Winger – Karma (2009)
Winger is back with a brand new album, Karma and they are ready to kick your ass. While they may have been the butt of some heavy metal jokes back in the day (thanks Beavis & Butthead), Karma is no laughing matter. I don’t know what Kip and the band have been doing over the last couple of years, but I know this, they’ve worked hard to put out an incredible new record.
Karma opens with the hard hitting “Deal With The Devil”. The drums and guitars kick in immediately, and then Kip launches into the vocals. The first thing noticeable about Kip’s voice is that it sounds eerily like David Coverdale’s. This happens throughout most of the record. Kip is older now, so his voice probably changed over the years, but the high notes are no longer his friend.
“Big World Away” is a heavy rock song with a touch of grunge and a lot of grit. Beach’s stand out guitar is felt immediately, and Kip’s “David Coverdale” voice really gives this song a Whitesnake feel with a Winger chorus. It’s a song that gets your feet tapping and will have you listening over and over again. “Big World Away” will definitely hook you on Karma and have you proclaiming what an excellent record this is.
The guitar work on this record is nothing short of fantastic. Even the songs that aren’t spectacular (fortunately that’s just a couple) are saved by the guitar solos. It’s amazing the amount of work that went into the guitar playing for this record. Reb Beach should be celebrated for the amazing work he has done. His guitar licks are all over this record and every one of them sounds incredible. Beach really makes this disc shine.
“After All This Time” is a great power ballad, part of the 1-2 set of ballads to close the album. This is a slow, melodic rocker with balls. The heavy blues influence can be felt in this song about still being in love after many years have passed. Once again, Beach’s guitar solo is fantastic and inspiring. If I was a teenager hearing this for the first time, it would force me to get a guitar and learn how to play.
Karma closes with the absolutely stunning “Witness”, an amazing power ballad with the emphasis on power. Witness is a closer that leaves you wanting to hear more. This is one of the few songs on Karma where Kip Winger’s voice shines through. The feature guitar solo to close the track is one of the greatest I’ve heard in a long time. Simply breath taking and it totally fueled my desire to hear this song live.
With incredible guitars, solid lyrics, and well written, beautifully crafted songs, Karma is poised to thrust Winger back into the spotlight and the center of the mainstream. If they team up with another 80s hair metal act for a summer tour, expect sellout crowds at most stops along the way. Winger is back, let the party resume!
Karma will be released on October 27th in the United States.
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Deal With The Devil
- Stone Cold Killer
- Big World Away
- Come A Little Closer
- Pull Me Under
- Supernova
- Always Within Me
- Feeding Frenzy
- After All This Time
- Witness
Winger is:
Kip Winger (bass and vocals)
Reb Beach (lead guitars)
Rod Morgenstein (drums)
Cenk Eroglu (keyboards, rhythm guitar)
John Roth (rhythm guitar)
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Hard Rock Hideout 
I guess I’m One of the biggest Winger fans but if you ask me THIS CD IS SUPERIOR to the other 4 cd’s and everyone should give it a chance! Listen to some quality kick ass rock ‘n’ roll WINGER ROCKS!
I knew nothing about Winger until I bought this album on a whim after a good review somewhere else. This is my favorite album of 2009. Great songs and great musicianship. Mature, current Heavy Rock played my MEN who Know How To Play. Brilliant.
I agree Cam. It is a great CD. One of Winger’s best IMO.
Good review, but I disagree with the David Coverdale comparison … Coverdale screams; when Kip belts it it’s more of a wail … and he DOES belt some strong high notes, on the CD, (despite that his voice is a bit deeper and grittier) … just not as often as on the first record, or Pull. And yeah he doesn’t have to .. I mean he does it live still every time I’ve seen him. He’s probably one of the top-5 singers on the planet. Yup Karma is great album, ballsy music and not completely ’80s sounding either. It’s unfortunate most everyone under 28 will not listen to the band, though, just because of the name. I just recently presented it to some friends of my fiance, who are in their 20s, two girls and a dude and they just refuse to check it out … somehow their mind is already made up. Fine, they can listen to some stupid manufactured band yell and hack their way through the latest Nickelback-sounding or Black Eyed Peas-sounding UNMEMORABLE song > Me and my friends, my whole network know what the REAL music is, out there. Karma and the new Steelheart album are 2 awesome releases.
This album is amazing! I´ve been a Winger fan for almost 20years and I love all their albums but this one is turning out to be their best yet. And talking about guitar solos, I think Four Leaf Clover has one of Reb`s best. And I rank the whole song to be one of Winger`s best. Btw, I also love Kips`s solo work and I think he is one of the greatest musicians of our time!
bought karma in london while on vacation . best album yet! if you think kips voice is getting weaker with age just try singing to ‘all this time’! betcha cant!