AVATARIUM “Death, Where Is Your Sting”

10 years ago, a group landed that really challenged me, AVATARIUM. The alchemy created by the presence of the singer with the golden voice Jennie-Ann Smith in the group of Leif Edling (author of the legendary CANDLEMASS), in which also officiated big names from TIAMAT and EVERGREY, has since produced wonderful doom rock & metal albums. Today Leif Edling has gone to other horizons, the opportunity is given to us with this 5th album, “Death, Where Is Your Sting”, to take an interest in the evolution of the group.

Introduction all in languor on “A Love Like Ours”, cello and female vocals which stretch to the breaking point. The tone is dark, you will tell me that the doom is not pink like the leggings of glam-rockers, but with these guitars, sometimes acoustic, sometimes crystalline, the misty shroud is even more icy than usual. This dark-rock remains as sumptuous as it is disturbing. Howl violins, weep youths. We continue with “Stockholm”, recalling the first compositions ofAVATARIUM where Jennie-Ann laments like the elf Galadriel on a music always very refined. Middle-earth doom metal? Maybe.

If the title “Death, Where Is Your Sting” is still semi-acoustic, it contains a more lively, almost rural rhythm. After all black is a common taste of doom and country, isn’t it “Jennie Cash”? A superb and heady ballad that this piece. Death never looked so cool as dressed in a ring of fire. Or during a stripped down and bewitching “Psalm For The Living”. Macabritude when you hold us in your claws…

Arrival on the second part of the album we find the doom with low and heavy riffs and the haunting rhythm. “God Is Silent” is by the same token a paradoxical title, so much we take a wave of power. The sound of silence. A return in force to the origins of the genre more than successful. “Mother, Can You Hear Me Now” delivers over seriously resonant drums, as well as vocals that stretch beyond the solid, overdriven guitars. The moment is welcome for a meditation while letting go… electric.

“Nocturne” is a salvo loaded with heavy metal, we find the colors of a very black SABBATH. The kind of rhythm that makes Arletty say “atmosphere, atmosphere, do I look like an avatar? ». “Transcendent” will soothe Beauty with a relaxing ballad, which suddenly turns into a surge of heavy guitars juxtaposed with melancholic strings. An excellent mix of genres, an excellent conclusion.

AVATARIUM with “Death, Where Is Your Sting” confused me at first, then intoxicated, to finally conquer me. Sensual dance of Eros in the arms of Thanatos, beauty in love, in death. Dark country is the new AVATARIUM.

About the author

Christopher Scottez

Chris is an ethnologist in his spare time, a veteran of joyful pogos in core jerseys. A curious explorer, a great lover of riffs and wild songs. He grew up in the glorious 80s, rocked by the canonical songs of ACCEPT, SCORPIONS, MOTLEY CRUE and other GUNS N ROSES. Traumatized by the divorce between Max Cavalera and his group, as well as by an album of the Mets a little “loaded” in anything, Chris turned his back on hard rock for 10 years. Then, one day, he accidentally discovered that a multitude of new groups had invaded the scene… these new savages offered interesting sounds, loaded with energy. Wishing to share the emotion of this style of metal without claiming to set himself up as the guardian of any dogma, he likes to talk about so-called classic metal styles, but also metalcore and neo-metal. Styles often decried for their looks of twinks, while the importance of an album is first of all the sound pleasure that one can draw from it, the difference is the richness of the taste. But above all, can we make fun of flirtatious rebels while the founding fathers of metal put on candy pink leggings and pampered their peroxidized sauerkraut?

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