Avatar Live Stream, Photo: Johan Carlén

Live Review: Avatar – Age of Dreams

The last 12 months have been rough for the music industry as a whole and the complete absence of live shows has taken its toll on a lot of music fans. Many bands have offered live stream shows in an attempt to get the buzz going again for concert lovers. Today I am thankful that I can experience the first of FOUR live shows by the mighty Avatar!

Avatar released their latest album Hunter Gatherer back in August 2020. Unfortunately, that has meant that they have been unable to tour the album as they usually would. Excitingly for fans, the band announced they would be playing the album live in full on the stream along with the hits the fans love to rock out to.

Before the stream started, we were treated to a compilation of fans shouting the band’s name from around the world. Including your average metal fans, kids, a guy in a Donald duck mask, and a teddy bear! A real wholesome way to start the stream.

Kicking the show off with a cinematic of the band finding a hologram of Johannes before kicking off the show with ‘Silence In The Age Of Apes‘ from the band’s newest album Hunter Gatherer. The usual Avatar circus light was featured predominantly but is accompanied by an impressive light display.

We were then sent to a room with 3 LED screens for ‘Colossus‘. Johannes changed into his more iconic look of a circus host. The band have taken the time to make sure the set sounds as good as possible as the blend of instruments is levelled perfectly.

Moving on into ‘A Secret Door‘, the band walked into the frame with the backdrop being multiple doors surrounding the band. The use of multiple drum kits already makes for unique viewing. This allowed the mix to be perfect between songs with subtle changes in tuning to match how the songs were intended to sound. The band ended the song by walking through separate doors.

Emerging from the doors guided by a white glistening light, the band blasted into ‘God Of Sick Dreams.‘ Johannes returned to a look more reminiscent of early Avatar. An ambush of bright strobing white light in time with the drumming of the song made for an awesome display for viewers to enjoy. A great way to add a more “holy” aspect to the song.

Johannes was left by himself, he started questioning if he’s awake before screaming “I have to wake up” que ‘Scream Until You Wake‘! The song seemed to be a fan favourite judging by the virtual crowd’s reaction to the opening of the song. Suddenly the pit is open and the horns are raised. Avatar have found their element and are giving it everything they have. It was incredible to see. The song ended and the camera paned upwards.

The band returned to the first stage set featuring the Avatar circus light. Accompanied by an impressive display of spotlights, the band sounded incredible on this new song. Johannes’s stage presence remains unmatched throughout the song. From him cowering in a ball to sprawling out over the floor in a psychotic nature. We also were treated to a nice duel guitar outro with both guitarists standing alone in the spotlight playing quite subtle notes before the band gets loud and leads into the next song straight away.

‘Justice‘ is a song not for the faint of heart. Starting with an explosion of noise and aggression, the band wasted little time to ease you into this new song. Yet again Johannes sounds incredible switching between his deepest screams to his higher clean vocals with ease. The virtual crowd chat absolutely loved this song with the chat at some points being flooded with fans virtually singing the lyrics back to the band in unison. Many also asking for a virtual circle pit.

Johannes walked off into a new stage. He sat down on a grand piano and introduced the band and welcomed everyone to their ‘dreams’. A first for Avatar as we saw him start playing the piano for the song ‘Gun‘. A much more subtle and soothing sound from what you’d expect from an Avatar show. It was a nice thing to see the band be able to play these types of songs in a “live” setting. All the stage changes made for a very unique viewing experience unlike any I have seen before this. The chat lit their Virtual lighters and started swaying them in time with the music. An awesome thing to see that fans of metal are here to make the best of the situation we find ourselves in.

The band start playing ‘When All But Force Has Failed‘ without Johannes on stage before he burst as if out of nowhere with a bellowing scream. The dual guitar solo in this song sounded remarkable. The virtual crowd ate this song up.

The band walked off and left us with Henrik manhandling his bass to make an almost demonic sound before he made his way over to the LED screen stage so the band could start the final song of the album. ‘Wormhole‘! The way the guitar and bass merged in this song is something I wish I could witness in person. The low ends of both created a fascinating sound. Almost DOOM ESC. Hearing the entirety of the new album in full for the first time on this stream has made me and the virtual crowd wish we were able to hear these new songs at a show soon.

Following the end of the full album playthrough, we were greeted to a 2-minute interval.

Johannes poked his head through a curtain grinning before walking through, dressed head to toe in his Circus host get up. He sat down on the piano again and welcomed us back. He started to play a piano rendition of The Eagle Has Landed and the virtual crowd absolutely lose it! The band started playing the song as we’d expect as Johannes struts back onto the stage. The entire band appear back in their circus get up just like you’d expect from a show back on the Feathers and Flesh tour cycle. The song sounds fantastic in and the band bring all the energy you’d see at an Avatar concert.

Without warning, we heard the guitar start playing the unmistakable intro of ‘For The Swarm‘. The band find themselves back In front of the classic Avatar circus sign. A blistering assault of riffs and harsh sounding vocals from the band capturing Avatars sound perfectly. The crowd couldn’t get enough of these songs! Horns up and heads banning just like the good old times before COVID-19. For a moment you were able to forget about everything going on and rock out with fellow metalheads.

After that, a brief yet comedic cinematic played showing the king doing odd tasks in his kingdom before we saw him sitting on his throne on stage. With one stroke of the guitar, we were left in no doubt about what song was next. ‘The King Welcomes You To Avatar Country‘. A highly energetic performance in front of the Avatar country flag made for an impressive viewing experience. The band walked off stage leaving the King alone on his throne.

He swiftly got up and walks over to the band. Each one of them bowing for him before he placed his crown onto a silk pillow and started A Statue Of The King! The band dressed in all white attire as if they were performing a show from the Avatar Country tour cycle. Yet again the virtual crowd couldn’t get enough of how great all the songs sounded throughout the night. The band have done a great job of this considering all of the changes throughout the show.

Johannes walked back onto the stage and uttered “Costume change because I’m that famous” and jokes that he “Can’t hear us” because we’re not there. He says he cant wait to see us again because he knows we “like it hot” and that we want to “LET IT BURN” The rest of the band enter shot again dressed as though they were dragged straight from the BLACK WALTZ tour. The LED screens are used to their fullest during this song with “let it burn” spelt out in flames as well as the amazing flame visuals used throughout the song.

Jonas started to play the innocent intro of BLOODY ANGLE and the crowd once again went crazy. The band were right in their element and this song sounded better than it ever has done before. Johannes’ vocals were completely on point throughout the screaming sections and the clean sections without any sorts of breaks or croaks. The rest of the band sounded tight together and the as stated previously the sound engineering had been perfect throughout the entire show.

Johannes stated “we are near the end but its actually just the beginning” and started his bit that he always does before SMELLS LIKE A FREAK SHOW. And joked about how there would normally be a pause where the audience would lose their minds as they know what song was up next. He belts the words “Give me some riffs bitch” and the song takes full form. The virtual pit is bigger than ever and everyone was having an amazing time. Chat chants “HEY” over and over just like they would if they were there in person and it’s the most wholesome thing ever! Johannes said hi to his mum in what may have been the most out of nowhere moment of the entire show. The band’s constant theatrics where all present in this unusual type of show and its made this live stream feel like something truly special and unlike any I’ve had the privilege of seeing before this one

We saw John Alfredsson sprint across the set to the drum kit in front of the classic Avatar sign before playing the intro drums to HAIL THE APOCOLYPSE. Suddenly the band start to play the intro minus Johannes but pause right before the drop. Out of nowhere, the camera cuts to Johannes with a wind-up music box… that’s right… They were doing a live recreation of the music video! One last twist to what had already been a chaotic show proves that Avatar are the masters of the stage no matter what circumstances they find themselves in. The virtual chat has had a blast of a time and I’m sure they are all just as excited as I am about next week’s show!

Overall, I can say without any doubt that this was one of the best live-streamed shows I’ve had the pleasure of seeing. The band thought outside the box and have managed to produce a visual show that stands out from the rest. Whoever was on the sound desk for this one nailed the mix and deserves all the praise he gets. Throughout the show, the band sounded tight without anything overshadowing anything else. An incredible thing to achieve in such a unique environment. If you haven’t already, be sure to get yourself tickets to the next three shows here!

SETLIST

Silence In The Age Of Apes
Colossus
A Secret Door
God Of Sick Dreams
Scream Until You Wake
Child
Justice
Gun
When All But Force Has Failed
Wormhole
The Eagle Has Landed
For The Swarm
The King Welcomes You To Avatar Country
A Statue Of The King
Let It Burn
Bloody Angel
Smells Like A Freak Show
Hail The Apocalypse