Avatarium
Avatarium
Nuclear Blast
2013
It irks me unbelievably, this new “trend” of fashionable “satanic” 70s band. Big companies, have smelled big bucks, and whereas, the old motto in the mouths of “opinion-shaping” journalists who change their opinions and tastes more often than they change shirts (good for them – if they don’t use deodorants, unlike most metal heads – something that you may find out first hand if you visit a “true metal live show and people decide to take of their shirts” LOL) was that this is 201X and we can’t be stuck in the past all by the sudden all these guys, suck @$$, when all these – out of nowhere bands appear, recycling or simply stealing riffs from Sabbath or whoever, with average vocalists murming lines of “faux” evil spells… often in lo fi... it’s either rock n roll/stoner of faux doom…
Take the Blues Pills, the Oath, who have been causing catching some way undue attention lately, being way too low fi, and boring, but somehow landing a cool, support slot, having only formed last year and released like a couple of songs? How are those things really possible? What sort of following could they have – “naturally” gained? Those bands are “installed” really... or decided to be pushed, based, on looks and other factors... those things do not necessitate their success, but one can’t really tell me that for instance The Oath are the most original band they’ve ever heard or I’ll have to just stick my finger down my throat to induce myself to vomit.
So yeah, among the also runs of this little “preferably” female fronted, preferably, Satan themed, 70s influenced rock revival movement, as of late would be Avatarium, a band put together by none-other than Leif Edling, the bassist/leader of Candlemass/Krux (also Abstract Algebra and countless others) along with Carl Westholm on keyboards who has followed him on most of those endeavors, Marcus Jidell on guitars that’s used to be a member of Evergrey, if am not mistaken and has helped out Leif in the past, as well as been in a couple of notable bands in the past, Lars Skold behind the drum-kit, best known for his time with Tiamat, I suppose to the world and introducing this lady Jennie-Ann Smith on vocals...
Yeah, dear old Leif, promised never to let the ghost of Candlemass, rise from the grave, a promise that we’ll see if he’ll be good to hold true, although all of us deep inside, really hope somewhere deep inside he might actually break… but he never said anything about “her ghost in the fog...”
Right... Avatarium is sick, but genuine enough band, that manages to mesh a lot of influences together and sounds original enough without, having to really opt for trying to sell itself by utilizing some easy tricks. Lief’s ability and experience allow him to steer away from sugary melodies but he manages to imbue the record with lots of tunemanship. Along with Jidell, the riffs they lay down are titanic in scope and contrast greatly with JAS’s mystical delivery. Ah Ms. Jen, has this very distinct, clear yet powerful voice that’s not exactly your Stevie Nicks, but has that “haunting”, witching, “enchanting” quality about it... in a lot of way, this whole Avatarium album reminded me of a re-imagined, re-tooled, different, Lake of Tears (mid period) from when they had loads of female vocals, but overtly more dramatic and gloomy and covered in Leif’s riffola, haha! Yeah, if Candlemass had an illegitimate child with Lake of Tears and hired a female singer to front it… this could as well be it…
And, with all its idiosyncrasies and expected, plodding, hypnotic rhythms, that hardly ever rise above midrift, Avatarium is peculiarly exhilarating somehow.
From the opening salvo of “Moonhorse” one can’t be anything, but impressed, with it’s crazy daydream fantasies of a youth probably on a “trip” of some sort, traversing effortlessly between soft acoustic “meadows” and crushing “mountainous” riffs that proudly run through it... with Jay-Ann’s voice hauntingly blowing like a gust of deadly wind from atop.
“Pandora’s Egg” delves deeper into despair and doom with a riff that’s darker than death and would have easily, stood the test in a Candlemass tune. I would not be surprised if this song or parts of it were actually meant to be used for “C”.
And one thought that things could not get any “bleaker” Leaf and co, keep some basic riffs and the same atmosphere from the previous track and just go 1 darker, down to the depths of Tartarus, in Avatarium. Led by an even heavier main riff, the title track speaks of a forbidden place of “death, loneliness and who knows what else” it sounds like some sort of doom-sanctuary… at any rate... the song is as black as it can be and kicks some serious ass!
“Boneflower” actually is a lot more cheerful, almost – “happy/hippy” compared to the previous outings but none the less in a “deadly” way. Take a whiff and join the dance macabre and the dreamless sleep everlasting... he he he.
“Bird of Prey” manages to strike a balance I suppose, truly being a mid-tempo tune, but a hard hitting one, with some nice leads and a sense of calamity, impending doom and finally despair that is unavoidable…
“Tides of Telepathy” – God knows if this is a homage to BOC – by using a lot of words they’d use... who knows but it’s once again a slow and relentless number that really feels cold and heartless and completely ensnaring and mesmerizing… just as it bloody well should…
“Lady in the Lamp” is the parting gaze, before Avatarium, bows out and enters the realm of memories but in doing so, it makes the last impression one to last, with its verses being achingly beautifully – singing about the flames, in a necromancer’s lamp, and lamenting their impoverishment…
While the album is not entirely “easy”, it’s not one that requires the greatest effort to fathom and appreciate and in contrast to those other “female fronted” rock/occult themed albums, this one genuinely rocks. While good old Leif had me worried there, that he was going down the “easy” beaten path and maybe he “is” he just decided, to wear his own crown of thorns and lament along the way with this new siren that he met while wondering through the woods. How delightful.... midnight has fallen in paradise, the birds will sing no more the sun won't rise, but Jennie Ann Smith will sing of sin...
