Gnosis Ratings

Reviews:

Tom Hayes 19-Oct-2006 Remember

Nearly two years on from their last studio album, Virus were still tinkering with the formula for success. Until this Garden of Delights CD release, not many knew the band had carried on for so long. By now, Virus were playing a considerably simpler music than the progressive hard rock complexities of its predecessor “Thoughts”. Interestingly enough, the band had expanded to seven members and added saxophone and an extra percussionist. But other than the usual strong organ and guitar work, the music is what is sometimes referred to as “West Coast” flavored, a euphemism for loose, open, and somewhat accessible rock music. There’s even the good time ‘Rock N’ Roll’, which is as predictable as it sounds. Other than a riveting edition of ‘King Heroin’, all the material is unique to this release. One fascinating note is the last track, ‘Woods Fun’, needed to be extended a few minutes so that the WDR radio show could lead into the news segment without silence. It proved to be the best song on the album, no doubt due to the superb improvisational skills of the band. By 1974, Virus had called it quits and moved on to the daily grind. A very nice archival find from an historical perspective, but not near as musically satisfying as their previous two classics.

Tom Hayes 7-Aug-2006 Thoughts

For their second album, Virus changed radically, in both band members and music direction. Gone are the psychedelic workouts found on “Revelation” and instead the group focused on a more direct hard rock approach. They also switched to the Pilz label, and were representative of the label’s heavy rock groups, similar to McChurch Soundroom and Dies Irae. However, it can be argued that Virus were far superior to both in terms of instrumental dexterity and a stronger compositional base. In fact “Thoughts” stacks up with the best of the German heavyweights like Bellaphon’s Orange Peel or United Artist’s Twenty Sixty Six and Then. Hammond organ and guitar are the solo instruments of choice, and most of the tracks rock relentlessly hard. The vocals take a bit getting used to, as they are fairly rough and gravelly, but fits the music appropriately. There is a striking similarity to all the songs, that if not paying close attention, can begin to run together. What separates Virus from others, is a strong melodic sense, and a contrasting light touch concerning the rhythms. The organ is sometimes played with an almost jazzy like beat. Tracks like ‘Mankind, Where Do You Go To?’ and ‘My Strand-Eyed Girl’ are good examples of this song style. Rest assured, each track is chock full of blazing guitar and organ solos, while the rhythms section goes berserk trying to match the intensity. In this way, they resemble their peers in the UK like Warhorse or Atomic Rooster. Even a little Canterbury quirkiness can be spotted ala Egg. A great album and a must for the collector of early 70s heavy German rock.

Sjef Oellers 14-April-2001 Thoughts

On the second album the songs are much shorter and in a more accessible rock format. The vocal sections are much more prominent as well, but there still is a lot of pretty guitar-organ soloing. An excellent rock album with catchy melodies and great guitar-organ solos.

Sjef Oellers 14-April-2001 Revelation

Virus' first album contains 5 long tracks of rock/fusion with lots of guitar-organ-flute jamming. Together with Out of Focus, they were one of the better German bands that specialised in this type of music. The opening track is a 12 minute reworking of the Rolling Stones song "Paint It Black", which is done well. The second track (again 12 minutes) is another great psychedelic proto-progressive jam with nice flute playing and organ soloing . The other tracks are similar, but a bit shorter (between 5-10 minutes) and feature more vocals. The vocals are decent, but the lyrics sound a bit dated. Great album.

Links for further information

Tom Hayes	19-Oct-2006	Remember
Nearly two years on from their last studio album, Virus were still tinkering with the formula for success. Until this Garden of Delights CD release, not many knew the band had carried on for so long. By now, Virus were playing a considerably simpler music than the progressive hard rock complexities of its predecessor “Thoughts”. Interestingly enough, the band had expanded to seven members and added saxophone and an extra percussionist. But other than the usual strong organ and guitar work, the music is what is sometimes referred to as “West Coast” flavored, a euphemism for loose, open, and somewhat accessible rock music. There’s even the good time ‘Rock N’ Roll’, which is as predictable as it sounds. Other than a riveting edition of ‘King Heroin’, all the material is unique to this release. One fascinating note is the last track, ‘Woods Fun’, needed to be extended a few minutes so that the WDR radio show could lead into the news segment without silence. It proved to be the best song on the album, no doubt due to the superb improvisational skills of the band. By 1974, Virus had called it quits and moved on to the daily grind. A very nice archival find from an historical perspective, but not near as musically satisfying as their previous two classics.
Tom Hayes	7-Aug-2006	Thoughts
For their second album, Virus changed radically, in both band members and music direction. Gone are the psychedelic workouts found on “Revelation” and instead the group focused on a more direct hard rock approach. They also switched to the Pilz label, and were representative of the label’s heavy rock groups, similar to McChurch Soundroom and Dies Irae. However, it can be argued that Virus were far superior to both in terms of instrumental dexterity and a stronger compositional base. In fact “Thoughts” stacks up with the best of the German heavyweights like Bellaphon’s Orange Peel or United Artist’s Twenty Sixty Six and Then. Hammond organ and guitar are the solo instruments of choice, and most of the tracks rock relentlessly hard. The vocals take a bit getting used to, as they are fairly rough and gravelly, but fits the music appropriately. There is a striking similarity to all the songs, that if not paying close attention, can begin to run together. What separates Virus from others, is a strong melodic sense, and a contrasting light touch concerning the rhythms. The organ is sometimes played with an almost jazzy like beat. Tracks like ‘Mankind, Where Do You Go To?’ and ‘My Strand-Eyed Girl’ are good examples of this song style. Rest assured, each track is chock full of blazing guitar and organ solos, while the rhythms section goes berserk trying to match the intensity. In this way, they resemble their peers in the UK like Warhorse or Atomic Rooster. Even a little Canterbury quirkiness can be spotted ala Egg. A great album and a must for the collector of early 70s heavy German rock.
Sjef Oellers	14-April-2001	Thoughts
On the second album the songs are much shorter and in a more accessible rock format. The vocal sections are much more prominent as well, but there still is a lot of pretty guitar-organ soloing. An excellent rock album with catchy melodies and great guitar-organ solos.
Sjef Oellers	14-April-2001	Revelation
Virus' first album contains 5 long tracks of rock/fusion with lots of guitar-organ-flute jamming. Together with Out of Focus, they were one of the better German bands that specialised in this type of music. The opening track is a 12 minute reworking of the Rolling Stones song "Paint It Black", which is done well. The second track (again 12 minutes) is another great psychedelic proto-progressive jam with nice flute playing and organ soloing . The other tracks are similar, but a bit shorter (between 5-10 minutes) and feature more vocals. The vocals are decent, but the lyrics sound a bit dated. Great album.
Links for further information