1		Blues Science: Pt. 1 Thunder Rise	2:06
2		Blues Science: Pt. 2 Hoodoo Lightning	3:21
3		Fool	3:41
4		Rainbow Ridge	3:36
5		Supersonic Universe	4:04
6		Monster	4:05
7		Let It Roll	5:26
8		Stay In The Wind	4:31
9		Hombre Dorado	4:30
10		A Drifters Tale	5:06

Thomas Juneor Andersson - Vocals, Guitars, Percussion
Tobias Strandvik - Drums, Percussion
Per Wiberg - Vocals, Bass, Keyboards

I judge the quality of a song by stripping it down to its barest essentials. If someone can convey a complex idea using just voice and instrument, you know it’s a solid concept. Because it’s way too easy for artists to hide behind lush productions that mask the absence of depth. So pretty much any time I listen to a song, I’m trying to get to that kernel of truth that exists somewhere in the song’s melodies, lyrics, and underlying chord progressions and blocking everything else out.

And as far as evaluation tools go, I think it’s a pretty good one. Because even if I don’t enjoy a song, or its production, I can appreciate its honesty and directness. However, like all processes this one has its weaknesses. The kryptonite for this one is four syllables: heavy metal.

Metal is music. Metal is beautiful. But metal also relies on a groove. It’s not about showing you an exciting moment, or even re-creating one. Instead, metal takes you straight to the moment, an express train chugging along on rails of chunky guitar and drums trying to stay ahead of the beat, like a criminal on the run from the law. So while it’s not an absolute rule, because as we’ve seen, those don’t always hold up anyway, metal depends upon the way the guitars play off of the drums and bass for success. And that’s why Kamchatka’s Hoodoo Lightning is a very cool metal album.

Kamchatka are a Swedish power trio. After breaking up in 2017, they reunited for Hoodoo Lightning. Their sound touches on a lot metal and hard rock influences, but nothing overtly, so their sound is familiar, but difficult to pin down. Drummer Tobias Strandvik takes advantage of the trio’s sonic space with wide, double-bass driven performances that make you wonder if there’s another drummer hiding behind his kit. Singer/guitarist Thomas Juneor Andersson lays down infectious riffs that can only be described as Aerosmith meets Black Sabbath. And bass player Per Wiberg holds everything together, an incredibly important job when dealing with groove-driven music like this.

So how does one judge a groove? For me, it’s all in the neck. If you hear a good piece of metal, your head should nod along with the beat. Thrash metal, of course, will give you whiplash (as Metallica taught us). Kamchatka’s grooves are lower-key. Heavy but not fast. So you nod along at a comfortable pace, like cruising a street late at night and making all of the traffic lights. You feel the speed, but you’re not scared for your life. Andersson’s voice snarls and growls, but with the grit of a good exfoliant, rather than the barbed wire often heard in the heaviest of metal.

Andersson sounds perfect on “Supersonic Universe,” a fast-paced track that features his vocals rising above the aggression, striking more of a bemused, semi-detached tone. Until everything collides in the anger of the chorus. “El Hombre Dorado” has a perfect beat that, of course, passes the head-knod test with flying colors. And “A Drifters Tale” is bouncy, a duet between Wiberg and Andersson doing the Swedish hard rock version of Gerry Rafferty’s “Baker Street.”

Hoodoo Lightning is the type of metal that might appeal to blues rock fans who like to let things get heavy. The songs don’t have the same emotional resonance of classic blues songs and the instrumentation is more blues-inspired, once- or twice-removed, but the riffs will make sense to blues rock lovers. Your head will bob at just the right pace. ---Steven Ovadia, bluesrockreview.com

Trochę już się martwiłem o szwedzkie trio Kamchatka. No może nie był to nigdy zespół z mojego absolutnego współczesnego topu, nie czekałem na ich kolejne płyty, obgryzając paznokcie, ale jednak każdy z tych ich kolejnych albumów przynosił sporo muzyki w stylu, jaki lubię – prostej, dynamicznej, ciężkiej, ale jednocześnie melodyjnej, osadzonej mocno w hardrockowej tradycji. A od szóstej płyty, która ukazała się w 2015 roku, cisza. Oczywiście muzycy tego zespołu w międzyczasie wydawali pod innym szyldem – w King Hobo, Spiritual Beggars i milionie innych zespołów, w których grają. To sprawiało, że trochę już chyba pogodziłem się z tym, że być może nie będzie nowej Kamchatki, a przynajmniej niezbyt szybko. A tu siurpryza! Hoodoo Lightning ukazała się pod koniec listopada.

