Revelation

On their debut effort from 1971, Virus created a minor psychedelic masterpiece, with lots of wild guitar, keyboard, and even flute solos and loose improvisations on tracks that are mostly instrumental. The 12-minute opener starts off in cosmic space rock territory before it eventually riffs into a progressive instrumental take on the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black." "Endless Game" is another 12-minute opus that's even more original in its vision of space rock, varying from deep solo bass-throbbing ambience to over-fuzzed guitar spazz-outs. "Burning Candle" is a more conventional rock song, though with impassioned vocals and plenty of energy. "Hungry Loser" is another long piece that begins with a tension-fraught instrumental bit before settling into a cosmic blues piece with dark lyrics and more excellent guitar and keyboard soloing that builds with intensity toward the end. Finally the album concludes with "Nur Noch Zwei Lichtjahre," which comes closer to the deep space moments of Ash Ra Tempel and Agitation Free with some Pink Floyd thrown in. — Rolf Semprebon.