Varix - Morbid Tribute To Distortion. 1991 - 1995 Germany (archival)

Varix were an obscure thrash band from Germany who had ties with another long forgotten group that we just spoke about: Skeptic Sense. Like with the latter, there's a modern CD reissue on Divebomb that covers their entire canon of work. Given the background, I went forward with Varix expecting something similar...

...Somewhat I suppose, but not really. Varix are much more straightforward than the labyrinthine Skeptic Sense. Not to say Varix aren't creative or progressive - far from it - but much more in line with the inventive thrash bands of the era. The CD itself is interesting in that it presents the later material first (not counting a recent reunion add on) and works its way back to the beginning. I think from a listening perspective it would have been better to hear the band evolve - in both sound and songwriting. So with that, I'll discuss it in chronological order.

Based on what I can ascertain, 1991's Morbus Cron was actually released on cassette professionally (see scan at the bottom). Sort of a demo release I suppose. This would be their only official release until this archival CD. The sound here is raw and reedy. For 1991 it's not particularly heavy, and there's an underlying punk vibe throughout, especially the driving bass work and gang style vocals. Certainly there's plenty of sophistication in the meter breaks, but not overwhelmingly so. At this point, they sound like a more adventurous Exodus - as found in someone's garage. Two years later Tribute to Fate was recorded. Here's where the band adopts a much more crunchy and modern sound. It's not easy to describe, but it's very full and crisp. It seems almost edible. Musically the band follow a similar path to Morbus Cron, but with more complexity. And that leads us to the beginning as it were with 1995's Harmonic Distortion. Here it seems Varix has taken their Exodus roots and added a big heap of Anacrusis to the mix (minus the histrionic vocals of said band). Certainly their most progressive and intriguing tracks to date. I would recommend hearing the album in this order, otherwise each successive phase will seem less accomplished than before. The opposite effect for a quality listen. It's worth mentioning that the 2016 reformation track is not a mere throw-in, and picks up nicely from their Harmonic Distortion output. There was talk of a reunion effort, but you know how that goes.

Overall another worthy adventurous German progressive metal band to consider, though not as complex (Sieges Even, Skeptic Sense) or as nutty (Payne's Gray, Cant) as others from there we've covered in the past. But miles better than the usual straight ahead Euro styled power metal we get from Germany.

Personal collection
CD: 2016 Divebomb (USA)

Usual great retrospective from Divebomb. There are copious liner notes, lyrics, photos, etc... contained within the fat booklet. As is custom for the label, the historical notes are gathered via an interview with the band. There are quite a bit of differences of opinion in their remembrance (respectfully I might add) which made it even that much more interesting to read.