's nothing original, but it has its values.

The sound quality is really good, allowing us to understand what the band is playing, but having that precious amount of weight and distortion that a Metal/Rock album must have. And it sounds pretty organic in some moments, not something done with a computer program.

The songs are all good, indeed, and this guy really knows what he wants to do with his music. But you can find the albums best songs in "Dancing" and its purely 60s/70s Hard Rock orientation (with fine Hammond passages), the melodic and introspective "Lancelot" (fine vocals and very good guitars), the funny and hooking "Cross the Border" (with some clear Power Metal touches. But to those who knows deeply RAINBOW's and URIAH HEEP's works, it's a fact that both bands are the roots of the style), the heavy version for "Hava Nagila" with its fine guitars; the elegant and savage "Wait for Me" (again fine guitars, with beautiful solos), "I Rode a Mile" with its funny atmosphere and very good work on bass guitar and drums, and the heavy and introspective "A Lesson You Can Learn".

"Very Heepy Very Purple IV" is a very good album, indeed.<