Album Review: Avatar - Hunter Gatherer
Reviewed by Paul Hutchings
I have always skirted around the Swedish antics of Avatar. Maybe it’s the name; I hated the James Cameron movie from start to finish. But the Swedes are now well into their career, having made their name with their slightly crazed image when they first burst onto the scene almost two decades ago. The band are now eight albums in and approaching their 20th anniversary with a huge European fan base. Damn, these guys are headline material across some of our neighbours. So, having failed to devote sufficient attention in the past, it was time to indulge with the latest release ‘Hunter Gather’. I was not disappointed. This album is huge.
Placing a genre label on Avatar is next to impossible. Crushing death metal riffs combine with alternative elements and more avant-garde escapades to provide a smorgasbord of textures, styles and manifestations into another world. The subject matter on ‘Hunter Gatherer’ studies humankind’s rapid descent towards an uncertain future. Opening with the explosive ‘Silence in the Age of Apes’, initial signs were good. Ferocious riffs, death metal drums and vocalist Johannes Eckerström’s maniacal roars indicated that this album might be a heavy beast. Anthems are clearly a tool applied liberally by Avatar, as the industrial stomp of ‘Colossus’ followed, a track that echoes the likes of Manson, NIN and Fear Factory, and like those behemoths, it contains immense hooks that live long in the memory. ‘A Secret Door’ initially provides a different path, solitary whistling and thick synths temporarily giving way to a punishing level of riffage before more metamorphosis takes place, gentle clean vocals that are rapidly engulfed by thrashy riffing and a pounding delivery. Three songs in and the styles have already had more fluctuations that a week’s worth of UK weather. But in a much more welcome manner.
With a unit whose line-up has hardly changed since their formation, it’s easy to understand why Avatar are so tight. One change in the past 18 years means that Avatar’s complex and non-formulaic sound presents an interesting challenge to the listener on every song. ‘God of Sick Dreams’ shimmers into view, accompanied by a killer riff and hook, a brutal death metal growl gives way to high pitched choruses. The closing track, ‘Wormhole’ is sheer brutality. And that’s probably Avatar’s strength and blueprint. Draw you in, catch you in the web and then level you with their vast array of sonic delivery.
As the album progresses there are multiple styles that catch the ear. The slightly poppier sound on ‘Scream Until You Wake’ steps lightly into metalcore territory; the dark ‘Child’ sees the band blend all of their sounds into one; the piano led melancholic ‘Gun’ and the explosive almost death metal of ‘When All But Force Has Failed’, all examples of Avatar’s versatility. The subject matter is deep, dark and sobering. Their studies of cruelty, technology, disdain and deprivation find Avatar in 2020 at their most sinister.
Having self-financed their debut album in 2007, Avatar have continued to develop and grow. ‘Hunter Gatherer’ demonstrates an impressive maturity. Threading concepts through their albums is not new, having used similar approaches on ‘Avatar Country’ and ‘Feathers & Flesh’. Hunter Gatherer continues that approach, although the individual songs stand strong above any overarching story. It’s a massive album, and one that will no doubt continue to propel Avatar forward on their quest for worldwide domination.
