AVATAR to record tenth studio album in January
Relase piano version of "Tower"
16-12-2024
Swedish metallers AVATAR are planning to enter the studio in January to begin work on their tenth album. The follow-up to 2023’s “Dance Devil Dance” will once again be produced by Jay Ruston, who has previously worked with ANTHRAX, STEEL PANTHER and URIAH HEEP, among many others.
AVATAR‘s next LP is tentatively due in 2025 through the band’s own label Black Waltz Records, which is distributed by Thirty Tigers.
In other news, AVATAR has shared a brand new, re-recorded piano version of its song “Tower”. This gorgeous new version is the first time the band has re-recorded a track in its career thus far.
“This version of ‘Tower’ became a special moment in a very special period of our lives,” states AVATAR vocalist Johannes Eckerström. “It feels natural to use it as a way to stop and look back for just a moment before we move forward with full force. It’s a thank you to everyone who stands by our side and makes the magic happen.”
The original version of “Tower” appeared on AVATAR‘s beloved and critically acclaimed fifth album, “Hail The Apocalypse”, which was released in 2014. According to a press release from AVATAR‘s publicist, the re-recorded version of the song “is of incredible significance because AVATAR have neither ownership nor receives any royalties on ‘Hail The Apocalypse’, or any preceding albums, since 2015. The band is currently in the midst of a legal battle to reclaim their rights with former record label Fifth Island Music; formerly Gain Records, a part of Sony Music Entertainment,” the press release adds.
“Dance Devil Dance” was recorded in the Swedish wilderness, far away from all the perceived glamor of the big city and modern studios. Jay Ruston (ANTHRAX, MR. BUNGLE, CROBOT, STONE SOUR, AMON AMARTH, URIAH HEEP) returned as producer. He first worked with AVATAR when he mixed “Hail The Apocalypse”, a role he reprised on “Feathers & Flesh” before taking the wheel as producer on “Avatar Country” and “Hunter Gatherer”.
“Dance Devil Dance” featured a guest appearance by Lzzy Hale of HALESTORM on the song “Violence No Matter What”. The record also included the single “The Dirt I’m Buried In”, which hit No. 1 on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.
Johannes formed AVATAR in 2001. The band’s lineup has remained virtually the same ever since, save for guitarist Tim Öhrström, who entered the fray just over a decade later. AVATAR also includes guitarist Jonas Jarlsby, bassist Henrik Sandelin and drummer John Alfredsson.
AVATAR is:
Johannes Eckerström – Vocals
Jonas Jarlsby – Guitar
Tim Öhrström – Guitar
Henrik Sandelin – Bass
John Alfredsson – Drums
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