Karma To Burn - Arch Stanton

Genre: Stoner Metal
Label: Faba Records

Karma To Burn didn't waste any time kicking my ass with thier newest stoner metal sentinel, "Arch Stanton" so I won't waste any time boring you with a history lesson about West Virginia's shameful, smokey secret, Karma To Burn. All you need to know is that these guys are the best at what they do.

"Arch Stanton" starts things off by galloping straight over you with another of Even Divine's driving beats. These things will get into your head and stay there for at least a couple of days, effectively throwing off your foot taping playlist's queue. Three tracks in however, things take a turn for the heavy and we begin to experience a dirtier sound with everything thickening up like the world's sludgiest roux.

After that, things kinda go all over the place in terms of heavy/fast/etc..., like a mesquite, musical smorgas board of William Mecum's tasty riffs. I've said it aloud before and now I get to type it out; it's like the guy knows exactly what we want to hear and when those transitions need to be made. It's almost eerie, but still completely welcome since the end result are songs like these.

Once again, Karma To Burn keep to their instrumental ways and forgo having to deal with the perpetual pains in the ass known as, "vocalists" (unless you count Clint Eastwood in the last track) and are, once again, better off without one. And at this point, it would be pretty odd to just suddenly have one, right? I mean, I think we all loved Waiting On The Western World and their cover of Never Say Die, but a permanent singer now would just feel off. So, YAY! Instrumental album!

The only complaint I have about "Arch Stanton" is that the song titles are still numbers. Ask your average Karma To Burn fan what their favorite song of theirs is and I bet it doesn't go over too well. Other than that, it's what we want and what we always get from the guys in Karma To Burn: their best.

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Murder Cafe / Earth Burnt Black - Split

Oooooh! A split! To The Head Records, you are much too kind! And that’s enough of the phony baloney intro, so lets dig into the meat of this nut! This dark, gloomy, heavy as lead balls nut!

Murder Cafe, hailing from Grand Junction, Colorado. Murder Cafe starts off our little foray into this doomy split with an intro about how “Government BAD!” Yeah, I’ve never been a fan of minute long intros on splits and EPs, regardless as to how much I agree with the message.

However, the second that shit ends, we’re catapulted into a dreary soundscape of depressive doom. Oddly enough, instead of trying to claw my way out I found myself loving every second of Cloudy Waves Of Conformity. Unfortunately, that experience couldn’t go on forever and eventually the third and final track from Murder Cafe started up. Desperate Reach For The Top showcases vocalist Kyle Davis’ guttural growl, high witchy pitches, and his lounge-y tough-speaking voice. Normally, that’s a really fucking annoying thing to whip out, but Kyle makes it work. Well, they all make it work.

And call me crazy but I’m pretty sure this offering lacks a guitar! Meh. Who needs that anyway? I can tell you will all sensibility that Murder Cafe does not.

Earth Burnt Black. And now we come to the boys from Greely, Colorado. While a shit ton heavier than our previous reviewies, there lacks a certain spark in their dooooom. I’m not saying that EBB is bad at all, I’m just getting the usual comparison between the bands on a split out of the way.

First up in their bag of tricks is a song called Singularity, and I can see why. Everything is tuned down so fucking low that if you were standing between two speakers at a show and they play this, you’d be reduced to a Singularity by being crushed by the HEAVY that this song drops on all who listen. The resulting black hole is someone else’s problem.

And finally, we have Prey. Not quite as destructive as Singularity, but a whole lot more entertaining. Halfway through, EBB goes all SLUDGE out of nowhere, giving me one hell of a case of whiplash! You gotta love that.

Overall, this was an excellent split. Both bands have previously released material floating around out there that I suggest you snatch up before it’s all gone. I know I’m gonna try.

Murder Cafe On Facebook
Earth Burt Black On Facebook

Broozer - 12x04x12

Hey hey! Grindhead Records! I haven’t heard from you guys in a grip! To what do I owe the honor of this visit from Australia’s premier death/grind label?

*Cartoonish murmurs and whisper sounds*

A SLUDGE outfit from Melbourne, Victoria you say? Color me intrigued, since they managed to find their way onto your label. There must be something special hidden between the covers of this Aztec-ian human sacrifice facade and I can’t wait to find out what it is!

12x04x12 (a quick Google search reveals nothing helpful regarding this album title so, I’ll just assume that it has something to do with the measurements of Australia’s Next Top Anorexic) is pure, high energy sludge from beginning to end that, in my experience, isn’t exactly the best choice to “chill out” with due to Broozer’s sheer ferocity.

At no point in time does Broozer give you any time to recuperate from the last savage beating (I guess you know them better as, “tracks” or “songs”) they dished out. I can see how that could get a little on the raw side for some people, but ultimately there’s no real concern for those weak-necked fools!

Retch Bile’s vocal attack is just that; an attack. His is simply the most violent voice I’ve ever heard attached to a sludge metal outfit. Bravo Mr. Bile! Also up for praise is Dario Amati’s drum work. Subtle and vicious. I have NO IDEA as to how you can make that a working combination of styles, but he does it and man, does he do it to the Moon (Keith Moon, that is). The man is WILD! Last, but not least, we come to Bruce Ibbotson and his six string accomplice; The Riffmeister General… ok, I made that up. But I’m sure he’s got an ax or two with some pretty sick names. The point still stands. The opening riff to Bland is what stands out as the shinning exaple of this guy’s talented ear for this shit. Youtube it and I’m certain you’d agree.

The only major down side to this album is a personal miffen of my own; I REALLY wish that this album was a wee bit longer. But you know me, never really satisfied… unless I am. Which I pretty much am…

Broozer On Facebook