Avatar is a Swedish
heavy metal band, formed in
Gothenburg in 2001. The band has released eight studio albums, the most recent being ''
Hunter Gatherer
A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle (sociology), lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants bu ...
'' in 2020. The band has had some success on US rock radio, notably with their song "
New Land", which peaked at number 20 on the ''
Billboard''
Mainstream Rock Songs
Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...
chart in May 2017.
History
Formation and early releases (2001−2010)
The band was formed in 2001 by drummer John Alfredsson and guitarist Jonas Jarlsby, who at the time were in separate bands. After several lineup changes, the band released two four-song EP demos in 2004: Personal Observations released on 18 January 2004 and 4 Reasons to Die on 19 November 2004. Avatar's first studio album, ''Thoughts of No Tomorrow'', was released on 25 January 2006 and peaked at #47 on the Sweden Albums Top 60. The band completed several European tours as a supporting act for
Impaled Nazarene,
Evergrey
Evergrey is a Swedish progressive metal band from Gothenburg.
History
Evergrey was formed in 1995 in Gothenburg, Sweden as a progressive power metal band, in contrast to the melodic death metal that Gothenburg is known for. Since then, the ban ...
, and
In Flames.
![Avatar (Swedish band) logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Avatar_%28Swedish_band%29_logo.png)
Avatar's second album, ''
Schlacht'', was released on 24 October 2007, reaching spot 27 on the Swedish album chart.
Björn Gelotte
Björn Gelotte (born 27 August 1975) is a Swedish musician and songwriter, best known as the lead guitarist for heavy metal band In Flames. He originally joined the band as the drummer in 1995, and continued in this position during ''The Jeste ...
from In Flames contributed a
guitar solo on the track "Letters from Neverend". The subsequent set of tours saw them perform at the 2008
Sweden Rock Festival as well as shows in support of
Obituary (January–February 2008), and
Hardcore Superstar (October–November 2009).
The band's third album, the self-titled ''
Avatar
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...
'', was released in Sweden in November 2009 and reached the 36th position on the national album chart. In January 2010 the music video for the song "Queen of Blades" was released on the band's website. Around that time, the band signed with
Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainme ...
for the German and Swiss release of their latest album on 26 March 2010. In April of the same year a deal was signed with the Japanese label Art Union, for a 19 May launch of the album. They then launched into an ambitious touring schedule appearing at the 2010
Storsjöyran, and also with
Warrior Soul
Warrior Soul is an American rock band, formed by lead singer and producer Kory Clarke. Clarke started the band on a bet from a promoter at New York City's Pyramid Club, after a solo performance art show called "Kory Clarke/Warrior Soul". Clar ...
(March–April 2010),
Dark Tranquillity (October–November 2010), and
Helloween
Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. Its first lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, bassist Markus Grosskopf, guitarist Michael Wei ...
(December 2010 – January 2011).
''Black Waltz'' and ''Hail the Apocalypse'' (2011−2015)
![20140808--avatar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/20140808--avatar.jpg)
In December 2011 guitarist Simon Andersson left the band, being replaced by Tim Öhrström. On 25 January 2012 the album ''
Black Waltz'' was released in Europe. It reached position 25 on the album list in Avatar's native Sweden. The album was released in the US on 14 February. ''Black Waltz'' marks the first appearance of the "Clown" face paint now worn regularly by Eckerström. To support the American release of ''Black Waltz'', Avatar embarked on its first ever U.S. tour alongside
Lacuna Coil and
Sevendust
Sevendust is an American rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vince Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and rhythm guitarist John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon and lead guitarist Clint Lo ...
in February 2013.
In August 2013, after the wife of
Device and
Disturbed vocalist
David Draiman
David Michael Draiman ( he, דוד מיכאל דריימן; born March 13, 1973) is an American singer and songwriter. Noted for his distorted, operatic, baritone voice and percussive singing style, he is best known as the lead vocalist of the ...
gave birth and Draiman opted to bow out of his tour schedule, Avatar was picked by
Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold (abbreviated as A7X) is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Zacky Vengeance ...
to replace Device and continue to tour with them and
Five Finger Death Punch
Five Finger Death Punch, also abbreviated as 5FDP or FFDP, is an American heavy metal band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2005. The band originally consisted of vocalist and keyboardist Ivan Moody, rhythm guitarist Zoltan Bathory, lead g ...
. The following fall, the band spent a month in Thailand recording for a new album, planned for release in March 2014.
On 11 March 2014 it was announced that Avatar's fifth album would be titled ''
Hail the Apocalypse'' and was released 13 May 2014 via eOne Music. The album's first single, the title track, was released 17 March 2014 and was accompanied by a video. The new album is produced by Tobias Lindell and mixed by Jay Ruston.
Since the release of ''
Hail the Apocalypse'', Avatar has conducted several tours of the U.S. and Europe as both a supporting and headline act, as well as performing at festivals such as
Rock on the Range
Rock on the Range was an annual rock festival that was held at two locations. The first and main location was in Columbus, Ohio, United States at Mapfre Stadium (originally Columbus Crew Stadium; renamed in 2015) from 2007 to 2018, while the ...
