Vikings Invasion - Vol. 1 (Switzerland 1975)

"This is a reissue of what might be the least known of the Swiss 70's progressive albums; hard & heavy Cream influenced trio that couldn't play the clubs then because due to the loudness of the music the windows would break. 'Marshall heaven' from 1975."

"Vikings Invasion was a pre-punk German-speaking-Swiss left-wing hard rock group playing American-style blues-rock in England, sung in English. Vikings Invasion is caveman-simple rock recorded live in a what sounds like a rehearsal room. There is nothing intricate or subtle about these Swiss dudes’ cretinous playing. They played loud. They played thuddingly dumb. But they also played the blues. Vikings Invasion started out with the name Dreieinkeitsmoses, meaning Trinity Moses, taken from a Brecht play (that’s why, beyond the ‘70s long-hair zeitgeist, I assume them to have been at least modestly left-wing). In addition to Eliot, they used Brecht poetry for lyrics too. Their British record label, which signed them after they won a contest sponsored by Melody Maker in 1975, made them change their name to Vikings Invasion, ostensibly confusing Switzerland with Sweden. The LP was called “Vol. 1,” but no second volume ever appeared. The record is as unpolished a release as one can imagine a big label of the ‘70s producing. It has the feel of a demo, and this CD includes one 11-minute bonus rehearsal track, which does not have a particularly noticeable difference in fidelity from the LP itself, except for a thicker guitar tone and a pretty awesome wah guitar solo. My favorite song is “Listen to Four Guitars on Your Corner,” which you’ll be shocked to learn is one of the heaviest and least bluesy tracks. Two other highlights are the other heavy slugger “Rhapsody on a Windy Night” and “Answer for My Life,” with a title befitting a ‘90s Tokyo hardcore record. Both songs have up-tempo parts (most of the songs are rather slow), and the latter’s is over a minute of uber-simple proto-punk." (read the entire review @ shit-fi.com) (BUY IT!)

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