Their instrumental album Almost Heathen is widely regarded as on par Kyuss' Welcome to Sky Valley and Monster Magnet's Spine of God, as one of the defining albums of the stoner rock genre, although the band themselves referred to their style as malternative.
The band was renown for their live performances and former Kyuss singer John Garcia was a big fan and even tried to sing with the band, however this didn't bear much fruit as he did not have the time to become a full-time member and Karma to Burn itself wasn't sure his voice fitted in their music.
Karma To Burn refused to give their songs ordinary titles, instead referring to them by numbers, which allegedly made it easier for a dyslexic band member to read setlists.
The group quietly disbanded in 2002 after bassist Rich Mullins left to play full time in Speedealer.
On February 23, 2009, Karma to Burn reformed with the line-up being the same as when they disbanded. A year after reuniting, Karma To Burn released a fourth full length album on April 1, 2010, Appalachian Incantation, which was produced by Scott Reeder formerly of the stoner rock band Kyuss. Like their previous two releases, this is an instrumental album, though one track does feature Year Long Disaster's Daniel Davies on vocals.
In June 2010, Year Long Disaster toured Europe with all three members of Karma To Burn as part of the band. The favor was returned on Karma To Burn's European summer tour, with Davies stepping in as an occasional guitarist (and, when needed, vocalist) for the band.
The follow-up to Appalachian Incantation was recorded in February, 2011, at Dave Grohl's studio, and includes Davies' vocals on three songs, although he has since started a project outside Karma to Burn and left the group, returning the band to a trio. This album has been released and is titled V.
The following is from the Road Runner website:
"This ain't no movie soundtrack chump. It's real life and these are real songs by real people. Four people to be exact. They hail from some small town in West Virginia. A town they'd rather not have me mention here because of what I'm about to tell you. Karma To Burn got their start as drug addled teenagers listening to Skynyrd. In an opiated world, fantasies can appear so real. These boys in the hillbilly state wanted to be rock stars. They bought instruments. Built a still in the back yard. Tried to make music and moonshine. The moonshine sucked but the supersonic rumblings sounded good to them. They saw through the blurred vision to a light at the end of the tunnel. After three months, a plan was concocted. They made a tape but had no singer. Fuck it. Instrumentals it was to be. Heavy as shit and loud as hell. With no singer and subsequently no lyrics, songs were given numbers as their meager titles. They sent the tape out to labels. With tactics Howard Stern would applaud, they called labels impersonating other bands spewing what the world will soon find out about...the madness and mayhem of Karma To Burn. They played a show in NYC and inked a deal with Roadrunner Records. Large room service bills were rung up. Per diem money disappeared. Things were moving along like a train...like their music. They decided to get a singer. Various people tried out. They returned from the land o' the lost with horror stories. Karma to Burn was Marlon Brando the singers were Martin Sheen. This was a rock and roll version of Apocalypse Now. One fellow who tried out ended up in the looney bin. No one could make the cut. So they enlisted one of their friends. He can't really sing. His sound is more of a distorted warble. He moans and grunts a lot. Due to his dyslexia, they had to name their songs because he sucked at numbers and kept fucking up. So it was to be that their songs would have titles. Titles like "(Waltz Of The) Playboy Pallbearers", "Appalachian Woman", "Mt. Penetrator", and "Twin Sisters and a Half Bottle of Bourbon". Finally they made it into the studio. What you have in your hands is the debut record from Dickey, William, Baka, and Nicholas collectively known as Karma To Burn. This ain't no movie soundtrack. It's a record about real life in rural America. It's a record about dreams. It's about sex, drugs, and - you guessed it - rock and roll. The trinity is now complete. Thanks for your time. Now fuck off and die." was written by Wiebke, former European Press Agent.
It should be noted that RR actually "enforced" K2B to hire a vocalist. ;)
Current Line-up:
William Mecum (guitar) (ex-Treasure Cat)
Rob Halkett (bass guitar) (The Exploited)
Evan Devine (drums)
Twenty Four Hours
Karma to Burn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Love's shackled cry
What once was innocent
Turned on its side
A cloud hangs over me
Marks every move
Deep in the memory
Oh how I've realized
How I wanted time
Thought it too protective
Tried so hard to find
Just for one moment
Thought I'd found my way
Destiny unfolded
I watched it slip away
Excessive flash points
Beyond our reach
Solitary demands for
All I'd like to keep
Let's take a ride out
See what we can find
My newest collections of
Hopes and passing times
I never realized
The lengths I'd have to go
All the darkest corners of
A sense I didn't know
Just for one moment
I heard somebody call
Looked beyond the day
And there's nothing there at all
Now that I've realized
How it's all gone wrong
Gotta find some therapy
This treatment takes too long
Deep in the heart of
Where sympathy felt swayed
I got to find my destiny
Before it gets too late
The opening lines of Karma to Burn’s "Twenty Four Hours" describe a sense of permanent loss, where love is now trapped and there’s no room for hope. The lyrics depict the transformation of a relationship, once innocent and loving, but now turned upside down. The style of writing spells out a tale of restoration that never took place, and the singer's reminiscence of times when the relationship could have been saved.
