By Rob Thompson
The forthcoming album Arch Stanton is the new offering from the three-piece Virginian instrumental stoner rockers Karma To Burn and it is one of their best efforts to date. This is the sixth album of their career and their third album since they reformed back in 2009. Along the way there have been a few lineup changes, with lead guitarist (Will) being the only original member left.
Have a listen to track 'Fifty-Seven' which makes an appearance on the record:
It’s fair to say that practically all of the bong rattling, riff loaded tracks on offer here kick instrumental ass. Each track shows that the guys are excellent musicians: as usual Will is tremendous on guitar while top-notch support is provided from Evan on drums and Rob on bass. In fact (call me mad) but I’d go so far to say that the drumming is vaguely reminiscent of something you’d hear on a Rush album.
All in all Arch Stanton harks back to their earlier classic material. Without doubt you’ll not get any other stoner influenced instrumental band which surpasses what this group does. They absolutely rule their own niche. For example, the first track on the album, 'Fifty-Seven' (above) fairly gallops along with loads of the old timeless arrogance and bluster on display. It’s a top track to open an album with and really helps to set the scene for the rest of the tunes. One surprise was The Good, The Bad and The Ugly sound bites added as part of track 'Fifty-Nine' which worked really well.
After listing to Arch Stanton you realise that Karma To Burn are kings of the killer riff. They don’t hide behind vocals, keyboards or orchestration or anything fancy. Each song is about getting a catchy riff to embed itself in your brain. Simple and effective, really. However, this has also been their downfall too. In my opinion one the things which I believe have always held this band back is the fact there are no vocals on each track. While not a problem to me, this may have hindered them in hitting the big time?
The other thing worth mentioning about Arch Stanton is the cover; featuring their goat mascot (does this guy have a name, like Eddie does in Iron Maiden? If you know leave a comment below). The art work of German artist Alexander von Wieding is simply outstanding. Having worked on previous album covers for the group before, such as Appalachian Incantation and V, he clearly gets what the vibe of the band is all about. Interestingly, while the album name comes from the movie The Good, the Bad and the Ugly the image seems to be more about the American Civil War with Union and Confederate flag waving soldiers? Strange.
So in summary Arch Stanton is an exciting and fiery ride. It further cements Karma To Burn’s reputation as The Beatles of instrumental stoner rock; no other group even comes close. Add a reminder in your diary to pick up this album when its drops through Deepdive Records and FABA Records in August 2014.
