Avatar : "Hunter Gatherer"

This new age of new-metal band might have been poised to become the next big thing in metal with their Meshuggah meets System of a Down approach, but Covid killed any momentum that might have has as this album will be released in a vacuum with not tour to support it. They are a band who their persona alone begs to be seen live They are kicking into things more aggressively perhaps now feeling likea more shreddy version of Lamb of God, if stripped of the red neck trappings. If you are a teenage guitar player then I can hear how these solos might impress you. If you are a grown ass adult who reviews albums for a living then, you might be less impressed as you have heard a hundred solos before you get to your second cup of coffee. Ok it is summer I am switching to ice tea.

"Colossus" was one of the lead singles released earlier in the year. I am sure if you are a fan of these guys you have already formed your thoughts on it, but since this is my blog, here is the truth. There is a more grungey stomp to the verse. They go for a power metal Faith No More thing here. The singer has a decent voice. The stomp is better than the racing momentum of the opening track. There is the odd choice of whistling going into "A Secret Door" .  The singer's voice sounds even better though the intenstiy ebbs down until they blast off into a more death metal section. It is well done and pretty decent though I am not blown away. If you have a song called 'God of Sick Dreams" it would have to be darker and heavier. It is heavier int that is dominated by snared vocals.  Until the chorus. There is the kinda pirate vibe that power metal gives off running subtly under the mood of the song.  Eventualy it does find it's way into a groove.  There is a similar intensity to a title like "Scream Until You Wake' that makes the expectations of metal heads obvious when you go into it. The vocals are melodic , but the guitars have a thrashing drive to them. The two work well off one another.

The harmony guitar and the very melodic approach to death metal guitars are the only keystones of Swedish metal present. If I had to guess from looking at them I would say they ook more Finnish. If I needed a song to reference as what mainstream metal sounds like "Justice" would be an excellent example, nothing pushed to extremes , but heavy enough to fool the masses. It reminds me of Mushroom Head. "Gun" is the ballad this album did not need. I am zero percent not convinced of the supposed anger behind "When All But Force Has Failed" .  They are marginally more convincing by slowing down on the last song. The album gets off to a better start than it finishes losing the momentum mid way through.