Karma To Burn – Arch Stanton
FABA/Deep Dive/Bertus
Rock, Stoner, Instrumental
Rated: *****
And once again it isn’t the Karma To Burn as Karma To Burn once started; but it is however a Karma To Burn that sounds exactly like we want them. After the successful reunion in 2009, the massive touring that came after and the damn fine releases and even the sort of merger with Year Long Disaster it took three years before the walls started cracking again. Drummer Rob Oswald left the band and the music world around 2012 and was followed by bassist Rich Mullins a year later. Who is about to release his first EP with his new country-Americana-honkytonkstomp effort The Broken Harvest. Their respective replacements Evan Devine (Ancient Shores) and Rob Halkett (The Exploited) have managed to fill the deep hole left behind to a remarkable degree. Ofcourse the many many many live shows they played the past years have something to do with it. On the new record Arch Stanton the new three lead by founding member Will Mecum return to the sound of the second and third album. Which means we are treated to tight riffs, stomping drums and rolling basses. No need for experiments and no need for vocals. But there’s also a slight hint of progression to be noted besides the minor difference in bass work; notably the encompassing theme. The boys have used a Western signature in their desert rhythms and riff references. And it is highly present in the last song on the album Fifty Nine; which uses samples from The Good, The Bad And The Ugly… And there; among the tumbleweeds and dust storms the band has never sound better!
(Written by JK)