Take the Blues Pills, the Oath, who have been causing catching some way undue attention lately, being way too low fi, and boring, but somehow landing a cool, support slot, having only formed last year and released like a couple of songs? How are those things really possible? What sort of following could they have – “naturally” gained? Those bands are “installed” really... or decided to be pushed, based, on looks and other factors... those things do not necessitate their success, but one can’t really tell me that for instance The Oath are the most original band they’ve ever heard or I’ll have to just stick my finger down my throat to induce myself to vomit.
So yeah, among the also runs of this little “preferably” female fronted, preferably, Satan themed, 70s influenced rock revival movement, as of late would be Avatarium, a band put together by none-other than Leif Edling, the bassist/leader of Candlemass/Krux (also Abstract Algebra and countless others) along with Carl Westholm on keyboards who has followed him on most of those endeavors, Marcus Jidell on guitars that’s used to be a member of Evergrey, if am not mistaken and has helped out Leif in the past, as well as been in a couple of notable bands in the past, Lars Skold behind the drum-kit, best known for his time with Tiamat, I suppose to the world and introducing this lady Jennie-Ann Smith on vocals...
Yeah, dear old Leif, promised never to let the ghost of Candlemass, rise from the grave, a promise that we’ll see if he’ll be good to hold true, although all of us deep inside, really hope somewhere deep inside he might actually break… but he never said anything about “her ghost in the fog...”
Right... Avatarium is sick, but genuine enough band, that manages to mesh a lot of influences together and sounds original enough without, having to really opt for trying to sell itself by utilizing some easy tricks. Lief’s ability and experience allow him to steer away from sugary melodies but he manages to imbue the record with lots of tunemanship. Along with Jidell, the riffs they lay down are titanic in scope and contrast greatly with JAS’s mystical delivery. Ah Ms. Jen, has this very distinct, clear yet powerful voice that’s not exactly your Stevie Nicks, but has that “haunting”, witching, “enchanting” quality about it... in a lot of way, this whole Avatarium album reminded me of a re-imagined, re-tooled, different, Lake of Tears (mid period) from when they had loads of female vocals, but overtly more dramatic and gloomy and covered in Leif’s riffola, haha! Yeah, if Candlemass had an illegitimate child with Lake of Tears and hired a female singer to front it… this could as well be it…
And, with all its idiosyncrasies and expected, plodding, hypnotic rhythms, that hardly ever rise above midrift, Avatarium is peculiarly exhilarating somehow.
From the opening salvo of “Moonhorse” one can’t be anything, but impressed, with it’s crazy daydream fantasies of a youth probably on a “trip” of some sort, traversing effortlessly between soft acoustic “meadows” and crushing “mountainous” riffs that proudly run through it... with Jay-Ann’s voice hauntingly blowing like a gust of deadly wind from atop.
“Pandora’s Egg” delves deeper into despair and doom with a riff that’s darker than death and would have easily, stood the test in a Candlemass tune. I would not be surprised if this song or parts of it were actually meant to be used for “C”.
And one thought that things could not get any “bleaker” Leaf and co, keep some basic riffs and the same atmosphere from the previous track and just go 1 darker, down to the depths of Tartarus, in Avatarium. Led by an even heavier main riff, the title track speaks of a forbidden place of “death, loneliness and who knows what else” it sounds like some sort of doom-sanctuary… at any rate... the song is as black as it can be and kicks some serious ass!
“Boneflower” actually is a lot more cheerful, almost – “happy/hippy” compared to the previous outings but none the less in a “deadly” way. Take a whiff and join the dance macabre and the dreamless sleep everlasting... he he he.
“Bird of Prey” manages to strike a balance I suppose, truly being a mid-tempo tune, but a hard hitting one, with some nice leads and a sense of calamity, impending doom and finally despair that is unavoidable…
“Tides of Telepathy” – God knows if this is a homage to BOC – by using a lot of words they’d use... who knows but it’s once again a slow and relentless number that really feels cold and heartless and completely ensnaring and mesmerizing… just as it bloody well should…
“Lady in the Lamp” is the parting gaze, before Avatarium, bows out and enters the realm of memories but in doing so, it makes the last impression one to last, with its verses being achingly beautifully – singing about the flames, in a necromancer’s lamp, and lamenting their impoverishment…
While the album is not entirely “easy”, it’s not one that requires the greatest effort to fathom and appreciate and in contrast to those other “female fronted” rock/occult themed albums, this one genuinely rocks. While good old Leif had me worried there, that he was going down the “easy” beaten path and maybe he “is” he just decided, to wear his own crown of thorns and lament along the way with this new siren that he met while wondering through the woods. How delightful.... midnight has fallen in paradise, the birds will sing no more the sun won't rise, but Jennie Ann Smith will sing of sin...