With everyone heading to the movie theaters this past weekend to see the new James Cameron film Avatar: The Way of the Water, it got me thinking about Avatar… the Swedish heavy metal band from Gothenburg! I stumbled upon the ‘Colossus’ rockers close to 10 years ago, they were one of three opening acts for Corey Taylor and Stone Sour at the Theatre of Living Arts (TLA) on South St. One thing I like to do before going to shows, is do a little research on the opening bands on the bill if I am unfamiliar with them. Avatar was touring in support of their 5th studio album “Hail the Apocalypse” at the time, and the video for the title track was the first song that popped up. It’s a banger, and I have been a huge fan of Johannes and the boys ever since.
Avatar with Brent & Rabbi
This picture was taking upstairs in one of the super tiny dressing rooms at the TLA. If you are the headliner, you get the more spacious dressing room all the way upstairs. The rooms get considerably smaller from there. This was after Avatar took the stage, yes, the PBR’s were flowin’ and the guys couldn’t have been nicer! I remember seeing the band Starset getting changed into their space outfits in one of the smaller rooms at the TLA, and they couldn’t even stand straight up because their space helmets were hitting the ceiling of their dressing rooms.
Avatar at Rise Above Fest
This picture was taken in 2017 at Shaun Morgan’s (from Seether) Rise Above Fest in Bangor Maine. Check out the line-up that year! And as of this posting, that was the last RA Fest to take place… hopefully there will be more in the future
.Avatar with In This Moment
Avatar has a brand-new album coming out, their 9th, called “Dance Devil Dance” set for release on February 17th, 2023. Available for pre-order now, you can get their new album, on vinyl, in a variety of color variants. This will be their first new album since 2020’s Hunter Gatherer, of which we were playing their tune ‘Colossus’ on MMR.
Avatar has a ton of shows lined up in 2023 – all of which are scheduled overseas at the moment. However, with the new album coming out, you know chances are good we’ll see them back through the Philadelphia area. Last time Avatar played Philly, was part of an WMMR concert event – which they headlined – at the TLA on South St. back in September of 2021 part of the ‘Going Hunting Tour’. Hard to believe it’s been over a year since Philly smelled like a freak show!
See you at the next show! -bp
