· KAMCHATKA - Volume II (GYR033) ·
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::T R A C K S::
01. Who I Am
FORMAT: Audio CD / Jewel Case
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"Volume II", the aptly titled mega-awesome second studio disc from Kamchatka, features 11 tracks (66 minutes) of brain-damaging, killer, cycodelic, bluesy, authentic, retro-70’s heavy guitar power trio riffage that is guaranteed to trip your brain and rip your head apart. A brilliant and electrifying slab of stunning, hard-hitting heavy cosmic blues rock that digs deep and goes way beyond the norm.
Hailing from the land of Sweden, Kamchatka is a finely tuned power trio rock machine that plows through and blows the roof off raw, dynamic, powerful, riffage and sets new hard rock standards on the "Volume II" disc. To give you a better idea of what they sound like: put large amounts of Hendrix, Trower, Frank Marino into a blender; add in a healthy dose of Gov't Mule, Cream & Cactus with a pinch of Captain Beyond & Budgie and out comes the intoxicating, potent, muscular musical brew known as Kamchatka. They have all the rite influences, however Kamchatka create an original and cerebral, cutting edge sound/vibe that is all their own. We like to call it progressive stoner rock/jam band madness. Kamchatka fuses the sophistication of progressive 70s rock with the thunderous assault of Hendrix / Frank Marino styled guitar playing and a bone crushing rhythm section. To say Kamchatka is heavy is an understatement. Featuring Thomas Andersson on guitar & vocals, Roger Ojersson on bass & vocals and Tobias "Shrimp Monkey" Strandvik on drums, the good musical Kamchatka brothers work together as a team to reach their sonic power trio explosions and vast musical visions. All killer accomplished players in their own rite and with Thomas Andersson being one of the most prolific, bluesy, get-down, supernatural, Hendrix-inspired axerippers you have ever heard (or never heard of for that matter). The man is a virtual juggernaut on the guitar. When he breaks into a solo all hell breaks loose and Jimi is smiling somewhere up in "Electricladyland". This is the stuff heavy guitar dreams are made of.
The highlights are many on "Volume II" and coming straight out of the gate with the fierce & brutal riffage of "Who I Am", Kamchatka has landed down hard, mean serious business and is here to set the record straight. This one track is the epitome of what Kamchatka is all about. Other highlights include "Heritage", a deep, amazing workout/tribute to their Blues roots that winds down with pure blues/rock fury, the mega-killer but bizarely titled instrumental track called "Pogonophonics" which will rip your face off and have you waving your heavy guitar freak flag in 5 seconds flat. We are talking serious air guitar boner to the max!!! And on the brilliant closing track called "Jigsaw" the band create outstanding, jagged, quirky riffage reminescent of “Hemispheres” era Rush. It all comes together with ferocious rock power on the Kamchatka: "Volume II" disc.
The KAMCHATKA: "Volume II" disc is HIGHLY recommeded to fans of JIMI HENDRIX, ROBIN TROWER, FRANK MARINO & MAHOGANY RUSH, MOUNTAIN, SABBATH, CREAM, CACTUS, STRAY DOG, TEN YEARS AFTER, GRAND FUNK, HUMBLE PIE, GOV'T MULE, CAPTAIN BEYOND, BUDGIE, RUSH and awesome new school power trio players like ERIC GALES, LANCE LOPEZ, WARREN HAYNES , FIREBIRD & PLANKTON, to name a few. Serious guitar freaks and music heads worldwide who are already familiar with Kamchatka through their phenomenal debut disc will rejoice and praise the heavy guitar power trio heavens with the amazingly killer, mindblowing "Volume II" disc. Exclusively released on GROOVEYARD RECORDS, a label dedicated to outstanding TOTAL GUITAR music from around the world.
Kamchatka is all about the rock. True pioneers and visionaries of serious power trio guitar rock. Don’t be fooled or alienated by the unusual band name, Kamchatka is the REAL deal when it comes down to top-shelf, serious, bad-ass, bluesy heavy guitar power trio rock. 70's heavy guitar rock has never sounded better and Kamchatka is living proof that great original hard rock music isn’t dead. Dig in deep and smell the Kamchatka.
MP3 Sample Clips 
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01. Who I Am |
PHYSICAL GROOVEYARD DISCS RULE IN THE GUITAR ROCK WORLD.
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WITH THE PHYSICAL DISCS THAT WE PRODUCE AND RELEASE.
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· reviews ·
A tasty morsel for guitar aficionados, Kamchaka sounds like Jimi Hendrix syrup, poured over a Mountain of ice-cream and topped off with mouth-watering Whipped Cream. Virtuosos of the highest order, these guys are like a delectable dessert, anxiously awaited after the dribble that passes for the main course of music today. The cherry on top is their own vision and considerable talent.
Steven J. Rosen, author (5.07)
Volume II picks up where Kamchatka's acclaimed debut release leaves off, extending the pure-blood pedigree of this unique Swedish trio. Guitarist/vocalist Thomas Andersson unleashes his patented intervalical full chord/smokin' single line amalgam to great effect on this outing, while bassist/vocalist Roger Ojersson and drummer Tobias Strandvik lock down hard and tight - in unison, case-hardened and bulletproof.
