Stunning ... can I stop there please.

King Karma have produced an album of music in its most organic form. This is blues based hard rock straight out of the 1970s but without feeling in the least bit dated. With echoes of Bad Company, Led Zeppelin and the other giants of that decade King Karma prove that, as in the old adage, less if often more.

Built upon the solid foundations provided by rhythm section Todd Ronning (bass) and Rick Fedyk (drums), the music is a gorgeous amalgam of hard rock guitar riffs and slower introspective acoustic passages, sometimes within the same song. Guitarist Markus Wolfe succeeds, where many more famous names have failed, in that he plays with true feel and  purely for the song, rather than simply to show his undoubted technical ability. To round out the band there is vocalist Shaun Williamson, a man with more soul and raw emotion in his voice than a recording studio full of boy band wannabes and Pop Idol hopefuls.

Listening to album opener 'Breathe', a mid-tempo powerful rocker, it is obvious that we are in for something special, and this feeling grows as the band slip into 'Blue Monday'. With thundering drums and bass leading the way, Williamson delivers the magnificent melody with consummate ease. 'Into The Everlast' continues the trend, another rocking number containing excellent counterpoint guitar and vocal tracks. Then we have 'Revolution Man', which is without doubt the highlight of the album. A melancholic lament which flips between a quiet acoustic guitar verse and a more expansive chorus. 

It would be easy to carry on extolling the virtues of each and every song, however suffice to say that there is not a weak link on this record. Whether the songs rock out like 'Heaven's Burning' or drift into the ballad territory as 'Don't Take The World Out On Me', there is not a single filler to be heard. 'I'm Listening' even brings back memories of Lynyrd Skynyrd with its southern flavoured tinges. Actually given that the album was produced by ex-Leonard Skynyrd studio whizz Jimmy Johnson, this is not entirely surprising. Johnson even goes so far as to say that King Karma is the "best rock product since we worked with Lynyrd Skynyrd back in the 70’s."

This is the album that Audioslave should have made, The Black Crowes have always wanted to make and Badlands may have made had events not turned sour. King Karma have produced one of the albums of year. As I said Stunning!

Let us know your views on 'New Horizon'

Track List

Breathe
Blue Monday
Into The Everlast
Revolution Man
Mama's Pride
Twilight Child
Heaven's Burning
I'm Listening
Shake My Bones
Don't Take The World Out On Me
Midnight Sunshine
Devil's Road

Line Up

Shaun Williamson - vocals
Markus Wolfe - guitar
Todd Ronning - bass
Rick Fedyk - drums