The overall tone of the lyrics speaks of a deep sense of confusion, frustration, and hopelessness. The third verse indicates how the singer attempted to find a way to fix the situation, yet it was too late. The lyricist paints a picture of feeling lost and trying to hold onto something but recognizing that in reality, it was already gone. The final verse is a realization of defeat and the realization the singer is running out of time. Finding a way out of this mess is just short of impossible.
Overall, "Twenty Four Hours" by Karma to Burn is a melancholic, moving song that speaks to the struggle of trying to fix something that is already broken. It also reflects the emotions and endless frustration that come from a relationship that has already fallen apart.
Line by Line Meaning
So this is permanent
This situation is not going to change
Love's shackled cry
The pain of love that cannot be expressed or released
What once was innocent
What used to be pure and untouched
Turned on its side
Now upside down or disoriented
A cloud hangs over me
A feeling of heaviness or sadness is present
Marks every move
It is difficult to escape or forget the hurt
Deep in the memory
A feeling that is ingrained in the mind
What once was love
What used to be a strong emotion
Oh how I've realized
I have come to understand
How I wanted time
I wished for more time or a different outcome
Thought it too protective
I believed that being overly cautious was unnecessary
Tried so hard to find
I put in a lot of effort to search for something
Just for one moment
A brief period of time
Thought I'd found my way
I believed I had discovered the right path
Destiny unfolded
Fate revealed itself
I watched it slip away
I saw my opportunity disappear
Excessive flash points
Too many points of conflict
Beyond our reach
Out of our control or unattainable
Solitary demands for
The need to keep something alone or separate
All I'd like to keep
All the things I wish to hold onto
Let's take a ride out
Let's go out and see something new
See what we can find
Explore and discover what is out there
My newest collections of
The latest things I am interested in or pursuing
Hopes and passing times
My aspirations and fleeting moments
I never realized
I did not understand before now
The lengths I'd have to go
The extent of effort or sacrifice required
All the darkest corners of
The most hidden or painful parts of
A sense I didn't know
An emotion or feeling I had not experienced
Just for one moment
A brief amount of time
I heard somebody call
I perceived someone trying to communicate with me
Looked beyond the day
Saw outside of the present or the immediate situation
And there's nothing there at all
Found a feeling of emptiness or lack of purpose
Now that I've realized
Since I have come to understand
How it's all gone wrong
How the situation has developed in an undesirable way
Gotta find some therapy
Need to find a way to deal with the emotional pain
This treatment takes too long
The process of healing or recovery is slow or challenging
Deep in the heart of
A feeling that is strongly felt inside of
Where sympathy felt swayed
A situation where compassion was difficult to express or experience
I got to find my destiny
I need to discover my purpose or path
Before it gets too late
Before it becomes too difficult or too late to make a change
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Spirit Music Group
Written by: Bernard Sumner, Ian Kevin Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Paul David Morris
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
midzurin
So this is permanent
Love's shackled cry
What once was innocent
Turned on its side
A cloud hangs over me
Marks every move
Deep in the memory
What once was love
Oh how I've realized
How I wanted time
Thought it too protective
Tried so hard to find
Just for one moment
Thought I'd found my way
Destiny unfolded
I watched it slip away
Excessive flash points
Beyond our reach
Solitary demands for
All I'd like to keep
Let's take a ride out
See what we can find
My newest collections of
Hopes and passing times
I never realized
The lengths I'd have to go,
All the darkest corners of
A sense I didn't know
Just for one moment
I heard somebody call
Looked beyond the day
And there's nothing there at all
Kyuss
Best jd cover by far, best listened to on headphones
Andrea Michaela Ragger
awesome cover! I love it! ;)
Mikey Phillips
One of the sickest covers ever.
Brett Crawley
this cover killz it this band was amazing
juha palma
kova veto ie hard pull, thnx all involved !
extra.nirvana
So this is permanent, love's shattered pride.
What once was innocence, turned on its side.
A cloud hangs over me, marks every move,
Deep in the memory, of what once was love.
Oh how I realized how I wanted time,
Put into perspective, tried so hard to find,
Just for one moment, thought I'd found my way.
Destiny unfolded, I watched it slip away.
Excessive flash points, beyond all reach,
Solitary demands for all I'd like to keep.
Let's take a ride out, see what we can find,
A valueless collection of hopes and past desires.
I never realized the lengths I'd have to go,
All the darkest corners of a sense I didn't know.
Just for one moment, I heard somebody call,
Looked beyond the day in hand, there's nothing there at all.
Now that I've realized how it's all gone wrong,
Gottas find some therapy, this treatment takes too long.
Deep in the heart of where sympathy held sway,
Gotta find my destiny, before it gets too late.
Julien MCN
👍
3:25 😉
R.W. Randolph
So weird listening to a Karma to Burn song with vocals.
Tom29
But when KTB had vocals, it was always very well-done. With or without vocals, KTB was one of the best stoner rock bands of all time.