On April 6 2010 Tee Pee Records will reissue "Wild Wonderful Purgatory" and "Almost Heathen" from legendary (and recently reunited) stoner rock pioneers Karma To Burn.
Karma to Burn's Wild Wonderful Purgatory can perhaps be seen more accurately as a modern take on the power trio approach of such groups as the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, and Rush. With the spacy, almost psychedelic and experimental nature present, perhaps the first two fit better. However, the hard-edged metallic fury calls to mind more closely Rush's debut. These guys have such a great skill at creating dynamic melodies that you never really seem to notice that they have opted to forego the vocals altogether on this second release. This one is a great time, whether you are stoned or not.
Few recording artists aspire to the stylistic purity of Karma to Burn, and nowhere is this fact better demonstrated than on Almost Heathen. Even the title reinforces the near-decadence, and the strange but necessary elusiveness of artistic completeness. To say that Almost Heathen "rocks" would actually be a disservice to disc. It is more than a great record. It is form as function, the combination of craft and content, meditative, aloof, and sublime, if only for its singularity. Each of the ten non-sequentially numbered tracks do more than rock; they turn and roll, twist and slide, rattle and hum like large metal life forms, first rolling over desolate landscapes on four wheels, then standing upright, growing hair and pounding the rocky soil with the sun-bleached bones of Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Sleep, and Kyuss. Picking highlights is impossible, as each "song" acts more like a minutely textured tile in an all-black mosaic, relying heavily on the listener's reflection, leaving the assignment of meaning to individual imagination. Stoner/doom fans and everyone else who appreciates heavy music will all get a thrill from Almost Heathen, a significant hard rock accomplishment.
Both reissues will include a bonus 10” featuring the never before released demos of their self titled album. The demos have been remixed and the tracks "20" and "30" were both re-recorded in Autumn of 2009.