Oczywiście nie oczekiwałem jakichś większych zmian w muzyce zespołu, więc i nie jestem zaskoczony, że raczej ich nie ma. To wciąż to samo niezwykle przyjemne, treściwe i melodyjne zarazem łojenie na gitarę, bas i bębny. Płytę rozpoczyna burza, ale na tej płycie po niej nie następuje posępny, przeszywający doomowy trójdźwiek. Zamiast tego mamy mocny numer z zaskakująco chropowatym wokalem nieco w stylu Lemmy’ego – to dwuczęściowe Blues Science, które nowym w świecie Kamchatki od razu przekazuje, o co w ich muzyce chodzi i jak to wszystko będzie się prezentowało. I w takim stylu, jak zwykle, utrzymany jest cały krążek. Czasami jest nieco bardziej blues-rockowo (Monster), bywa też i odrobinę spokojniej, mniej hmm „łomotliwie” (?), choć wcale nie mniej rockowo (A Drifter’s Tale), ale ogólnie po tych pierwszych minutach wiadomo już, czego się spodziewać i na jakim to będzie poziomie.

Co oczywiście dla wielu osób może być wadą, ale ja jestem raczej z tych, którzy uważają, że nie każdy dobry zespół musi na każdym swoim albumie wymyślać koło. Po tej formacji oczekuję tego, o czym pisałem wcześniej – solidnego, melodyjnego grania zbudowanego na prostych, ciężkich riffach. Właśnie to po raz kolejny otrzymałem, więc zastrzeżeń z mojej strony zero. ---Bizon, muzycznyzbawicielswiata.blogspot.com

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1. Out My Way
2. Seed
3. No
4. Mnemosyne Waltz
5. Mixed Emotions
6. Wrong End
7. Eggshell
8. I Love Everybody
9. Auto Mowdown
10. Spacegirl Blues
11. Sing Along Song
12. Incognito
13. Daddy Says
14. Squirm

Thomas Juneor Andersson - Guitar, Lead Vocals
Roger Öjersson - Bass, Lead Vocals
Tobias Strandvik – Drums

On their self-titled debut disc, KAMCHATKA (an incredibly kool power trio "riff machine" from Sweden) deliver an awesome set (14 trax - 59 mins.) of heavy duty, get-down bluesy, cycodelic, authentic, retro-70's heavy guitar power trio "riffage" that is unbelievably killer. KAMCHATKA is brain-damaing beyond belief and the REAL deal when it comes down to outstanding killer power trio rock.

KAMCHATKA features three amazing players in the form of Thomas Andersson on guitar & vocals, Rojer Ojersson on bass & vocals and Tobias Strandvik on drums. The band work together as a whole musical unit combining guitar-melting solos, slicked-up pseudo-Hendrix grooves with an incredibly powerful tight rhythm section to create a sound that is pure, convincing and all their own. Hitting hard with a fantastic, hard driving, raw, blistering, all-out musical assault and sounding like they landed from 1973, KAMCHATKA have legitimately created an authentic, classic retro-70's heavy guitar power trio vibe.

Thomas Andersson is an amazing gifted bluesy axeripper who makes a powerful musical statement on the guitar. His playing is right up there with the best of them.

Serious heavy guitar freaks that are in tune with the Grooveyard know that we are heavily into and support outstanding Swedish axemasters like Clas Yngstrom (SKY HIGH), Emil Fredholm & Christian Neppenstrom of PLANKTON, Thomas Larsson, Janne Stark, etc. Thomas Andersson of KAMCHATKA is no exception and his killer guitarwork is in the same league as those awesome players. They take the guitar seriously in Sweden and stick to their guns (musical roots) without following the latest fads & musical trends. Swedish axerippers are all about the guitar and they know what time of day it is when it comes down to REAL guitar playing. There must be something in the water over there in Sweden!

