Vishnu

I've been a fan of the Tromsø band Vishnu ever since I heard a seriously unpolished basement demo of the band two and half years ago. A little while later I was witness to a scraggly and occasionally quite amateur performance at the club Kaos in Tromsø, but what stuck with me from the first impression - in equal measures from the demo and from the concert at Kaos - was that this is one of the few bands that has "IT".
Behind the hesitant and unstructured riffs, drumbeats, and bass licks of some songs, there was such an incredible potential that everybody (at least everybody with a brain capacity greater than that of a solvent-damaged and extremely retarded seagull) who checked them out at that time understood that something was afoot. One of the factors was a leadman and vocalist who, in addition to singing well, is possessed of a confidence and attitude quite rare among debuting bands. Tor Thomassen already looked like he was born on stage, and he relishes every second he has in the limelight, without sliding into parody.
Two and a half years after that frail beginning, they have toured as a victorious Zoom-band (Zoom is a Norwegian battle of bands run by the more enlightened rock clubs), played gigs all over Norway, and in addition have got their ducks in a row and gotten into a respectable studio with a professional producer. That is indisputably good news, since it is high time that rock fans outside Tromsø get some enjoyment out of the band's existence. And the music? Well, I should really not bother with a lot of obvious name-dropping references when the album speaks for itself in every way, but it can't be denied that one's thoughts stray to a young, suicidal, and oh-so-pissed-off Nick Cave, a catchy version of Spacemen 3, a The Doors without the hippie factor, and a – in a correct way - garbage version of Madrugada.
In the name of rock,
Egon Holstad, authorized rock'n'roll-dealer
Tromsø Kill City - March 2006