Artist: Avatar
Title: Hunter Gatherer
Genre: Metal
Release Date: 7th August 2020
Label: eOne Music
Album Review
At the beginning of this year AVATAR announced the end of their theatrical and colourful world ‘Avatar Country’, to present with their eighth album a dystopia of a flashy and dark reality. With ‘Hunter Gatherer’ the Swedish quintet shows a rougher and harder aspect of their personality, which Johannes Eckerström, the singer of the band, describes as more authentic. What is certain is that the 10 tracks, which this time are not part of a concept album, follow the development of the human being and his decisions in the face of technology and artificial intelligence. Welcome aboard the roller coaster of emotions!
Three songs have already been released: ‘Colossus’, ‘God of Sick Dreams’ and ‘Silence in the Age of Apes’. And already with these songs the fans realized that the new album will not resemble its predecessor in any way. The fact alone that these three pre-releases offer the listener more Death Metal than the usual Heavy Metal.
‘Hunter Gatherer’ draws its sincere and deep atmosphere from its production. Everything starts with the first jerky riffs of ‘Silence In The Age Of Apes’ and its pounding rhythms. The lead is a very strong title with Death Metal influences thanks to the aggressive growls of Johannes Eckerström. The electro effects of the outro perfectly connect to the already celebrated single ‘Colossus’. The very melodic ‘A Secret Door’ is a small, almost poetic break in the middle of a rather dark work. ‘God of Sick Dreams’ is technically wild, while ‘Scream Until You Wake’ is a prime example of the alliance of extremes: sometimes quiet with Johannes’ clear vocals, sometimes more violent with his screams and heavy guitar riffs. A real pearl of ‘Hunter Gatherer’ lies in the gently aggressive track ‘Child’. Dark lyrics, intoxicating melodies, sharp riffs and a double atmosphere between sharp passages and acoustic moments full of melancholy.
AVATAR reveals all its power and creativity, ‘Justice’ preserves all this potential by adding some vocal flights and heavy solos, while ‘Gun’ leads us into a much sorrowful universe. Truly a surprise. A piece consisting of a clear and soft voice of Johannes with piano accompaniment. A serenity that we enjoy before we set foot again in a brutal world with the next title ‘When All But Force Has Failed’. This one is energetic and dissonant, maybe a bit old-fashioned but very efficient. It’s the perfect transition to the final title ‘Wormhole’. The latter twists and turns in a heavy and disturbing way, with some melodies, especially with a strong guitar solo. The listener arrives at the end of the album with the feeling that it was a bit short, although it consists of forty-five minutes with ten tracks.
It’s hard to look beyond Avatar Country after such success. But the album is no less fresh and stimulating, as it reveals a band that is more violent, serious and more inclined towards death/heavy metal than humorous old school heavy metal. ‘Hunter Gatherer’ gives its listeners an emotional boost at the highest level thanks to compositions of undeniable quality. Although fans of ‘Avatar Country’ may be insecure about this new album, it is clear that AVATAR will attract new fans. And these, whether die-hard fans or newcomers, will not be able to wait to hear these songs live. Less pomp, more realism, the new kingdom of AVATAR is sincere and raw. It is waiting for you.
Tracklist
01. Silence in the Age of Apes
02. Colossus
03. A Secret Door
04. God of Sick Dreams
05. Scream Until You Wake
06. Child
07. Justice
08. Gun
09. When All but Force Has Failed
10. Wormhole
Line-up
Jonas “Kungen” Jarlsby - guitars
John Alfredsson - drums
Johannes Eckerström - lead vocals
Henrik Sandelin - bass, backing vocals
Tim Öhrström - guitars, backing vocals
Website
www.avatarmetal.com
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 9
Sound: 8
Total: 8.5 / 10
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