The KAMCHATKA disc is HIGHLY recommeded to fans of HENDRIX (THE MAN!), TROWER, FRANK MARINO & MAHOGANY RUSH, CREAM, MOUNTAIN, JOHNNY WINTER, CACTUS, STRAY DOG, CAPTAIN BEYOND, BUDGIE and new school power trio players like ERIC GALES, WARREN HAYNES (GOV'T MULE) and FIREBIRD, to name a few. Imagine if FRANK MARINO & TROWER jammed with HENDRIX & CREAM in MAHOGANY RUSH-LAND and you start to get the "musical picture". Kamchatka are the REAL deal when it comes down to seventies guitar god rock and their awesome "live in the studio" version of "I Love Everybody" by JOHNNY WINTER is worth the price of admission alone and will make a true believer out of you.

The bottom line is that KAMCHATKA are the real deal when it comes down to classic, outstanding bluesy heavy guitar power trio rock and if you dig this super-sonic way-kool style of music, then look no further than the mega-awesome debut disc by KAMCHATKA. Exclusively released on GROOVEYARD RECORDS, a new label dedicated to outstanding TOTAL GUITAR music from around the world. ---cdbaby.com

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01.Perfect						play
02.Hindsight
03.TV Blues
04.The Same
05.Demonbelly
06.Good Night
07.Bye Bye Mind's Eye
08.Puppet
09.Before Things Get Rough
10.Worried						play
11.I've Got To Learn
12.Bury Your Roots

Roger Öjersson - lead vocals & bass
Thomas "Juneor" Andersson - lead vocals & guitar
Tobias Strandvik – drums
+
Per Wiberg - keys on Before Things Get Rough
Daniel Norgren - saw on Bye Bye Mind's Eye
Marco Bylander - middle guitar solo on Worried

Once more, on their fourth album Bury Your Roots, we find Sweden's Kamchatka in their comfort zone, delivering heavier melodic blues-laced rock. Kamchatka are both heralds and conveyors of the earthy harder rock from deep in the late 60's and early 70's. Is that such a bad thing? These guys are good, especially when, for the most part, every song on the platter is equally entertaining.

Most impressive, after a spin or two, are several elements: the pleasing harmonious vocal arrangements, strong rock groove and, of course, the ambitious and delicious guitar work. All these are wrapped up in rather interesting arrangements that find Kamchatka offering fast heavy rockers to symphonic infused rock to near slow stoner rock. While Bury Your Roots can sound like a warp back in time, there is certainly a freshness to the music. Perhaps it's from authenticity and passion you hear, and feel, in the delivery.

Here then are some highlights touching on the aforementioned notes. The opener Perfect is perfect to draw the new listener into Kamchatka sound; it's a brisk rocker with a strong groove and clicking solo. Hindsight channels some of that Seventies psychedelic feel especially with fuzz-busting and ripping solo. Blues invades the rock on TV Blues. A more modern turn might be found in Demonbelly, a song that straddles lightness and heaviness and offers a pitched solo that seems to merge guitar with sitar. (Don't let that put you off.) Kamchatka brings strings to the longest track, Before Things Get Rough, but heaviness returns in the latter half. Oddly entertaining is Bye Bye Mind's Eye with its eerie whistling atmosphere. Other songs are less eclectic. I've Got to Learn turns mostly on a melodic lighter motif; Worried has a simple earthy rock feel; and, Bury Roots is another brisk rocker with some fine fret work.

The only downside here maybe in the mix. Starting, with Good Night, but definitely Bye Bye Mind's Eye, there was noticeable layer of distortion in the songs. It's a scratchy sound, like fingernails rubbing over coarse sandpaper. I'm not sure what to make of it, as I've downloaded it twice now from the label and still hear it. Perhpas it was intened, yet It was distracting.

Regardless of this, Bury Your Roots is signature Kamchatka, and maybe, just ever so slightly, more progressive. A diverse album of melodic heavier rock, it's hard not to be both intrigued and entertained. Very recommended. --- Craig Hartranft, dangerdog.com

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