2014 and the inaugural Louder Than Life. The music video for 'Vultures Fly' premiered on 26 January 2015 and earned distinction by being voted #1 for five weeks in a row in
Loudwire's Battle Royal video countdown, as well as their 2015 Best Rock Video. Avatar then began a U.S. tour in April 2015 consisting of headline performances, and supporting
Five Finger Death Punch
Five Finger Death Punch, also abbreviated as 5FDP or FFDP, is an American heavy metal band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2005. The band originally consisted of vocalist and keyboardist Ivan Moody, rhythm guitarist Zoltan Bathory, lead g ...
and
Mushroomhead.
On 6 May 2015 it was announced that Avatar would be included in the lineup of Shiprocked 2016. Avatar returned to the U.S. for another headline tour in August–September 2015 with
Gemini Syndrome and First Decree, and in January–February 2016 with
September Mourning
September Mourning is a metal band, which incorporates a transmedia dark culture project created by Emily Lazar and Marc Silvestri. The conceptual project was formed by frontwoman, vocalist, and screamer Emily Lazar in New York in 2009. The co ...
prior to returning to Sweden to complete writing on the follow up to ''Hail The Apocalypse''.
Sylvia Massy was announced as producer of that album, which was then recorded in three studios across Europe. Towards the end of 2015, it was announced Avatar would be scheduled to appear at several festivals in 2016, to include Rock on the Range and
Carolina Rebellion
Carolina Rebellion was a rock festival that took place annually in North Carolina. It was produced by AEG Live and Danny Wimmer Presents. The inaugural festival took place at the Metrolina Expo in Charlotte, North Carolina. The second year of ...
.
''Feathers & Flesh'' (2016−2017)
After several tours supporting 2014's ''
Hail the Apocalypse'', Avatar entered the studio in December 2015 to begin recording a then unnamed follow-up studio album. The band split their time between three European studios — Castle Studios in Rohrsdorf,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, Finnvox Studios in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
and Spinroad Studios in Lindome,
Sweden. Acclaimed producer
Sylvia Massy, noted for her work with
Tool
A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...
and
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...
, praised Avatar as "relentless," noting singer Johannes Eckerström as having "wild energy and charisma." The start of recording sessions also coincided with multiple updates via the band's
Instagram account, chronicling their time in the studio. Once recording finished, Avatar took part in Shiprocked 2016, then toured the southern
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
with
September Mourning
September Mourning is a metal band, which incorporates a transmedia dark culture project created by Emily Lazar and Marc Silvestri. The conceptual project was formed by frontwoman, vocalist, and screamer Emily Lazar in New York in 2009. The co ...
and Saint Diablo. On 30 January 2016 in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, Avatar performed the song "For The Swarm" for the first time, the first original song since the release of their previous album.
![Hellfest2017Avatar 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Hellfest2017Avatar_01.jpg)
On 3 March 2016, Avatar revealed the name of the new album, ''
Feathers & Flesh
''Feathers & Flesh'' is the sixth studio album by the Swedish metal band Avatar, released on 13 May 2016. A concept album, it is the story of an owl who goes to war against an eagle after the eagle threatens to bring the day and end the owl's r ...
'', via their official website, and through social media. A release date of 13 May 2016 was also announced, as well as several pre-ordering merchandise bundles that would be available to order on 17 March 2016. One bundle offers a 60-page, 109-verse poem hardcover book described on the band's Facebook as 'a story too extensive for any booklet'. The first single, "For The Swarm," was released as a reward for those pre-ordering the album on
iTunes. A
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
of this single was also released. Fan reception of the new song and video were high, as evidenced in ''For The Swarm'' being voted #1 in
Loudwire's Battle Royale for the week ending 11 March 2016. On 17 March 2016 the singles, "Regret" and "House of Eternal Hunt" were released to help kick off pre-ordering of merchandise bundles for ''Feathers & Flesh''. A video directed by Johan Carlén was released featuring the two songs playing sequentially as the view pans around a darkened art gallery, with many paintings of birds, primarily owls, mirroring some of the artwork that the band has created for the individual songs on their album. "Regret," as the opening track on the album, is described by the band as “an intense journey through epicness” and, “...by far the most different album-intro we ever written”. The song introduces The Owl, the protagonist of the album as she lays dying, reflecting on her past. "House of Eternal Hunt," described by the band as "the definition of
metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
", starts the tale of The Owl, a "predator ruling the sky" according to Eckerström. The first official single, "The Eagle Has Landed," was released 25 March 2016. As with the previously released singles, this track was an instant gratification reward for pre-ordering ''Feathers & Flesh''. The song introduces The Eagle, "...crashing into the world of his adversary", according to Eckerström. While no new music video was released with this track, the band uploaded the song to its official
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
channel with the same video featured for the release of "Regret" and "House of Eternal Hunt."
On 12 June 2017, Avatar were awarded the Breakthrough Band Award at the
Metal Hammer Golden Gods.
