Dirty Sludgy Riffs
It is fair to argue that with Karma To Burn being an instrumental outfit they have a greater focus to provide you with unapologetic heaviness and filth that will have you closing your eyes and becoming lost in the riffs. With this being a re-mastered version of their debut album (without the singer of course), the sound is a lot clearer and sharper. This band are not unafraid to show their discontent for the lead singers role, and since being forced to have one on their first album, they kicked that idea to the curb and carried on as they originally intended, releasing four solid albums since then and gaining a lot of popularity for their heavy-hitting uncompromising live shows. So in actual fact, this is pretty much how this album was supposed to be first time round, and its bloody good.
This isn't taking anything away from the version with the singer, because that is a really solid album, and the lyrics on the album are great, but the fact that this Slight Reprise is how it was meant to be heard in the first place there is a hint of satisfaction when listening. With this also being the case new fans are smartly encouraged to delve back into the bands history, and shouldn't be left disappointed. Whilst it doesn't reach the heights of the momentous Almost Heathen, this is really great stoner rock to rival the likes of Kyuss. With them being mentioned, one of the highlights of the album is the only one which includes vocals, which comes from stoner rock god John Garcia as it feels like it could have been directly pulled off of a Kyuss record. The song itself, titled Two Times, provides a haunting atmosphere as the riffs pile on top of each other one by one, brilliant song-writing.
To those familiar with the band, they would know that they do not give their songs the conventional titles, rather just give them numbers. This is a nice touch as it leaves you having no preconception at all before listening to the tracks. Whilst the numbers are not in numerical order, this does not matter because the tracks roll into each effortlessly with Three going into Seven being a particular highlight.
Thunderous riffs, pounding drums and catchy bass-lines are the name of the game throughout this album. Whilst many may call this a cheap publicity stunt to basically buy what's already out there, they've got to show some appreciation as this does feel different, and dare I say better than the one with vocals. Stoner rock of the highest quality.