There’s a nice buzz going on about King Karma, a blues-based hard rock outfit that may just bring about the resurgence of this genre of music. For starters, famed producer Jimmy Johnson and sound engineer Steve Melton (Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Rolling Stones, Bob Seger, and Greg Allman) jumped on board after hearing their demos. The results of the King Karma/Johnson/Melton collaboration has garnered King Karma praise from the internet press, and WITR, an upstate New York's radio station who placed the band's debut in the top ten best CD releases of 2003. One of the band’s tracks, "Into The Everlast," was also voted ‘Track Of The Day’ (over 6,000 other hard rock artists) on Garageband.com. This is just the beginning for this young band.

King Karma has a sound that’s similar to the underrated early 90s group Cry Of Love, and interestingly, Steve Melton was the engineer on Cry Of Love’s two releases. Markus Wolfe (guitar), Todd Ronning (bass), and Rick Fedyk (drums), who all hail from Vancouver, B.C., hooked up with Tallahassee, Florida’s Shaun Williamson after a long search for the ‘perfect vocalist.’ Shaun, who sounds a helluva lot like Charlie Huhn (Victory, Foghat, ex-Ted Nugent), emits power and emotion, and he’s clearly the perfect musical compadre for the other three guys. Songwise, the band’s bluesy style comes off honest and comfortable whether it’s during the meaty opener "Breathe," the mid-paced creeper "Blue Monday," or the aforementioned pounder "Into The Everlast." And there’s a mixture of ballads ("Twilight Child" and "Don’t Take The World Out On Me") and rockers ("Shake My Bones" and "Midnight Sunshine") to keep all fans of blues based rock happy.

The Bottom Line: It’s really nice to hear a real rock band, one with soul, emotion, and enough edge to give them credibility. King Karma will appeal to classic rock fans looking for something new, bluesy hard rock fans, and fans of quality musicianship. Highlights are guitarist Markus Wolfe’s blues-based riffs and screaming leads, the tightness of the rhythm section, and the emotive vocals of Shaun Williamson. King Karma should be played on every classic rock radio station in America!