Avatar is Swedish metal band formed in 2001, and they are weird. I like weird. Normally I stay away from bands that wear black metal makeup and that is probably why I never bothered to give Avatar a listen until sometime in 2016 when I stumbled upon the song The Eagle Has Landed. I was hooked immediately. These guys sounded different than anything else and obviously did not subscribe to the theory that metal bands have to sound like this or that...... they do what they want..... and they want to be weird.
Vocalist Johannes Eckerström does not have the most powerful or polished voice but that is why I like it so much. Anything that that sounds too perfect seems to lose feeling. Johannes voice is versatile and unique and fits the heavy but melodic music perfectly.
I started to listen to some of the other tracks on the Feathers and Flesh album and another song jumped out as one of my early favorites from this band. New Land has wonderful dynamics going soft to loud and back. This song makes me feel things! lol. Another early favorite was the following track, Tooth Beak and Claw. It has all the things I love about Avatar. It's unique, original, heavy, and...... kinda weird. (I will try to make this the last time I use 'weird' in this post) 😉. I mean, who does false cord vocals over jazzy hand claps? I'll tell you who.... this wonderful, weird band named Avatar. DAMMIT, I already broke my no weird rule.
From Wikipedia under Musical style and influences......
Avatar has been described as melodic death metal,[62] alternative metal[63] and groove metal,[64] and has also been referred to as a "grease-painted Swedish death/industrial/progressive metal ensemble".[65]
So, yeah... basically what I said... unique, original, heavy, and that word that shall not be typed. LOL
I ended up liking every track on Feathers and Flesh in some fashion and started to explore their discography. It became clear right away that Feathers and Flesh was a bit of a style change from previous albums and was much more melodic. Going back through Hail The Apocalypse, Black Waltz, and the self-titled albums it was evident that there was a progression from more traditional song structures to more experimental. Always interesting, however!
From self-titled Avatar:
Shattered Wings - almost Avenged Sevenfold vibes on this one. Johannes sounds almost unrecognizable from more recent albums. Me still likey, though!
Reload - in my Avatar top five all time songs. Groove metal, for sure. 💙💚💛💜
From Black Waltz:
Ready for the Ride - things start getting really interesting on this album. Non-standard tones on guitars and super cool rhythmic patterns.
Let It Burn - Some clean guitar in parts. Almost a twangy feel in the intro. The twang doesn't last long... haha! Video is a live performance.
Smells Like a Freakshow - Great song. Great driving beat. Great dynamics.
From Hail the Apocalypse:
Hail the Apocalypse - The main riff in this song is one of those that pops into my head out of nowhere and I am not satisfied until I listen to the song. Unique and original.
Death of Sound - I love how they take some of the distortion off of the super fast picking on the guitars. It really lets you hear the speed and feels even heavier than if they went with full on metal distortion. Have I said yet that I love this band?
Vultures Fly - great groove on this one. I think I hear a wood block being hit at times? WTF? Awesome!
Bloody Angel - the only Avatar song that you could mention the word "ballad" with. Not really, though. Plus.... its about a bloody angel.
Puppet Show - THE WEIRDNESS HAS LANDED! lol. YES!
Since Feathers and Flesh in 2016, Avatar has released three additional albums and I've been excited for the release of each. Avatar Country, released in 2018, was a concept album dealing with the idea of guitarist Jonas "Kungen" Jarlsby being a king... definitely tongue in cheekyness, but is my least favorite offering from them... at least at this point. There are still a couple tracks that I really like. The King Wants You is catchy and has a bouncy guitar riff and great clean vocals from Johannes and a driving beat from John Alfredsson.
In August of 2020 Avatar released Hunter Gatherer. There is so much going on in the songs on this album that, four years later, I am still getting familiar with it. Speaking of the tone of the album, Johannes Eckerström told Loudwire:
The tracks on Hunter Gatherer definitely jive with the description of the tone by Johannes. My favorite track from this album, and one of my most favoritest of their entire catalog is A Secret Door. Like New Land, this song makes me feel things! The person whistling in the song is Corey Taylor from Slipknot/Stone Sour. Random trivia nugget completed. Colossus has a great groove and Wormhole seems to be about trying to find a wormhole in space to go back in time to save someone.... musically and lyrically pretty intense. Plus, its about wormholes... who doesn't love metal songs about cosmology?!
Avatar's most recent album, Dance Devil Dance, was released February 2023. As with Hunter Gatherer, I am still getting familiar with many of the songs but I already love several tracks. The overall feel of this one seems to me to be a mix of some of their older albums like Black Waltz and Hail the Apocalypse. Heavy stuff, bruh! HAHA. The standout track for me is The Dirt I'm Buried In. " I look up to the sky but all I see is the dirt I'm buried in." Come on, man, great line! There is also Chimp Mosh Pit which I think may be about people who have chimps as pets and the chimp decides one day to rip their "caretaker's" face off.... which almost has a jolly feel-good feeling musically... remember now, W E I R D. But I love it! Looking thru the other tracks on Dance Devil Dance I am realizing I like nearly every song on this one... huh... nice! See, that's why I wanted to start doing this blog.... uncovering new perspectives and appreciations for stuff I thought I already knew. 😁😎💗
Valley of Disease - "I am the problem. I tried to warn you, didn't I? You are in danger. Run.... away from me."
On the Beach - intense growled verses give way to an almost poppy sounding chorus. I love that sh$t! LOL. Chefs kiss to the guitar solos as well.
Gotta Wanna Riot - love this one. Bop badda baddap bop bop badaaaaaaaaaa!
Clouds Dipped In Chrome - that is a trippy title, man. Heavy track. The breakdown / bridge at 2:00 minutes is the bomb!
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| No, I'm not going to buy the $17 bottle of hot sauce...... but it tracks that this band likes spicy vittles!!!! |
To sum up.... I love these metal Swedes!
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