KARMA TO BURN / SONS OF ALPHA CENTAURI – The Definitive 7″ Trilogy

When we talk about Karma To Burn, we know all too well what to expect: powerful, instrumental stoner, that doesn't pay too much attention to small details and, well, numbers for song titles. Nevertheless, not everybody knows that the trio has been working — for several years now — together with the British band Sons Of Alpha Centauri, that shares quite a big chunk of their musical approach with their Virginia-based buddies, including of course their love for numbers used as song titles.

This cooperation resulted in a series of split releases over the years, and even in some sort of supergroup named Alpha Cat, featuring members of both bands which, unbelievably, chose actual words for their song titles. With the release of "The Definitive 7" Trilogy" (both on vinyl and CD), the German label H42 Records decided to put some order in their long history, giving fans a chance to listen to all three splits, plus some of the songs recorded as Alpha Cat.

I have received the CD version without the 28-page booklet included in the collector's edition (which apparently has already been sold out), so I can't really say much about that one, but I can sure tell you that these two instrumental stoner powerhouses really know how to get their job done. Mystical smoke and cosmic levitation will take you through the forty-odd minutes of this collection.

If you already are fans of such projects as Karma To Burn and Sons Of Alpha Centauri, it isn't vital to analyze the individual value of each single song; I absolutely recommend listeners of both bands to experience the songs created by Alpha Cat (in particular "Last Day Of Summer"), which will definitely be interesting for fans of stoner in general. Are you still here?