Avatarium is the brainchild of Leif Edling, who is known to be a member of Candlemass, and offers a Doom sound characterised by incisive female vocals and melancholic atmospheres. The new album “Between You, God, The Devil and The Dead” was released on Janury 24, 2025 via AFM Records and contains eight medium-length tracks. Opener “Long Black Waves” immediately plunges us into the album’s sounds, with a granitic, melancholic doom, itruised by gloomy atmospheres. Jennie-Ann Smith‘s powerful vocals interpret the intense lyrics with pathos, while the band develops a sound with deep bass lines, good guitar coppers and openings that unleash all the band’s intensity. An enveloping piece, very well constructed and with beautifully crafted guitar solos and vocal parts that stick in the mind. Of shorter duration, “I See You Better In The Dark,” is a track that enhances the more rock side of the band’s sound. A direct and incisive track, energetic and elaborate with continuous tempo changes that enhance the rhythm section. In the second part, the guitar offers a solo cue as sharp as a blade, then the vocal returns for the last verses and concludes. A melancholic wed intense vocal and piano notes open “My Hair Is On Fire (But I’ll Take Your Hand),” then with a change develop a solemn and powerful Doom Metal sound. Original and elaborate in sound, with gloomy guitar and keyboard textures, deep, load-bearing bass lines and solid, elaborate drumming. The interweaving of vocal and instrumental parts is interesting, enhancing both the songwriting and the band’s playing technique, always managing to convey emotions through their music. A very well-structured track, which with every listen brings interesting passages and ideas, one of the highlights of the album in my opinion. After a pithy guitar solo, we return to the opening theme and with piano and beautiful vocals the track closes. With a more acoustic sound and a good deal of originality, “Lovers Give A Kingdom To Each Other” is another piece loaded with pathos in both vocal lines and sound. The acoustic guitar offers an excellent test between melodies and solisit inserts, intertwining with the piano. The rhythm section is minimal but very polished and the vocals offer a truly sublime test, making the piece one of the best released in the genre in recent years. We return to more classic Doom Metal sounds with “Being With The Dead,” where the band still inserts its own personal and original touch. Heavier riffs and a granitic rhythmic sezioen, characterized by a killer bassline, an incisive vocal in the verses and with enveloping choral refrains. An epzzo that enhances the Melancholic and Doom Metal sounds of the band, with precise and researched guitar solo interventions. Continuing on more Heavy and markedly Doom sonoirities, “Until Forever And Again,” opens with an intense vocal that valrizes Jennie-Ann‘s vocal range. The long duration allows for itreciate intense instrumental textures with gloomy atmospheres and the vocal parts, offering uin another beautifully crafted track that enhances the band’s style. The tempo changes allow to keep the intensity always high with refined passages and a pompous and solemn sound. Percussinoi in the background and oriental atmospheres permeate the bereve but intense “Notes From Underground.” A blend of Dom and Psychedelia, coln tramne instrumental refined and engaging with the guitar taking center stage. The title track “Between You, God, The Devil and The Dead” concludes the album. Melancholy piano notes and intense vocals characterize the irma part of the track, developed into an intense emotional crescendo that culminates in a beautifully crafted choral finale. An album that confirms that Avatarium is among the best bands on the scene in the field of Doom and Heavy sounds in general. The band’s classic traits are combined with a search for an ever-innovative and cutting-edge sound, with intense vocal parts and solid and elaborate instrumentals. A recommended listen for all lovers of Doom Rock and Metal sounds with those Melancholic atmospheres that characterize the band’s sound, a record not to be missed.
Tracklist
01. Long Black Waves
02. I See You Better In The Dark
03. My Hair Is On Fire (But I’ll Take Your Hand)
04. Lovers Give A Kingdom To Each Other
05. Being With The Dead
06. Until Forever And Again
07. Notes From Underground
08. Between You, God, The Devil and The Dead
Lineup
Jennie-Ann Smith / Vocals
Marcus Jidell / Guitars
Andreas Habo Johansson / Drums & Percussion
Mats Rydström / Bass
