Growing up in Varberg, a small town on the west coast of Sweden, Roger, Thomas and Tobias were all rehearsing at the same place, though in different bands, except for the occasional weekend jam session. In their mid teens, Roger and Thomas moved to pursue their musical career elsewhere, Roger to the east and Thomas to the north, while Tobias continued his back home. Some educational years of touring and recording albums with all kinds of different acts later, they met up again in Varberg for a Jimi Hendrix tribute concert in 2001, and after a successful performance the guys simply came to the conclusion that they should start a band. This match was too good to go to waste. Kamchatka was formed.
A few years later, after saving up enough money, they decided to record an album in their own studio (which has been developing ever since), with the help of an old friend of Rogers, Nicholas Elgstrand, who recorded,
mixed and produced it together with the band. Bullen & Sillen, friends of the band, mastered it at Studio Mega in Valinge, just outside of Varberg. An old friend of Thomas’, Per Wiberg, who also designed the album cover, hooked them up with a New York based indie label called Grooveyard Records, where the first Kamchatka album was released January 1st 2005.
After about a year of an occasional gig here and there, which were all well received, the guys started to get restless, so they decided to record another album, subsequently known as “Volume II”, this time recording it themselves on an eight-track, Tobias bringing the technical expertise. Once again they called in Nicholas to help mix and produce, but this time mastered it themselves, lending the gear from Jonas Eckerström, another old friend of the band, mainly with Tobias behind the controls. Per, again, standing for the artwork. It was released on Grooveyard Records in January 2007.
After yet another year of an occasional gig here and there (there is a serious lack of venues to play at in Sweden), they had started recording their third album when the American rockband Clutch, whom they had opened a few gigs for in Sweden in 2007, invited Kamchatka to open for them on their US-tour, which gave the guys their first opportunity to prove themselves to the American audience. After 21 successful performances they returned back home to complete “Volume III”, Tobias standing for the technical expertise, and Per Wiberg adding his magic, this time both with beautiful keyboards,and magnificent artwork. It was mastered by Johan Eckerblad at Mintelligence Studios and released on Swedish label Superpuma Records
at the beginning of March, 2009.
In November 2009 Kamchatka were once again invited by Clutch to open for them, this time on a month long tour of 23 gigs throughout western Europe.
2010 Kamchatka first and foremost focused on the writing of their fourth album. It was recorded and mixed in their very own Shrimpmonkey Studios, once again mainly with Tobias behind the controls, during the winter and spring of 2010/2111, and mastered by Johan Eckerblad at Mintelligence Studios. Like on the previous albums, the cover art is the work of Per Wiberg, who also appears on keyboards on one of the songs. The album is released September 5th on GMR.
Outnumbered
Kamchatka Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The voices.
No use
To pretend
I can't hear
Telling me
I Don't
Deserve this.
They rape my thoughts
And rob me of my self-esteem
Until they alone rule
Over whatever is left
Of me.
If I were
To end myself,
Will they
Linger
With me in
The after-life?
Is it a risk
Worth taking?
They rape my thoughts
And rob me of my self-esteem
Until they alone rule
Over whatever is left
Of me.
The song "Outnumbered" by Kamchatka explores the experience of facing intrusive and self-deprecating thoughts that can chip away at one's sense of self-worth. The opening lines, "Here they come, the voices / No use to pretend I can't hear," convey a sense of resignation to the singer's predicament. The voices represent a inner critic or a manifestation of anxiety that continues to hound the singer despite their attempts to ignore or reject it.
The second stanza continues this theme of the voices robbing the singer of their self-esteem. The use of the word "rape" is especially powerful, as it suggests a forceful violation of the singer's mind and autonomy. The idea that the voices alone will rule over whatever is left of the singer implies a sense of helplessness and despair.
The final stanza takes a darker turn, as the singer contemplates suicide as a potential solution to their predicament. The question of whether the voices will "linger with me in the after-life" speaks to a fear of the unknown and the possibility that the voices will continue to torment the singer even after death. The final line, "Is it a risk worth taking?", hints at the singer's ambivalence towards suicide as a final escape from their suffering.
Line by Line Meaning
Here they come,
The negative thoughts and self-doubt are approaching.
The voices.
These are the internal voices that speak negativity.
No use
It's pointless to try and ignore them.
To pretend
Trying to pretend like they're not there won't work.
I can't hear
Even if I try to block them out, I can still hear them.
Telling me
These voices are telling me negative things about myself.
I Don't
I don't deserve these negative thoughts.
Deserve this.
I don't deserve to be constantly put down and criticized by my own thoughts.
They rape my thoughts
The negative thoughts consume and take over my mind.
And rob me of my self-esteem
They strip away any positive self-image I may have and leave me feeling low.
Until they alone rule
The negative thoughts become the only thing in control.
Over whatever is left
All that's left of me is the part that is controlled by the negativity.
Of me.
I'm left feeling helpless and powerless against the negative thoughts.
If I were
If I were to succumb to these thoughts and end my life.
To end myself,
To take my own life and end the pain.
Will they
Will these negative thoughts still linger after death?
Linger
Stay with me even after death.
With me in
Follow me into the afterlife.
The after-life?
The place where the soul goes after death.
Is it a risk
Is the chance of the negative thoughts following me worth taking my own life?
Worth taking?
Is ending my own life worth the risk of the negative thoughts still being with me even after death?
Contributed by Alex N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Olivier Korver
Amazing stuff. I cannot believe that an indy band with such talent hasn't had a worldwide breakthrough yet. Combine Chris Cornell, Jimi Hendrix, 60 / 70s blues with stoner rock, and you have yourself the above winning combination.
dieerde1989
this is absolutely Stevie Ray Vaughn- Style! great!
Steve W
Very nice. I hear some SRV influence on his playing.
StringRamblerBale
Me likes...tnx