Avatar Concert Review with Orbit Culture and The Native Howl

Avatar Concert Review with Orbit Culture and The Native Howl
Sunday, September 17,2023
The Castle Theatre
Bloomington, Illinois

Avatar Tour

Avatar Chimp Mosh Pit Tour

 

 
Avatar is a Swedish Metal band that is having a stellar year. They recently reached their first number one song on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart. “The Dirt I’m Buried In” is from their ninth album Dance Devil Dance which was released in February. The single rose to number one on its 31st week making it the longest trek to a number one in twenty years.

The band has also been immortalized in history by having a fossil from southern Sweden named after them. The fossil is named Ophiocoma Avatar discovered by Dr. Ben Thuy. The fossil is a brittle star and the Avatar brittle star is by far the oldest known of this type of brittle star that can see with their entire body surface.

Avatar Brittle Star

Avatar fossil brittle star

 

The band brought openers, The Native Howl who are described as Thrash Grass so a blend of Thrash Metal and Bluegrass. That describes exactly what music the band is making. The Native Howl is from Leonard, Michigan and their band consists of guitar, bass, drums and banjo. Missing was the mandolin but the electric guitar fills in for the mandolin parts. They covered “Man of Constant Sorrow” the song made famous from the movie, O Brother, Where Art Thou? a gem from the Coen brothers. The Grammy award winning song was penned and sung by bluegrass legend Dan Tyminski in the movie. The Native Howl gained a bunch of new fans in an area where country, rock and metal music are listened to by many in the area.

The Native Howl

The Native Howl

 
The Native Howl

The Native Howl

 
The Native Howl

The Native Howl

 
The Native Howl

The Native Howl

 

Orbit Culture is a fairly new band and I had not seen them or heard them before now. I have to say that their music was really great metal. It made you want to get up and bang your head the entire time. Their songs, “From The Inside” and “Vultures of The North” really spoke to me. Their entire set got the crowd going.

For more on Orbit Culture find them online: Orbit Culture

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Orbit Culture

 

 

Orbit Culture

Orbit Culture

 

 

Orbit Culture

Orbit Culture

 

 

Orbit Culture

Orbit Culture

 

 

Orbit Culture

Orbit Culture

 

 

I first saw Avatar in 2014 at Rock On The Range.  They always make a great impression wherever they perform.  In addition to their fantastic music, Avatar’s music videos are some of the best in metal.  You can see their creativity in the music videos.  The band has headlined The Castle Theatre several times before. Their metal circus show has become more entertaining with more elaborate and well thought out showmanship. They have gained new fans with their song “The Dirt I’m Buried In”  getting serious airplay.  Avatar set the stage with two side curtained areas where band members walked out of and sophisticated lighting. The band came onto the stage in their classic red and black carnival outfits.  Avatar had some small pyrotechnics during their set. Johannes went out into the crowd and onto the balcony and made a balloon animal dog and then played his trumpet.  A set of balloons were gifted and each one popped during the show. Guitarist, Jonas Kungen Jarlsby came out on stage in full King regalia during the song “A Statue of The King”.  A streamer gun was used to playfully shoot streamers into the crowd.  

Avatar

Avatar

 

 

The full setlist:
1. Dance Devil Dance
2. The Eagle Has Landed
3. Valley of Disease
4. Chimp Mosh Pit
5. Paint Me Red
6. Bloody Angel
7. For The Swarm
8. Puppet Show
9. When the Snow Lies Red
10. Do You Feel In Control
11. Black Waltz
12. Tower
13. Colossus
14. Let It Burn
15. A Statute of The King

Encore:
16. The Dirt I’m Buried In
17. Smells Like A Freak Show
18. Hail The Apocalypse

The night was long but went by in the blink of an eye. It was truly an entertaining and imaginative show.  I cannot wait to see how Avatar grows bigger and bigger and puts on more elaborate shows.  

Catch them on tour: AvatarMetal.com

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sources: wikipedia.org, setlist.fm

Avatar Concert Review with Gemini Syndrome

Avatar Concert Review with Gemini Syndrome and First Decree
The Castle Theatre
Bloomington, Illinois, 2015

Avatar returned to the historic Castle Theatre in Bloomington, Illinois. They were joined by Gemini Syndrome and First Decree. Huntress was supposed to be on the tour but frontwoman, Jill Janus, was recuperating from major surgery. You can read the full statement here about their schedule changes. Huntress Touring Schedule Changes

After a break from relentless touring, Gemini Syndrome hit the road again after the release of their single “Eternity”. “Eternity” is the first single off their sophomore album Memento Mori. We talked with Aaron Nordstrom and Alessandro AP Paveri about the new album, demystifying Albinism, and what music they love from the classics to modern bands. Watch the interview here:

First Decree is a rock band from Cheyenne, Wyoming and they have been touring nonstop and hitting the stage with everyone from In This Moment to Pop Evil and now Avatar. The band is hard-working and really heartfelt in their delivery however the music just does not speak to me.

Gemini Syndrome returned to the stage after the release of their newest single “Eternity” and while the sound is familiar, the song is a new chapter of their story. I know the fans were very excited to see Gemini Syndrome and Aaron Nordstrom exclaimed several times that he was happy to be back as well. Gemini Syndrome performed “Pleasure and Pain”, “Mourning Star” (You can find out more backstory about Mourning Star in our interview.), “Stardust”, “Basement” to name a few of the songs. Their energy is both dark and hopeful at the same time. Aaron Nordstrom’s voice is rich and powerful with the melody and screaming in their music.

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CLICK to view Gemini Syndrome Photo Gallery

 

Avatar’s stage was covered by a pretty large, black cage right in the middle and the crowd was wondering exactly what was behind the cage. Well, when the circus helpers opened the cage, there stood Johannes Eckerström standing about thirteen feet in the air in a huge jacket spanning the stage singing. The rest of the band were hidden initially as Johannes sang “Queen of Blades”. Avatar was spelled out in lighted letters going across the stage and there was also a long shadow in the background with Avatar spelled out. For this elaborate of a set in such an intimate venue was f*cking awesome! I have been to around a hundred shows here and this was the best show at The Castle Theatre. The fans were all rapt with attention to this show. The band has their headbanging coordinated to such an extent that their hair is all flying up at the same time. Avatar is one of those bands that get better every time you see them. Their art is being honed to the level of world class metal stars. Johannes Eckerström’s vocal range is unrivaled and his falsetto scream has matured over the years to a mellifluous thing of beauty.

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CLICK to view Avatar Photo Gallery

Johannes Eckerström told the crowd that you did not need your neck muscles tomorrow so use them tonight and bang your head with them. I did and so many metalheads in the crowd did also. My neck and back were sore for two days after the show. I lost my voice from singing(screaming) along and only suffered from a slight case of tinnitus. So, just to reiterate, it was the best show I have ever seen at The Castle Theatre.

You can still catch a few more dates on this tour:

Sep 12 The Vogue Indianapolis, IN
Sep 13 The Intersection Grand Rapids, MI
Sep 14 Mainstage Morgantown, WV
Sep 15 Altar Bar Pittsburgh, PA
Sep 17 Revolution Amityville, NY
Sep 18 The Loft @ The Chance Poughkeepsie, NY
Sep 19 CHAMELEON CLUB Lancaster, PA
Sep 20 Hard Times Cafe Hagerstown, MD
Sep 21 Capone’s Johnson City, TN
Sep 22 Hard Times Four Mile Fork Fredericksburg, VA

 

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Click to view Avatar Website

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Click to view Gemini Syndrome Website