Karma To Burn
V
Napalm Records
I have no idea what the hell is going on with Karma To Burn. First they break up, and then they get back together and release the incredible album Appalachian Incantation. That record featured vocals from Year Long Disaster singer Daniel Davies, which is bizarre since Karma To Burn fought so hard to remain instrumental after Roadrunner tried to force a singer on them. Keeping up with the drama, Year Long Disaster and Karma To Burn tour and then decide to merge. Daniel Davies joins up with Karma To Burn and they record the band’s newest release V. Just as V is about to come out Daniel Davies leaves Karma To Burn and starts another band, which is a concern since three songs on V feature Davies’ vocals. Oh and let’s not forget about the entire recording Karma To Burn has done with John Garcia, recordings that have yet to see the light of day.
Stop, take a breath, and let it all go. Regardless of the drama that follows Karma To Burn like a bad case of fleas, the music is still great, still far and beyond many of their rock peers. V is classic Karma To Burn, thick grooves, dirty fuzzed out tones and all of it layered over intricate song structures. The opening riff of album, for the tune “47”, is pretty close to rock genius. You will be forced to groove to this riff There is no way to escape the pumping fist or the head bop where you utter the eternal music phrase “Fuck yeah”.
The next tune, “50” (sensing a pattern here?), is a full on stoner groove. The bastard results if Black Sabbath’s “Children Of The Grave” and the Kyuss tune “Space Odyssey” had a child. “48” is a more straight-ahead rock jam, a seventies arena rock intro spiced up with a pinch of Motorhead. Tossed into this instrumental mix are three tunes with Davies singing that, interestingly enough are the only titles with words in them. Davies voice is haunting at times but without losing the Rock God attitude. While I prefer hearing Karma To Burn’s instrumental work, the vocal tracks are pretty killer. The best of the three is “Cynic”, which comes alive with a ZZ Top meets Thin Lizzy vibe and “Never Say Die”, which conjures up images of Van Halen performing Kiss covers.
Throughout it all Karma To Burn keeps V interesting by never limiting themselves to just the grooves. The band weaves some great guitar and bass parts just beneath the main riff. The drums also play an important part here, which can be rare when the term stonerrock is bandied about. Instead of mimicking the bass or keeping time with the groove, drummer Rob Oswald is constantly changing it up, conforming his drums to the shape of the riff being played instead of just the groove.
I’m interested in how the band will perform these songs live without Davies in the band. The core of what V is comes from the interplay between the two guitars and the bass. Without that the synergy of the songs could be off and that would seriously lesson the impact live. Whatever happens next with Karma To Burn, V is another example of how this band won’t die and refuses to make anything but great music.
CRAVE ONLINE RATING: 8 1/2 OUT OF 10
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