_ _______ _ ...:... _ _______ _ ___ / .:::::::::::. \ ___ | / .. (:::::::::::::) .. \ | | . .:::::.`:::::::::::'.:::::. . | | .::.. `:::.::':::`::.:::' ..::. | _ _______ | .::' ::::':::::`:::: `::. | _______ _ \\ | | :: `' ::':`:: `' :: | | // \ | | `:. .::' . `::. .:' | | / . | | .::::::..::::' ... `::::..::::::. | | . | | `:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::' | | .... | | `:' `::::: :: :: :::::' `:' | | .... | ' | : `. ': :: :: :: :: :` .' : | ` | |.....: . .......: :: :: :: :: : ...... . : ....| . ...................: : :: :: :: :: : : ................. . _____________:_____________ _____________:_____________ _ ___\` __ /_\` _______/_\` __ _/_\` /___ _ // __ / (/ ___/ (/ _ (/ /_______/\ _ _ /_________ ___________ ______/\ _ ______________/\__/_ _ \\\\\_________\__/\_________\__/\_____/\_____/\____________/f3!/// - -\-\-----------\__/----------\__/-------\_____/---------------/-/- - - -------------------: : :. ..:: :: . :------------------ - : : :......: :: :` ': :: : .....: : : ___ _ | | : ` ' : | | _ ___ _\---------- : | -------- : B E R C : -------- | : ----------/_ /_\ . : . ..:.. ..:.. . : . /_\ /// . . : : . . \\\ /: :\ /:: Artist :: Avatarium ::\ :: Album :: Avatarium :: :: Year :: 2013 :: :: __ _ _ __ :: -:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:- :: \ / :: :: . Genre :: Metal Source :: CDDA . :: :: Label :: Nuclear Blast R.date :: 14.11.2013 :: _::__ Cat.nr. :: NB32050 Size :: 91,3 MB __::_ ::// \\:: ::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\:: :: :: /: Encoder :: LAME 3.98.4 -V0 :\ ..: Bitrate :: avg. 258kbps : . . Quality :: 44,1kHz/Joint-Stereo . . . Website :: http://avatariumofficial.se/ __ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __ .\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////. +/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+ /: . : : . :\ /:: ::\ :: 01. Moonhorse 08:42 :: :: 02. Pandora's Egg 06:10 :: :: 03. Avatarium 08:11 :: :: 04. Boneflower 05:26 :: :: 05. Bird of Prey 06:38 :: :: 06. Tides of Telepathy 07:11 :: :: 07. Lady in the Lamp 06:57 :: :: ------- :: .. >> 49:15 min .. __ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __ .\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////. +/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+ /: . : : . :\ /:: ::\ :: :: :: Upon the release of Candlemass's eleventh album, Leif :: :: Edling, came forth with a bitter announcement in regards to :: :: the future of the band. Psalms for the Dead would be their :: :: last studio album. I must admit, the news affected me :: :: greatly. I felt disappointment, but I understood the :: :: reasons behind this unexpected decision. Still, it wasn't :: :: easy to accept it. The delicate nature of my character was :: :: the cause for my provisional grief. For some reasons, I use :: :: to rely my huge expectations and trust on older bands and I :: :: receive all the newcomers with skepticism and doubt. So :: :: when the news about Edling's participation in a new project :: :: spread out, I took them with a grain of salt. :: :: :: :: So, Leif closed the book on Candlemass, what is he up to :: :: now? If your assumption is "more Epic Doom Metal", then you :: :: estimated correctly. And it doesn't come as huge surprise :: :: since this man has the style of Doom into his blood. For :: :: this album, Edling paid a long-awaited visit to his first :: :: years as a professional musician. He drew inspiration from :: :: the very first albums he wrote while he was on Candlemass :: :: and decided to re-define the powerful, Unholy sounds of :: :: Damnation. He aimed on bringing back the powerful tales of :: :: epic poetry of the first four Candlemass records. However, :: :: you must bear in mind that Avatarium's debut is NOT another :: :: album from the said group. And that is a good thing, :: :: because with that direction, the project was bound to :: :: failure from the very first day of its conception. For his :: :: venture into this tour de force, Leif teamed up with a :: :: bunch of very talented musicians. Apart from Edling on his :: :: acquainted role, we've got percussionist Lars Skold :: :: (Tiamat), keyboardist Carl Westhom, (Candlemass), guitarist :: :: Marcus Jidell (Evergrey) and vocalist extraordinaire :: :: Jennie-Ann Smith. :: :: :: :: The album itself can be analyzed as a mixture of good ol' :: :: Epic Doom Metal with Classic Rock influences and