''Avatar Country'' is the seventh studio album by Swedish
heavy metal band
Avatar
Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...
, released on 12 January 2018. It is a concept album.
Background
The band recorded their seventh studio album throughout Summer 2017 at Spinroad Studios in Lindome, Sweden. The album was produced by Jay Ruston, noted for working with
Stone Sour
Stone Sour was an American rock band formed in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1992. The band performed for five years before disbanding in 1997. They reunited in 2000; since 2015, the group has consisted of Corey Taylor (lead vocals, guitar), Josh Rand ...
,
Anthrax
Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...
and
Steel Panther
Steel Panther is an American comedic glam metal band from Los Angeles, California. Fronted by lead singer Michael Starr, the band formed in 2000 as Metal Shop and was also known as Metal Skool before adopting the name Steel Panther in 2008. The ...
.
Keyboards and orchestral arrangements were provided by Aron Parmerud.
Avatar took part in the Avatar Country World Tour 2017, touring the United States from January to February 2018, and various countries in
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
from March to April, with The Brains and freakshow attraction Hellzapoppin'.
Just one night before the album's release, in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, Avatar performed six songs from the album for the first time, along with songs from their previous albums.
Song information
Avatar released music videos for three songs on the album; "A Statue of the King" on 24 October 2017,
"The King Wants You" on 19 December 2017,
and "The King Welcomes You to Avatar Country" on 23 May 2018. All three videos were directed by longtime collaborator Johan Carlén.
Avatar also called the opening track, "Glory to Our King", the album's "national anthem".
Notably, every song on the track listing has the word "King" in its name.
Track listing
Personnel
Avatar
*
Johannes Eckerström – lead vocals
*Jonas "Kungen" Jarlsby – guitar
*Tim Öhrström – guitar, backing vocals
*Henrik Sandelin – bass, backing vocals
*John Alfredsson – drums
Charts
References
{{Authority control
2018 albums
Avatar (Swedish band) albums
2010s concept albums