KARMA DEPTH

KARMA DEPTH "MARK I" - Birth of a band and an album. Whoever came up with the phrase "Rome wasn't built in a day", was probably referring to the birth of Karma Depth. Hans Berten, who is the former leadsinger & bassplayer of one of the 80's leading Belgian heavy metal bands Buzzard, contacted guitarist Lorenzo Petralia somewhere early '98 to get together with drummer Hans Mahieu and '..see what comes out..' They knew each other for quite some time but never really played together. From the first moment on, there was this typical "Karma vibe", so that was a good thing. They immediately started to experiment with different genres and the mixture of those genres. Never got the exposure as a real band, doing only one local gig to satisfy the owner of the place where they rehearsed, it took them another 3 years, 3 rehearsal rooms, an interim drummer and an interim keyboard player to almost get where we are today. In the year 2001 Lorenzo met Dieter Cailliau at a 'one night project' concert of LA based guitarist Vreny, and asked him to join what was then a band without a name ... Dieter injected a more symfo-progrock feel into the Karma vibe. It became very obvious from day 1 that the symbiosis of those 4 very different musical backgrounds was going to be the trademark of the band. A kind of musical melting pot that is always on the verge of boiling over. The band played some festivals and after another 3 years of composing and re-composing Lorenzo, Dieter, Hans Berten & Hans Mahieu started recording the debut-cd. And finally in March 2005; the release of the debut-cd 'Resilience' was a fact. The title definitely said something about the nature of this band. Being totally independent from any commercial obligations, 'Resilience' turned out to be an honest reflection of what Karma Depth was all about. The love for music and communication of true emotions. 'Resilience' was well received and even praised by international specialised press (see for excerpts of reviews at the bottom of this text) In April 2005, the band was support for 'Pain of Salvation' at their Belgian gig. Karma Depth contributed a new song; 'Second Chance' to the compilation-cd "a taste of Belgium" that presented eight Belgian progressive rockbands. KARMA DEPTH "MARK II" - An ending and a new start. June 2006: A total shock for the rest of the band as Lorenzo announced that he had decided to quit the band. He did this for personal reasons and left in all friendship. He immediately recommended Jeroen Vanryckeghem to the band to replace him. Jeroen was no stranger to the band. At the official 'cd-presentation'-gig, Jeroen played acoustic guitar during the song 'Nuweiba' (before that Lorenzo even contacted him to play acoustic guitar on the albumversion but due to other obligations Jeroen couldn't make the deadline and Lorenzo decided to play all the guitarparts by himself after all). December 2006: Karma Depth closed the "a taste of Belgium"-concertseries at the famous Progtemple; 'Spirit of 66' in Verviers. This was the first concert with the new line-up and they even played a brandnew song; 'Beyond Belief'. This song was also the first composition from Karma Depth "Mark II". Some reviews of "RESILIENCE"(The cd is distributed by the band and some specialized recordshops (More information: www.karmadepth.org contact Karma shop or HERE ): “...The CD offers very strong impressive Progressive Melodic Rock that sounds symphonic, melodic and neo-progressive at the same time... this CD is a must-have for the Neo-prog/Symphonic freaks... Definitely a quality release, which should not be unnoticed…8.4/10…” - Strutter Magazine (Holland) “…Deze in eigen beheer opgenomen en uitgebrachte eersteling - de vrucht van drie jaren optreden, componeren en opnemen – is zowel in kwalitatief als in kwantitatief opzicht een vette kluif waar de klasse zo van afdruipt…Al met al een sterk debuut van een groep die behoorlijk snel een geslaagd compromis tussen progmetal en progrock gevonden lijkt te hebben. Puik werk, heren !..” - Progwereld “…Le chant de Hans Berten y est d'une grande sensibilité et le solo de guitare de Lorenzo Petralia nous fait fondre...je vous conseille vivement cet album...“ - Music in Belgium (Belgium) “...It’s a great experience listening to a band that you’ve never heard before and hearing such sweet sounds; it is overwhelming. Karma Depth is one of those bands... This is truly a band that has to be heard.... On the whole the CD is fantastic as it’s filled with unbelievable music and I am sure Karma Depth will have a record deal with “Resilience”...4/5” - Rock Eyes (USA) “...For a debut album this is pretty ambitious. Resilience contains 78 minutes of new material without any flaws. A highly enjoyable prog album for those who want to spend some time for letting it grow on them... All the musicians seem very skilled in neither what part of the album but the instrumental sections are even more exciting on the large epic “Heal” which is divided in 7 parts. Undeniable the best prog stuff I have heard in years, 22 minutes seem to flow like you’re listening to a pop song of 3 minutes...” – Progarchives (international) “Resilience is without any doubt a remarkable example of progressive rock....This a very good debut album, pure class...” – Prog-nose (Belgium) "See how I glow" es un corte algo metálico y muy intrincado técnicamente, el piano de Dieter corre por la senda del jazz, pero es Hans Mahieu quien demuestra ser uno de los más destacados bateristas que ha dado su pequeño país. Luego llega la extensa "Heal" dividida en siete partes; una gigantesca pieza de Prog Metal con reminiscencias a AL DI MEOLA en la guitarra de Lorenzo. Por último, llega "Nuweiba" a puras guitarras acústicas y un sonido entre flamenco y new age. En realidad, uno puede llegar a varias conclusiones, pero es evidente que los belgas han logrado un trabajo de gran calidad y una originalidad desbordante que convierte a "Resilience" en un disco imprescindible para aquel que quiera encontrar una banda diferente a todo lo propuesto en este género." - ENCRUCIJADA Webzine (Argentina) “...Whenever you are able to deliver a 22' long epic without the listener getting bored one tiny nanosecond, then you can certainly be proud of what you delivered. "Heal" is without any doubt a gigantic piece of music, bundling energy, enthusiasm, craftsmanship and skill all into one exclusive mass called Karma Depth...” – Progressive World (international)