Kamchatka is much more than just a "band" - these guys are their own "sub-species" of homo sapiens. It's obvious (even to a first-time listener) that the members of Kamchatka have their own brand of musical ESP. The cover art is a perfect visual metaphor for the musical experience captured within: three distinct members of a seperate species, at harmony with themselves and their environment, doing what they do best. In this case, it's creating music. THEIR music. These guys are truly "their own thing", and they sound like it. They are Kamchatka - transcending their influences to create a "brand name" all their own.
"Who Am I" starts off this anything-but-typical jamfest, juxtaposing airy, psychotronic vocal harmonies over a heavy bullet train of a groove, then cutting off into a face melting solo section full of precisely delivered hard rocking, bluesy mayhem. "Breathe" is a Hendrixian flanged/chorused musical canvas. Here, Thomas exhibits a wonderful, mature mastery of Stratified chordal textures. "Terminus" features a deftly delivered octave workout into a double time excursion that feels like a ride on a melodic roller coaster. "Withstand" features a chorus section reminiscent of Glass Harp (!) blasting into a classic retro-progressive jam that's spine-chillingly cool. "From Here" is a dark jungle rhythm beat that pumps behind a soaring guitar rhythm and a pulsing bass figure.
"Enemy Maker" (the only cover) weaves a wicked backbeat pulse that transitions seamlessly into "Heritage" - a psychedlified sledgehammer of a groove that leads into a monstrously heavy and deeply bluesy improvisation that is both inspired and frightening - anyone who thinks 12 bar blues progressions are boring will get their attitude "adjusted" after experiencing this wonderful display of chops, feel and energy...kudos to Thomas for setting us straight. "Sweet Relief" showcases an outside/inside chord progression that, in lesser hands, would appear disjointed or forced. Not here.
"Pogonophonics" - the only instrumental on the CD - is a machine gun groove that never lets up from the first note...a six-legged race with the boys attached at the hip running wild through a dense, riffed-out obstacle course without missing a step, featuring Thomas riding a wah-wahed, Leslie-fied over-the-top squeezefest that would make Jimi proud. From the first hit, the rhythm section pounds like a jackhammer on steroids. "Feel" features satin-smooth, echo-drenched vocals from Thomas and Roger that float above the tick-tock rhythm and the rolling chord figure while the synth-washed backdrop takes you on a guided tour of Electric Dreamland.
Volume II closes the proceeds with the perfectly-titled "Jigsaw" - a pedal pounder with dissonant intervals that weave a twisted pathway like a musical mobius loop. The lyrics explain it this way: "We got a new set of rules...we got a new set of tunes...beyond surgical exactitude...never mind the missing pieces...time will tell if we were right." Just when you think the tune's over, it's acoustic soundtrack time with the boys performing a musical surgical procedure I'll call a "reverse invertorotomy" that is hypnotically dreamy...truly psychedelic...strange and beautiful. Then, fade to black. What a ride.
Throughout, Volume II displays a minimalistic approach to the mix where everything is clear and well-defined, utilizing judicious and tasteful use of effects that work to bring out the nuances of the tight-as-epoxy arrangements...not fighting against them, as is all too often the case with guitar-based music (particularly in the "power trio" format). That's no small accomplishment, and through it all, Kamchatka pulls it off with untypical style, flair and confidence. All the arrangements are rich, deep and robust - full of twists and turns that defy pigeonholing. Stellar musicianship drenches every aspect of this release, from the lightest chordal nuances and delicate rhythmic backdrops to the hardest-hitting hyperdrive riffage...it's all here in the musical universe Kamchatka creates.
Float in the void with Kamchatka.. you won't want to come back.
Jimmy Ryan (Truth Squad) (11.07)
Must admit this one took a little getting used to. Volume II is simply stated the second psychedelic thriller from Swedish supergroup Kamchatka. It plays on the Nordic country's love of '70s retro including bluesy power riffs and heavy guitar rumblings. Unlike its predecessor, which was a tad bit simpler, Volume II is a far more serious affair. Continuing to work as a trio guitarist/vocalist Thomas Andersson, bass player Roger Ojersson and drummer Tobias Strandvik redefine where last they left off with a brain-damaging array of cosmic deep cuts that plow through a hybrid of influences including Hendrix, Cream, Cactus and Mountain. Their press sheet calls this mixture, "progressive stoner rock/jam band madness." But it takes some serious headphone time to really dig what's going on here. A decent bowl of home-grown might also enhance the experience. To say this band is heavy is an understatement. Go right to opening track "Who Am I" and crank it up.
In many ways the disc is reminiscent of early British blues-rock including Free's Tons of Sobs with a dash of Pink Floyd's Ummagumma. "Heritage" is one of those 7-minute songs where the band finds a steady groove and just rides it out with a loose structure that embraces acid psychedelic only to come to earth for a collation of twisted solos and heart pounding rhythms. There are the dense tonal elements of "Terminus" and "Enemy Maker" with the plodding "Sweet Relief" and the more melodic "Breathe." Some songs are just happy to drift along like "Withstand" and the jazzy "From Here." Then there are the ones that dig in their heels and peel back the layers like the instrumental "Pogonophonics" which goes into furious shades of Frank Marino. Their song structure takes a number of different pathways from Hendrix rips and soul-busting meandering that ends with a sonic punch. By they time they get to closing track "Jigsaw", Kamchatka is in full on Wishbone Ash-jam mode and wind their way through some of the most freaked-out boogie, stoner rock a three piece is capable of.
Todd K. Smith (The Cutting Edge) (3.08)
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