A few observations will strike the uninitiated to an Avatar show. The stage is dominated by a lanky, shriek and shrill frontman, Johannes Eckerstrom, with a penchant for devilish clown make-up, fetishised uniforms, party tricks – centring on balloon modelling, trombones, and lascivious camp between song patter. A band who synchronises extreme swirling of their hirsute heads. A drummer, John Alfredsson, who literally behaves as if he is clockwork powered and various onstage vaudevillian macabre antics that their tribe of fans lapped up as the harum-sacrum schtick spilled forth from the stage. Strip back the visual artifice of extreme cabaret theatrics and pretension, the reverb from the vocals and the drums and ignore the onstage gimmicks and the imposing presence of the singer’s shrieks are mostly impressive and the band can really play. Exciting the ‘outcasts of London’ with proclamations of ‘tonight there is no safe word’ was all theatrical pretence as these Swede metal larkers take the goth out of Gothenburg and put it with heavy irony into their sound.
Touring their Dance Devil Dance album and, clowning around aside, Avatar loaded up tonight’s set starting with its title track, Valley Of Disease, Chimp Mosh Pit, Do You Feel In Control and first encore tune The Dirt I’m Buried In all of which their hypnotised hardcore tribe of followers revelled in clearly under the spell of the unfolding onstage musical necromancy. Flashing strobe lights, plumes of front of stage smoke and the endless theatrics didn’t distract from the music grinding out from the speakers. Puppet Show’s decadent East European inflected vaudevillian music provided an interlude during which Johannes put on a comedic balloon show from the balcony stairwell that included a trombone solo. Not quite in the league of Freddie Mercury (who is?), Johannes’ solo spot at the mini grand piano on Tower was, nevertheless, a decent stab at it.
Further theatrical surprises were in store as a rubber masked roadie carried a bow tied parcel, placing it in front of the drum riser, it revealed Johannes’ head popping out of it holding a fist full of balloons (of course) prior to a head swirling Black Waltz. No rest for the wicked, keeping their roadies busy, a small Tama drum kit was rapidly assembled front of stage as the band created a frontline to deliver an almighty Colossus and a hot as hell Let It Burn. The Gemini twinning of dread-locked-in guitars from Jonas Jarlsby and Tim Ohrstrom on new song Do You Feel In Control proved their worthiness as a mighty metal pairing. Impressively, The King Rocker Jarlsby emerged from an onstage locker donning a glittering crown and floor length cape on main set closer The Statue Of The King.
All in all, still searching for the big hitting tunes that will elevate them to higher ground as an arena level band, Avatar left the stage to raucous applause and a packed venue drifted away into the night dazed by the budget metal circus that they just witnessed.
Words by Paul Davies, Photos by Eric Duvet
