AVATAR

The jester looks across his crowd. Only one song into the setlist and he already has this strange mix of heshers, scene kids, rednecks, and old heads gripped tightly in the palm of his hands.

With a joyous grin, the jester bellows to the followers of his particularly loud circus.

“Ladies and gentleman, your hero has returned again,” Johannes Eckerström called out to me and around 1,100 other fans during a sold out show at Lexington’s Manchester Music Hall in 2023.

What followed was one of the best sets I’ve ever seen.

Nearly 2 and a half hours of a colorful metal slurry played to perfection. In style, Avatar is a true hybrid of sound. Bouncing industrial metal riffs lead into the catchy (but still harsh) choruses of melodic death metal. There’s a grandiose - and lovably cheesy - power metal aura seeping through the lyrics and imagery of the band.

Catch any of their shows and you’ll see It’s no wonder Avatar has developed a devoted cult audience through their relentless touring schedule.

The Swedish metal circus was formed in Gothenburg in the early 2000’s. While there have been a few changes in membership over the years, the lineup of guitar players Jonas "Kungen" Jarlsby and Tim Öhrström, bassist Henrik Sandelin, drummer John Alfredsson, and vocalist Eckerström has been going strong for a large part of their career.

The band’s first three albums “Thoughts of No Tomorrow,” “Schlact,” and the self-titled “Avatar” are grim, but still solid, death metal records. The ripping StarCraft love letter Queen of Blades from the self-titled album is a particular stand out from Avatar’s early days.

As much as I like that early material, the band truly came into their own with the release of 2012’s “Black Waltz.”

It was here that Eckerström began putting on his signature clown makeup and the band adapted to the current sound. The record opens with the pummeling Let Us Die. Several live staples like Paint Me Red, Let it Burn, and the iconic Smells Like a Freak Show also feature on “Black Waltz.”

With bone-crushing riffs and the kind of melody that makes you wanna dance and sing, the album put Avatar on a very unique trajectory.

2014 saw the release of “Hail the Apocalypse.” An album equal parts bombastic and epic. The title-track is arguably the band’s most famous song. Chainsaw like guitar riffs meet a jumping rhythm section as Eckerström snarls out a celebratory hymn about the end of the world.

“Just wrap it up in plastic, isn’t killing things fantastic? Fuck your greed, come on and put on your war paint,” the singer belts out at a rap like pace.

Other stand outs on “Hail the Apocalypse” include the darkly emotional Bloody Angel and Tower. The latter is a heart breaking ballad about obsession that often sees Eckerström roll out a piano for in live performances.

Since that beloved 2014 album, Avatar has been steadily rising along the charts thanks to rigorous touring and a healthy stream of unique releases.

2016’s “Feathers & Flesh” is my personal favorite Avatar record. It’s a truly epic concept album that tells the story of a forest and its inhabitants going to war. When the Snow Lies Red is a genuine masterpiece that is a strong contender for my favorite song of the 2010’s.

2018’s “Avatar Country” is a comedic love letter to power metal. A polarizing record, it saw the band create a metal themed fantasy land.

Avatar’s zaniest record was followed by its darkest. 2020’s “Hunter Gatherer” is a heavy, sci-fi tinged, album about humanity’s darkest impulses.

I became a fan of the band with the release of their most recent album. 2023’s “Dance Devil Dance” is exactly what it sounds like. Dance metal. The title-track and songs like Gotta Wanna Riot have a manic and contagious energy. I may or may not have cut a little rug in my apartment to them. “Dance Devil Dance” also gave Avatar their biggest mainstream hit with The Dirt I’m Buried In, a ballad with some of the band’s sharpest lyrics.

Last week, it was announced that Avatar will be headlining an arena show for the very first time. It’s a very well deserved milestone for a band that’s been putting in the work for two decades now.

All of that to say, you should really be listening to Avatar. Their work is as diverse as it is pleasing. And their live shows are truly some of the best in the genre. Where else can you see tight playing matched with truly cartoonish spectacle? The first time I saw them, Eckerström disappeared from the stage, only to reemerge in the sound booth to play a trombone solo.

These dudes are like Looney Tunes characters, and I mean that as a true compliment.

Metal is a sometimes embarrassingly self-serious genre. That’s part of the reason why I love it so much. That’s also why a band like Avatar has resonated so much with me. They don’t take themselves seriously, but that doesn’t stop them from putting out amazing music.

So please. Give them a listen. You might just get to hold the hallowed position of being a fan of something before it exploded in popularity.