Vardis' second long-player, 1981's This World's Insane, had failed to ignite the hard rock world on fire, and so dreary was becoming the band's cause that not even a performance at that year's Reading Festival seemed capable of turning their fortunes around. So come the new year, Steve Zodiac's trio of not-so-merry men returned to the studio to work on album number three (to become 1982's Quo Vardis), trying a number of novel songwriting approaches and undertaking a few creative risks in an attempt to reach a wider audience. Sadly, boogie-intensive rock & metal was apparently all that Vardis was put on this earth to do, as painful detours into pop realms (such as the superfluous saxophones and piano of "Where There's Mods There's Rockers" and "Dream With Me," respectively) and wimpy balladry (see the insufferable, string-laden "To Be With You") would make crystal clear. Foot-stomping numbers in the band's familiar boogie rock style, like "Do I Stand Accused," "Please Do," and "Together Tonight," whilst ultimately offering more of the same old tricks, at least rang true with the band's core strengths. "Boogie Blitz" and "The Plot to Rule the World," in particular, also benefited from incendiary guitar solos from Zodiac, whose fast-fingered barrage of notes was still capable of paralyzing a small herd of water buffalo on a good day. Unfortunately for him and his henchmen, Vardis' career would soon plummet into utter disarray following this release, never again to recover. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia|

Rovi