Virus - Thoughts. 1971 Germany

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 i.e. Egg. A great album and a must for the collector of early 70s heavy German rock.

Ownership: LP: 1971 Pilz. Gatefold. Online acquisition (2021).

Former ownership: CD: 1991 Bernhard Mikulski. Jewel case with no other info.

LP: 2013 Long Hair. Gatefold. Full booklet insert filled with unique liner notes and photos, and includes two bonus tracks - both taken from the 1971 Heavy Christmas Pilz concept album. And Virus had two of the best cuts from that album, though they total less than 5 minutes together. On the downside, the cover image is too dark, and isn't a perfect representation of the original.

1991 (first listen); 08/07/06 (review); 5/2/21 (update / new entry)