ALBUM REVIEW: The Fire I Long For – Avatarium

In recent times there have been far too many bands taking the template of doom and progressive rock and recycled it without breaking any new ground. AVATARIUM are not a band that fall into this bracket. Since their formation the band has set about creating a fresh and innovative form of doom whilst remaining sensitive to the influential roots and teachings of the bands that paved the way before them.

The band have been locked away in the famous Studio DeepWell in Stockholm with the well renowned producer Marcus Jidell, with the Grammy Award winning Niklas Flyckt mixing and Svante Forsbäck mastering the record. This latest offering entitled The Fire I Long For shows the band attempting to reach a bigger audience than ever before.

Album opener Voices quickly gets down to business and serves as the perfect mission statement. The guitars are as thick and weighty as they are groovy, with the eerie lead tone providing a welcome hit of nostalgia that harks back to the prominent doom metal acts of the 1970s. The rumbling bass and full drum sound lay the perfect foundation for the ever impressive vocals of Smith to soar over. The way that the album has been mixed very much focuses on the vocals and it is clear to see why, as they are clearly one of the main weapons in the arsenal of AVATARIUM. The dissonance and off kilter section in the middle of the song is an interesting left turn that keeps the listener guessing before being met with a bluesy Iommi-inspired guitar solo for good measure, throw in one more monstrous rendition of the main riff and this track is the perfect album opener.

The acoustic guitar in the opening of Lay Me Down coupled with the beautiful vocal performance from Smith is one of the highlights of the album. The instrumentals that surround the song are wonderfully crafted to aid to the haunting feel of the track with neither the lead guitar or keys stealing focus away from the main melody of the track, but rather supporting it to great effect. With Porcelain Skull, the band then quickly revert back to their usual style of slow building doom metal, however as the track progresses the band appear to tip their cap to the British trailblazers in DEEP PURPLE with the tune and vocal delivery sounding like it could have been lifted straight from the Perfect Strangers album itself.

The haunting, creepy mood that engulfs the track Great Beyond is matched by the grandeur of the songwriting. This song has an almost cinematic quality in the way that it tells a story with the wandering bass lines, atmospheric keys and heavily affected vocals.

The title track of the album carries on in the same vein with it’s slow burning nature. This particular song really showcases just what the band are capable of when they reach into their bag of tricks as they flirt with elements of doom, progressive rock and also some folk sensibilities. Tying all of the elements together seamlessly.

The Fire Long For is the sound of a band hitting their creative stride and pushing themselves further than they have done before. With each release AVATARIUM have picked up where they have left of previously and have carried the momentum on to surpass their previous efforts and this album is no different. Armed with their most cohesive and most well rounded album to date 2020 looks to be a very exciting year for the Swedes.

Rating: 8/10

The Fire I Long For is out now via Nuclear Blast Records.

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