LIVE: AVATAR – September 24, 2023

Venue: Brooklyn Bowl

City: Nashville, TN

Date: September 24, 2023

Review and Photographs by: Rachel Craig (https://www.rachelcraigmedia.com/)

Avatar is a Swedish band that is leaving a huge impact in the world of mainstream metal, and they are clearly a ringleader of unique performances with their Chimp Mosh Pit Tour. Their recent show in Nashville also included a big surprise guest from Music City. This was my fourth time seeing the theatrical five-piece, and I cannot stress enough that their two-hour-long performances will always be fresh and keep your attention. The show kicked off with a unique self-defined “thrash grass” (thrash metal and bluegrass) band called The Native Howl and another Swedish metal band called Orbit Culture. Both bands were a hit among Avatar fans – and it was a cool reunion for me since I was working on a tour with Orbit Culture a year ago.

Avatar always surprises me with every tour. It’s new every time – and this show kept the surprises coming. The stage setup on this tour is really interesting compared to their previous shows. It’s a little more intimate, with doors, platforms, secret pathways, and a microphone stand on each side that band members could bounce up from the floor with a quick step on a pedal. The band clearly thrives on crowd interaction, with frontman Johannes Eckerstrom disappearing during the set to join fans in the balcony to make a balloon animal and deliver a trombone solo. The setlist was also a great blend of their newest album Dance Devil Dance and their biggest hits, and I was personally happy to hear them play my all-time favorite Avatar song, “When the Snow Lies Red.” However, the biggest surprise of the night was when Johannes crawled out of a gift box and pulled out Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale to sing “Violence No Matter What” to a very excited and surprised crowd. The powerhouse vocalist easily stole the show. The rest of the set included a piano ballad, multiple dueling guitar solos, a brief return of the King (guitarist Jonas Jarlsby in regal attire), and confetti cannons. Overall, Avatar continues to keep crowds wanting more by delivering a fun, action-packed, and visually stunning performance that makes them stand out as a Swedish metal giant.

Setlist: Dance Devil Dance – The Eagle Has Landed – Valley of Disease – Chimp Mosh Pit – Paint Me Red – Bloody Angel – For the Swarm – Puppet Show – When the Snow Lies Red – Do You Feel in Control – Violence No Matter What (with Lzzy Hale) – Tower – Colossus – Let It Burn – A Statue of the King – The Dirt I’m Buried In – Smells Like a Freakshow – Hail the Apocalypse

[Show as slideshow]

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Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries