Virulence – If This Isn’t a Dream… 1985-1989

Anybody wondering why punk rock is often mentioned as a influence on the whole stoner/desert rock might want to check out this new compilation of rare Virulence recordings made available by Southern Lord Records. Virulence made their mark right at the end of the golden era of West Coast punk rock, they left it a little late to mark any real impact but the tunes on this disc show they could have been a force in the scene if things were timed differently. The main interest in the band is they are the beginnings of what was to become "Fu Manchu". The band was made up of Scott Hill, Greg McCaughey and Mark Abshire and Ruben Romano who went on to play in Nebula. The band also had on vocals, Ken Pucci who now has a new group with Abshire called "No More Saints". So is this some early version of what was to become stoner rock ? The answer would be no but there is still hints of what was to happen especially in the guitar department, the hardcore sound they make is heavily influenced by "Black Flag" but with thicker, more crunchy guitars that would later be the focal point of "Fu Manchu's" sound. If This Isn’t a Dream… 1985-1989 contains 20 songs in total both studio and live with the studio material having a "very much" demo quality about it. The live recordings are much rawer and come across as being much closer to the real sound of the band. The studio tracks were recorded in 85, 86 and 1988 with the 1988 tracks being the strongest of the bunch. The live material comes from shows recorded in 87 and 89 and show the potential the band had plus some of the 70's rock tendencies they would later explore in great depth with Fu Manchu and Nebula. The disc as it goes on travels backwards in time rather than forward and with it the sound and songs become more primitive. If This Isn't a Dream... in 1988, which was originally going to be released on Alchemy Records but it is a odd album for its time. They mix "Black Flag" hardcore with crossover thrash metal and sludgy Black Sabbath like doom parts. So was it worth the effort to unearthed this stuff, the short answer is no but it will be of interest to Fu Manchu freaks and collectors of obscure 80's punk crossover bands but that's about it. The problem is the songs and playing are over-simplistic and the rough edges the musicians had unfortunately is highlighted on every track especially the live material where things get downright sloppy at times. This is a element of rough-edged doom at times so fans of the first Saint Vitus might find something to enjoy but its still largely just one for the collectors out there. Apart from some of the fuzzy guitar sounds there is not much for desert rockers out there either but it is further proof of what a impact the west coast punk/hardcore rock of the 80's had on the whole stoner scene. There is only one track on here i would ever get the urge to listen to again and that is the 9 minute "The Curse", a song which shows some real potential. Sometimes some recordings should stay locked away and unfortunately this is one of them. The only real interest here for me are in liner notes where Scott Hill discusses their innocent beginnings in the music business. 4/10