Artist: Avatarium
Title: Avatarium
Genre: Doom Metal
Release Date: 1st November 2013
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Album Review
AVATARIUM were founded in 2013 by, among others, Leif Edling from CANDLEMASS. The band also features members of bands like TIAMAT and JUPITER SOCIETY. AVATARIUM plays a mixture of Doom Metal and Hard Rock, with fantasizing and fanciful lyrics. After an EP, which also featured a cover version of BLACK SABBATH’s ‘War Pigs’, the first full length record was released in November 2013.
The opener ‘Moonhorse’ provides an outlook for the following 49 minutes - slow, heavy Doom Metal with remarkable riffing and demanding, diversified song structures. On top, singer Jennie-Ann Smith adds dominant yet softly-sung vocals, which add a dreamy and atmospheric layer to the music. Those become even more important and show a lot of range in volume and pitch range in ‘Pandoras Egg’. This song is calmer and also includes some very melodic guitar solos. The following title track ‘Avatarium’ alters between a very dominant and powerful chorus with driving guitar lines and slower, darker parts. The second half of the song is mostly marked by instrumental passages. ‘Boneflower’ diffuses a more psychedelic and occult atmosphere and is in general a faster track with unusual turns and unexpected changes in speed.
‘Bird Of Prey’, in contrast, proves to be a rather moody track. ‘Tides Of Telepathy’ includes a lot of experimental and unusual instrumentations, which help to create a rather dark and haunted vibe. The last track, ‘Lady In The Lamp’ turns out to be a relatively calm but nevertheless epic song, which invites the listener to get dreamy and lost in the beautiful arrangement. To conclude, ‘Avatarium’ is a strong debut, which does not reinvent the wheel of Doom Metal but includes well-produced songs with interesting ideas and a very special, beautiful atmosphere.
Tracklist
01. Moonhorse
02. Pandoras Egg
03. Avatarium
04. Boneflower
05. Bird Of Prey
06. Tides Of Telepathy
07. Lady In The Lamp
Line-up
Jennie-Ann Smith – Vocals
Marcus Jidell – Guitars
Leif Edling – Bass
Lars Sköld – Drums
Carl Westholm – Keyboard
Website
http://avatariumofficial.se/ / https://www.facebook.com/avatariumofficial
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 8
Extras: -
Total: 8 / 10
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