Karma To Burn: Mountain Czar

West Virginia’s desert rockers concentrate their fire

Karma To Burn album

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Attempting to shake off the barren stretches of desert they’re so regularly associated with, Karma To Burn are claiming back their throne in the West Virginia mountains with this stunning five-track EP.

Thrown into their blend of bluesy hard rock is a virtually unrecognisable cover of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ Running Down A Dream, a collaboration with Italian singer Stefanie Savy. It’s given the heavy metal makeover you didn’t know it needed. Not to confuse devotees, the rest of their tracks are labelled typically with numbers rather than words.

Mountain Czar blasts the band to the highest altitudes, soaring from one track to the next, culminating in the standout track, Sixty-Three – which, with its mix of heavy rock and surfer vibes, can only be described as the soundtrack to a cowboy riding a breaking wave.

This is a powerful whirlwind that’s more than deserving of its royal title.