Karma To Burn music reviews

karma to burn are a 3 piece instrumental rock band from west virginia. i really dig the fact that they dont have a singer. there is way too much chatter in rock these days anyway. wild wonderful purgatory is a pretty straitforward rock album, drawing influence from zeppelin, sabbath, kiss, etc. this is good, classic rock n roll the way it should be played, which is sadly very rare these days. not much being released now days is going to be remembered. this may be an exception. it rocks hard.

I saw these dudes and thought, initially, it was odd they didn't have a singer. I quickly realized they didn't need it. They really excell in melody, musicianship, and kicking rythms! BTW - this is GREAT car driving music!!! And the music doesn't get old, or out of date. They have a good ol' hard rock sound similar to AC/DC, but more complicated and deep, like a mix of Zeppelin, Hendrix, or Primus (- minus the vocals of course). Really great music for three guys. The drummer is a total pro, as the drum track is totally amazing, and fills out the songs perfectly. The Basist works very hard as well, carrying melody and harmony for the guitarist, which is so well done i often loose track of which is which. And the guitarist is just as cool as you can imagine, with kick butt riffs that simply rock. No over the top BS with this band, they just play hard rock music like you want it. This is one of the best instrumental albums i have ever bought, and i am glad they are finally on Amazon. I first saw these guys live, and they were just as good live as on CD, so i highly recommend the CD!

The first time I saw Karma To Burn play was in 1994 at Peabody's Cafe in Cleveland Hts, OH. The boys just moved up there from West "By God" Virginia. They opened for a local band we were following at the time. From the moment we heard them, we knew they were onto something. Nothing but thick, heavy grooves. WOW! Although nothing compares to a live show, this album sure comes close. Their original drummer was so much better then the current one, but the amazing riffs make up for that. Definitely open up the wallet and shell out the cash for this one. You won't regret it.

I had the great fortune to see these guys live at WV Brew Pub while attending WVU in the late 90's. Their live show is just as good as this alblum!! If you enjoy just straight ahead no frills power chord rock-n-roll this alblum is for you! Probably their best alblum, but only by a slight margin over "Almost Heathan".

I had the pleasure of seeing KTB open a show for COC a few years back in Roanoke. These guys blew me away. A sound so tight, powerful, and driving. It didn't even matter that they didn't have a vocalist. I went out the next day and bought "Purgatory". WOW!!! If you're a fan of hard rock, this one is a must have for your music library. Shame they're no longer together. Rock-N-Roll could use a band like Karma To Burn.

If these guys had a singer, they'd rip apart Nickelback! Great instrumental album with awesome hard rock and metal riffs. I picked up on this album from their soundtracks on Destruction Derby for Playstation 1. Great garage hard rock. This is the Blue Man Group METALIZED!

The Return of Jimi Hendrix nearly moved me to tears the first time I heard it.

Some tunes were better on the 'Live Adventures', especially 'The Pan Within' and that massive sound, but this is a great sampling of their stuff and it only leaves me wanting more and more from these guys.

Brilliant stuff, what else is there to say?

and one of the best CDs period. Mike Scott leaves nothing on the table and brings to the proceedings material from the entire Waterboys' catalogue. I'll never understand how they self-destructed on the cusp of greatness in the early nineties. This was a band to reckon with and they had the excitement and the energy and the tunes to eclipse Springsteen and a whole host of others who simply play to the gallery. Scott went into a period of solo outings and nominal Waterboy efforts, but perhaps with the release of the FISHERMAN'S BLUES SESSIONS a couple of years back, it struck Scott how viable the concern still was.
To that end a band was reformed around himself and Steve Wyckham and the tours reconvened. This is an exciting amalgamation culled from the 2004 UK and Irish tours and ever track crackles and burns with an intensity that Scott brought to his best efforst. In fact, this release falls squarely in line with FISHERMAN'S BLUES, THE LIVE ADVENTURES OF THE WATERBOYS, THIS IS THE SEA. It is so superb in every respect that it is arguably the best Waterboys disc to date. The 13 minute version of "Pan Within" never lets up (ONLY THE VERSION ON LIVE ADVENTURES that fuses the song with Patti Smith's "Because The Night" is more cathrtic). I've nearly wrecked the car twice while this was on. "Peace of Iona" for his native Scotland is so heartfelt, you'd be excused for packing it all in and heading for a croft in the Western Hebrides. "Whole of the Moon" resonates with such passion, it is nearly as inflammatory as the version on LIVE ADVENTURES. Dissolving into "Fisherman's Blues" it is one of the most thrilling experieneces you'll ever have with a recorded disc. "fisherman's Blues" is possibly one of the best songs ever written in the entire Irish-Scots Rock catalogue and resonates with an authenticity that speaks to everyone. Sharon Shannon comes on for the encore and it's a keeper of a tune, hopefully signalling that where ROOM TO ROAM left off, there will be a return to form. I hope so. A second coming of the full power of the Waterboys would be almost too much to ask for, and makes one delerious at the very likely prospect of its deliverance. Maith Thu! Iontach Mhaith!

