One of the more pleasant surprises for me so far this year has been Karma to Burn‘s new LP. I’m a big fan of Almost Heathen (especially these two neck snappers), and the reason Arch Stanton–much like 2001 precursor–works is simple: the riffs. Just check out “Twenty-Three” below (yes, all of their song titles are numbers). We got so pumped, in fact, that we asked guitarist Will Mecum to dazzle us with some tunes. We’ll let the West Virginian take it from here. “Everyone has soundtrack to his or her life–there are no wrong answers and there’s no skipping tracks. These songs highlight transitional periods for me. Over the years, I’ve found that sometimes it takes a while to understand what a certain artist or band is trying to say. You might hear about a great album, only to try it out and miss the point. But then you’ll try again later and it will hit you hard. That’s how music works, it’s there right when you need it. These albums were the ones that hit me, and stuck with me.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkTpeBte-7w
Thin Lizzy–Black Rose: A Rock Legend (1979)
An album I discovered a little later in life, completely changed my outlook on rock and roll. This album marked my transition from punk to rock and roll. Definitely one of the best rock albums of all time. “Black Rose” is a fucking great song.
Robin Trower–Bridge Of Sighs (1974)
My eighth grade math teacher turned me on to this album, and I haven’t looked back since. To this day, it’s still of the best albums I’ve ever heard in my life. This is real stoner rock. Check out “Day of the Eagle”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYIwk4rHIpM
Black Flag–My War (1984)
Soundtrack of my parents divorce.
The Damned–Machine Gun Etiquette (1979)
This album showed me what fun British punk is all about. You play this record, you hear the energy, the riffs, and you realize that rock and roll should be easy and fun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0q_YN1eILO0
Soundgarden–Louder Than Love (1989)
One of the first records that taught me the importance of dynamics when recording an album as a whole. It has monster riffs, monster drums and monster vocals. It’s a great album to fuck to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSCZBTai4E4
Honorable mentions:
Jimi Hendrix–Band of Gypsys (1970)
Black Sabbath–Vol. 4 (1972)
Dead Kennedys–Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (1980)
ZZ Top’s “Master of Sparks” (from 1973’s Tres Hombres)
Any Bill Withers album (Mr. Withers is a fellow West Virginian)
*Order a copy of Karma to Burn’s Arch Stanton here
**For past Decibrity entries, click here
