Cover photo by Trine + Kim design studio.

 

In the year 2000, Virus rose from the ashes of Ved Buens Ende, formed by mentor Czarl (Carl-Michael Eide) on guitars and vocals, Plenum on bass, and Einar Sjursø (or Einz, or Esso, depending on the record) on drums. Eighteen years later, they have now come to an end today, as announced in typical Virus fashion through the following statement.

Good evening y’all. Or good morning or afternoon, depending on where you are in the world which is made up of time-zones and landslides. We are now into our 18th year of existance, and as you all know, in 1918, in plymouth, Charlie Chaplin forgot his drivers-license at the chemist’s while simultaneously thinking about tunafish and batteries. An odd moment, yes, but it has reminded us (in Virus) that it’s time to throw in the towel.. It’s been 4 full-lengths, a demo and a mini-album and a few handfuls of gigs, plus the odd whale-shark encounter. Einz has become voivod of bulgaria (1155-1299), Plenum has become the prime minister of Equador while simultaneously working as a paediatrician in Ukraine. Czral has become a well known Elvis -and Bret Michaels-impersonator whilst working as a moped-vendor machine-operator in birmingham. So that’s why we’ve decided to lay down our deplorable riffs and beats and bass-lines, rather than being «on ice, don’t know what’s happening» -mode, for an unforeseeable future… You know, you can’t devour an apple more than three times: the time you buy it, the time you put it on your kitchen-counter, and the time you decide to throw it away because it’s gone bad. Only thrice. But I digress.. My point is: at some point, you realise that what you set out to do has now been done, now, so now.. Thank you, bye bye, we were Virus..

Let us then recall the band’s output in the eighteen years of existence. First came «Carheart», recorded by the original formation and released as a cd in 2003 through Garm‘s Jester Records.

«Carheart» is available in digital and vinyl format (edition by Duplicate Records) at this location. Five years later and still with the same formation, they released their first and only album through giant label Season Of Mist, «The Black Flux». It was the first of three records to Bård Ingebrigtsen both as a producer and as a guest musician, the other two being «The Agent That Shapes The Desert» and «Investigator», and the first of two to feature lyrics written by Kvohst.

«The Black Flux» is available in vinyl format through Duplicate Records at this location. The year after, they finally managed to release «Demo 2000» through Luchtrat in a rather limited edition of 3” cdr with a wood & leather casing. The same demo would later be re-released in tape format by Arcane Angels and might still be available here.

In the four years that followed, the band existed without Plenum as their main bass player. Two records were released in that period. First came «The Agent That Shapes The Desert» in 2010 through Duplicate Records, with bass duties handled by Norwegian multi-instrumentalist Bjeima. This was the second record featuring lyrics written by Kvohst. The record is available in vinyl and cd formats here.

Two years later, they released the «Oblivion Clock» EP, once again through Duplicate Records. The EP had not one but three guest bassists, namely, the soon-to-return Plenum, regular co-conspirator Bård Ingebrigtsen, and Bjeima. It also features a song with lyrics written by Zweiss, known as one half of Fleurety and the man responsible for the insanity that are the keyboards on DHG‘s masterpiece «666 International».

«Oblivion Clock» can be found in cd format at this location. Fast-forward two years, and Plenum returns to the fold as the band’s bass player. And so it came to be that «Memento Collider», the last full-length released by Virus, would be performed by its original formation.

It was released in 2016 by Karisma Records in cd, digital, and vinyl format, all of which can be purchased here. Finally, last year, they released the «Investigator» EP, once again through Karisma records. Both 7” vinyl and digital versions of «Investigator» can be acquired here.

Hopefully, this won’t be the last time we write about records written by these three gentleman, regardless of whether moniker they happen to be recording under.