This cd is great for what it is- a one cd set of live recordings culled from many shows. Generally I'm not a big fan of this approach- I'd prefer a whole live show, warts and all, as opposed to selecting the best tracks from a myriad of performances.

That said, my disdain for the "cut and paste live cd" is overcome by the incredible performances here. My only real gripe- I want more. A 2-cd set would offset the cut and paste approach. Also, where is the song "Universal Hall?" I saw The Waterboys in Annapolis, Maryland at The Rams Head and found the live version of "Universal Hall" the most moving, spiritually musical experience of my life. It expands on the studio version the way you'd like a live performance to.

In my opinion, this is a cd all fans of The Waterboys would love to have.

If you are screaming for vengence or are a master of puppets, this is the band for you. Saw them live at a backyard bash.
All music is just killer. Check it out!

I have to agree, I prefer their instrumental stuff over this album. BUT, I really like this CD! I almost think of it as a different band althogether. Sure, the lyrics are a bit cheesy but that's kind of par for the course for metal. When examined as a stand-alone record rather than in comparison with the band's subsequent releases I think it works very well - every time I play this it gets me going... even though my wife hates it 'cause she was at all those WV shows and says there shouldn't be a singer :)

This is Karmas debut album and the singer ruins everything. I never saw them play with a singer in the brew Co. or anywhere else in West Virginia for that matter. They don't need a singer nor should they have ever had one. I was at the release show for this album in Morgantown WV and they had no singer on stage with them. Why, because they only had that singer for the studio album. Everyone that went to Karma shows in WV knows what I'm talking about. Basically, this album is all there good songs but with some really bad vocals distracting us from the music. Buy it anyway and pull some tubes and then use your imagination.

Karma to Burn's self entitled release (first and only on Roadrunner Records) was a very enjoyable and easy listen. Their debut album, "Wild, Wonderful Purgatory", I agree, was better, but you must understand this for what it is. Karma To Burn's only release with a vocalist, in my opinion, was very strong, if not just as good as their current state. Though the musical talent of the band outshines the vocalist (who's name escapes me now), but the vocals were enjoyable. On the first track (and also one of the strongest), "Ma Petite Mort", the vocals were great, they fit very well with the music, the music itself was astounishing, with a strong beginning and an even stronger finish, "Ma Petite Mort" is easily one of the better of the songs. "Eight", "Thirteen", and "Six" are all amazing tracks, and the idea behind them is very eyecatching. "Twin Sisters, and Half a Bottle of Burbon" is another great track with the vocals shining again. Probably the best track on the album is "Patty Hearst's Closet Mantra". On this track, the vocals outshine the already intense music. All of the members play up to their full potencial on this one. All in all, I do agree that they were better without a vocalist, but this is still a great release that should not be over looked by anyone who enjoys experiment dark metal and experimental rock. This is an excellent album.

This was recommended by others, but dont be fooled. This disk is as monotonous as it was uninspiring. If you took Slayer, slowed it down, stripped away the solos and lyrics, you would have this disk. Ech!

This is the CD that you slap on when you realized you've gone too far and a hangover the next day is as certain as the fact that these guys JAM!!! I have no idea what CD the guy in the other review was listening to (Slayer without the singing???) but he couldn't have been more wrong. If the music on this CD resembles anything, it would be Clutch and not Slayer ... come on man. All instrumentals that do not get boring. All tracks are jams, like I said, comes close to Clutch without singing. But no band can defeat the monster of Clutch. This CD has me wanting their others, so in my opinion, grab this one now.

SpacegrassMan.

This is put quite simply the greatest record I've ever heard (aprt from Karma to Burn Wild Wonderful 2nd album. The bass player left to join a band called Speedealer but they suck big time. This records has amazing riffs with incredible song structure. There's no vocals but so what? The songs are long andinteresting and with no vocals the moods of te songs becomes yours. Don't listen to what the first review said. It's not meant to sound like Slayer - Slayer are a thrash band. Karma to Burn are a rock band - and an amazing one at that!