Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Reviews

Quick Review: AVATARIUM Avatarium

No review found! Insert a valid review ID.

Female fronted doom bands are all the rage these days, and for good reason. The juxtaposition of down-tuned lurching metal with soaring female vocals is usually quite successful. Avatarium's take on this metal movement answers a question you didn't know you had: What would Black Sabbath's 13 sound like if Adele fronted the band?

The answer to that question is, "awesome!"

I dug the band right away, so I was surprised to learn this band is a supergroup because the band has its own clear identity. The lineup is lead by Leif Edling (Candlemass) on bass with Marcus Jidell (Evergrey) on guitar, Lars Sköld (Tiamat) on drums, and Carl Westholm (Jupiter Society) on keyboards. Sure, that's already a phenomenal lineup, but the true star of the band is the relatively unknown Jennie-Ann Smith.

It would be easy to compare her performance to Mlny Parsonz from Royal Thunder, but Smith's approach reminds more of the beloved British singer Adele, particularly on the album's oping track "Moonhorse." 3540369803_photo

The music on this record is slow, heavy, and driven by memorable riffs. It seems to be heavily influenced by early Sabbath, Edling's main band Candlemass, and recent Tony Iommi work like Heaven & Hell. I forgot just how great Jidell is on guitar. When he isn't crushing the listener with lurching guitar, he's shredding like a beast.

The record is thankfully not JUST doom. There is the melodic vocal driven "Lady In The Lamp" which starts off haunting and gorgeous then builds to the perfect crescendo for the album. Also, "Boneflower" is a great mid-tempo number that brings some upbeat vibes to the dark record.

I'd love to hear more from this band than just this stellar debut.

9/10

Show Comments / Reactions

You May Also Like

New Music

Jennie-Ann Smith has an incredible voice.

Weekly Injection

This week's new heavy metal releases include side bands, death metal greatness, and more! To the metals...

Weekly Injection

This week features new albums released in various formats like compact disc, streaming, vinyl, and more! To the metals…

Weekly Injection

A really, really diverse collection of albums dropping this week for give your Halloween some added spookiness or something. Features some difficult to label...