Author: Rok Klemše
Artist: Avatarium
Label: Nuclear Blast
Release: year_month
Runtime: 49:36
Rating: 4.5/5
The news that doom metal elders Candlemass were saying goodbye hit hard – hearts sank and a big lump formed in the throat. Sure, the retirement is only from the studio, but the thought that Psalms For the Dead is the last studio record from the mighty Candlemass makes it clear the end is near. Founding member and band leader Leif Edling lit a funeral pyre for his mother band, but a small spark of malice rose from its ashes, keeping the fire smoldering. It first flared up unexpectedly last September with the EP Moonhorse, and it shows its full strength on the debut Avatarium.
The brand-new Swedish outfit started working less than a year ago and the result is already here, but a quick look at the lineup tells you nothing else was to be expected. Edling (Candlemass, Krux) invited some old hands of the Swedish metal scene to join him – Marcus Jidell (Evergrey, ex-Royal Hunt) came aboard on guitar, Lars Sköld (Tiamat) took the drum stool, and Carl Westholm (Jupiter Society, Krux) hammers the black and white keys. So Avatarium is made up of seasoned musicians, while vocalist Jennie-Ann Smith was a complete mystery – this is the first (known) band she’s ever been in.
There was some fear that Jennie-Ann would warble like an operatic diva, but Edling proves once again that his experienced ear doesn’t miss. The debut Avatarium is a pure odyssey of primal, top-shelf doom metal, one that comes close to the bitterness, pain, sorrow and suffering of the pyre from which the new fire flared up – and at the same time surpasses and reshapes it. If Candlemass were a revolution for doom, Avatarium are its evolution. On their debut, the band squeezes doom for everything it’s got and lays out all its dark hallmarks – melancholy, crushing riffs and an ominous atmosphere – while wrapping them in a thick layer of something we’ve never heard before. Avatarium float brilliantly between traditional doom metal, the influences of sixties and seventies (psychedelic) rock, and stoner rock. And still Edling remains unshakable: Avatarium are not just another stoner band, of which there are a dime a dozen these days, but a group that deftly steers between the devastatingly massive sound of doom metal and a psychedelic, »gothic« atmosphere.
Edling and Jidell find a lot of complexity in apparent simplicity. The drone of their riffs is mighty, and their majestic mid-tempo flattens everything in its path. Their menacing riffing leads straight into despair, which blends wonderfully with the hypnotic vocals of the exceptional Smith. She’s the one who lifts Avatarium to a new level: her siren voice underlines the psychedelic and occult nature of the lyrics, and her brilliant delivery adds the influence of bands like Rainbow and Jethro Tull and their singers (at times especially Dio!). With her sensual voice, Smith practically calls out to carnal desire, and if Janis Joplin has been reincarnated in anyone, it’s surely Jennie-Ann. Only she’s capable of far greater range, clarity and power. With an exceptional vocal performance, Smith conjures a whole spectrum of painful emotions, which the crumbling beauty of Jidell’s guitar strokes carries to a completely different plane of perception. And Westholm, with just the right amount of keyboards, theremin and mellotron, only heightens the ominous and eerie feel.
Avatarium is easily one of the most beautiful and unexpected surprises of this year. Leif Edling continues down the path he set out with Candlemass using his new lineup, but here he perfectly fuses ominous, morbid lyrics, rolling, devastating doom, classic rock and the gothic atmospherics of Type O Negative.
Lineup
Leif Edling – bass
Lars Sköld – drums
Marcus Jidell – guitar, vocals
Carl Westholm – keyboards
Jennie-Ann Smith – vocals
Production
Leif Edling
Tracklist
1. Moonhorse
2. Pandora’s Egg
3. Avatarium
4. Boneflower
5. Bird of Prey
6. Tides of Telepathy
7. Lady in the Lamp