varied :: :: references, from the Psychedelic music of the late 60's to :: :: Rainbow and to Blue Oyster Cult. An explosive compound :: :: which is scoped and developed under the aegis of the Doom :: :: Metal genre. And what would be Doom Metal without riffs? :: :: Edling knows that all too well and as an expert in this :: :: field, he deliver some of his best ideas. The result of his :: :: collaboration with Jidell is magnificent. At first I felt :: :: worried by the fact that there is no second guitarist in :: :: the band, an omission that could lead to inefficient :: :: results. You can't have Doom Metal with feeble guitar work. :: :: After listening to the first three songs, I ruled these :: :: worries out. Heavier than a tombstone, the guitar :: :: annihilates everything in its path. For example, the :: :: introductory riffs of Moonhorse and Avatarium spread utter :: :: devastation. The density that comes out of the guitar is :: :: crushingly impeccable. The riffs have the size of an :: :: elephant. The solos on the other side are melodic, :: :: emotional and painful. But truly, what won my attention in :: :: the first place, was the combination of these monstrous :: :: riffs with the softer, acoustic parts and interludes. The :: :: above-mentioned influences are diffused among the tracks, :: :: forming a wall of medieval sounds that encircle the album :: :: completely. For example, Moonhorse features a haunting :: :: slide solo that may remind you of Blackmore's work in :: :: Rising. Lady In The Lamp is one of the best closing ballads :: :: I have heard in a while, yet another reference on :: :: Blackmore's group, as it may retell you the story of the :: :: ballad Rainbow Eyes. After the first couple of listens, it :: :: becomes clear that the band was aiming for an approach :: :: where emotion comes before technicality. :: :: :: :: Further on, the album has two sides. One side that is :: :: heavy, and another side that is softer. If Edling and :: :: Jidell are responsible for the heavy parts, Jennie-Ann :: :: Smith is responsible for the soft side by bringing :: :: expressiveness and further emotion. Where the album :: :: surprises is not in the excellent work of the instruments, :: :: but in the presence of an amazing vocalist. Smith is the :: :: revelation of Avatarium. With her impulsive performance, :: :: Smith navigates perfectly the crushing sounds and brings :: :: the necessary equilibrium. If you need a detailed :: :: description of her voice, you will need a lot of :: :: adjectives. Emotional, fragile, powerful, seductive, divine :: :: are only some of the words I could use to describe her. :: :: There were times when Smith reminded me of Janis Joplin. :: :: "Outrageous", some of you may say. But honestly, to me it :: :: is as Joplin was reborn inside Smith's body. When it comes :: :: to singing, Jennie-Ann Smith is quite simply the biggest :: :: newcomer of this year. :: :: :: :: Leif Edling proved once again why he is considered one of :: :: the biggest figures in the Doom Metal community. As a fine :: :: example of a good working man, Edling's creative and :: :: troubled mind couldn't sit tight during his post-Candlemass :: :: era. He was quickly looking for a new field. But never in a :: :: million years had I expected him to make such triumphant :: :: return. It requires some special skills in order to take :: :: all the old tricks -the melancholic atmosphere, the riffs, :: :: the moods, the melodies- and re-introduce them in such a :: :: way to create something that sounds so refreshing and :: :: outstanding. Edling has simply outdone himself. Taking :: :: sides with a fantastic crew, Edling had a good chance to :: :: step out of the boundaries of Candlemass and further :: :: develop his ideas towards new directions. A magnificent :: :: debut, quite possibly his best work since Nightfall. :: :: :: :: . _ _ . :: \: :. \\ ___________ . ___________ // .: :/ __\____ :: ____ ___\ _ / BERC : 2013 \ _ /___ ____ :: ____/__ \\\f3! :: \\\ __ _/_________i_________\ /___/ /// :: cRO/// \ :: :\-\___________\_ ___ / _ _/___________/-/: :: / :: | . . _ _ _/ __/ . \_ _ _ . . | :: : :::::::: | | \\\\\/ _______\____|\ \///// | | :::::::: : :: | | -\-\/____/-------------\____\/-/- | | :: :: | | \ :|: / | | :: : : | . ` ::: ' . | : : . . | : ::: : | . . | :::....:::....::: | : ::::::::::::::::: : . :::''``:::''``::: . : ::: : . ::: . .:. :