''Avatar Country'' (2017−2020)
![Avatar at Express Live 2018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Avatar_at_Express_Live_2018.jpg)
On 24 October 2017, Avatar released a new single called "A Statue of the King", along with the announcement that they will release their seventh album, ''
Avatar Country'', on 12 January 2018. It was also announced the dates of the new Avatar tour, Called "Avatar Country Tour", which starts in January 2018 in North America and arrives in Europe in March of the same year. On 13 December the song "The King Wants You" was released on
SiriusXM Octane radio, and soon available on digital platforms, being the second single from the album "Avatar Country". The official music video was released on 19 December.
On 12 January 2018, ''Avatar Country'' was released worldwide, available both through streaming services such as
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
, and in physical formats from music stores throughout the world. On 29 October 2018, the band launched a Kickstarter campaign for ''Legend of Avatar Country'' which has been described as "A film featurette based on the album Avatar Country by the band Avatar." The band needed to meet funding of $50,000 and as of 31 October 2018, the band has over $110,000 raised for the film.
''Hunter Gatherer'' and next album (2020−present)
In early December 2019, Avatar announced that they had begun recording their next album at Sphere Studios in Los Angeles. An interview with
Loudwire in January and later a
paywalled video by the band itself revealed that
Slipknot and
Stone Sour frontman
Corey Taylor has a cameo in the song "Secret Door". The same interview also revealed the names of a few other songs on the yet unnamed album: "Colossus", "Child", "Scream Into The Void", and "Silence In The Age Of Apes". Speaking of the tone of the album, Eckerström told Loudwire ''"Avatar Country, we wanted to see if we could do comedy ... It was funny and we wanted to see if we could make something funny ... But it was humorous for us, and now it’s important for us to do something devoid of humor, there is no joking around with this and it pulls us back into reality. It deals more with darkness, sadness, detachment, alienation and the anxiety of thinking of the world at large."'' In a YouTube video and a tweet on 1 May 2020, the band announced the end of the "Avatar Country" era and teased the upcoming album with the question "Will you hunt with us?".
The name "Hunter Gatherer" and the release date of 7 August 2020 were announced through another video on 5 May 2020.
The music video for "Silence in the Age of Apes" was released on 14 May 2020 and was released on streaming platforms the following day.
Two singles entitled "Going Hunting" and "Barren Cloth Mother" were released on August 31 and September 1, 2021, respectively, ahead of the band's Going Hunting tour. At the same time, the band announced their split with their record label eOne and the inception of their own label, Black Waltz Records.
"Going Hunting" was elected by ''
Loudwire'' as the 34th best metal song of 2021.
As of June 2022, Avatar has been working on new material for their ninth studio album, Dance Devil Dance. Three singles from it have been released so far.
Musical style and influences
Avatar has been described as a
heavy metal band, and more specifically as
melodic death metal
Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavine ...
and
groove metal. The band has also been referred to as a "grease-painted
Swedish death/
industrial/
progressive metal
Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...
ensemble". Originally a pure melodic death metal band, Avatar later began to play a different style of music, moving to a more
avant-garde metal style.
Avatar's influences include
In Flames,
Dark Tranquility,
The Haunted,
Marilyn Manson,
Ministry,
Strapping Young Lad
Strapping Young Lad was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin Townsend in Vancouver in 1994. The band started as a one-man studio project; Townsend played most of the instruments on the 1995 debut album, '' Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing ...
,
Devin Townsend
Devin Garrett Townsend (born May 5, 1972) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He founded extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and was its primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from 1994 to 2007. He has also ...
,
ABBA
ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...
,
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
,
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or some ...
,
Rammstein
Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, ...
,
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
,
Helloween
Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. Its first lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, bassist Markus Grosskopf, guitarist Michael Wei ...
,
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
,
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...
,
Meshuggah
Meshuggah () is a Swedish extreme metal band formed in Umeå in 1985. Originally, the band's name was Metallien. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Jens Kidman, guitarists Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström, drummer To ...
,
Gojira, and
Cryptopsy
Cryptopsy is a Canadian technical death metal band from Montreal, formed in 1988.
History Necrosis (1988–1992)
Necrosis was formed in April 1988 by drummer Mike Atkin, guitarist Steve Thibault and vocalist Dan "Lord Worm" Greening, initially ...
.
Band members
Current members
* Jonas "Kungen" Jarlsby – guitars (2001–present)
* John Alfredsson – drums (2001–present)
* Johannes Eckerström – lead vocals (2002–present), trumpet (2018–present), piano, keyboards (2021–present)
* Henrik Sandelin – bass, backing vocals (2003–present)
* Tim Öhrström – guitars, backing vocals (2011–present)
Former members
* Simon Andersson – guitars (2003–2011)
Discography
Studio albums
Live
EP
Demo
Singles
Music videos
Filmography
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Official website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avatar (Swedish Band)
Musical groups established in 2001
Musical groups from Gothenburg
Groove metal musical groups
Experimental musical groups
Swedish progressive metal musical groups
Avant-garde metal musical groups
Swedish melodic death metal musical groups
2001 establishments in Sweden