Winger – Karma

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The late 1980s/early 1990s heroes of the MTV rock generation made a triumphant return in 2006 with the IV album after 13 years, and the newly-discovered heavy sound from that album carries over to this, their fifth. Retaining the core trio of original members Kip Winger, guitarist Reb Beach and drummer Rod Morgenstein, plus rhythm guitarist John Roth and keyboardist/guitarist Cenk Eroglu who joined for IV, they kick off the new disc with a typically cliché-ridden anthem in Deal With The Devil, with all the requisit Beach histrionics. Stone Cold Killer only slightly improves matters, but later efforts like the dark, brooding and heavy Come A Little Closer, and thoughtful rockers Supernova and Pull Me Under stand-out and some of the band’s best tracks to date. Weak ballad count stands at just one (After All This Time) while the closing ballad Witness comes across as much more genuine and builds up to a classic rock finish with Reb Beach’s most insane solo of his career; over two minutes of it. The rest of the tracks fall more or less into the fun rock category Winger are best known for, and shouldn’t disappoint fans at all. The tour for the album is scheduled to follow in early 2010 and watching Beach play some of these solos should be something quite special.

Written by Andy Lye
More: Albums, Hard Rock, Quick.Play Reviews, Winger