LIVE(STREAM): Avatar @ Age of Memories
They crept through our dreams, shooting their illusions through the grooves of our brain like a vinyl record, spinning us into our very own world of madness. For their final trick, they’re sending us spiralling down a rabbithole of time travel to take a trip through our most fondest memories. Sweden’s resident avant-garde metal troupe AVATAR spent their January jumping from era-to-era, delivering four differently-wired fan-curated concerts that took a trip down memory lane, exploring the diverging depths of their discography. In their final foray into their catalogue, they find themselves having the most fun they’ve had across all the streams, as they strip it back on Age of Memories.
Whilst previous streams have traversed a tightrope of setlist tropes, flitting between fan favourites and revered rarities, Age of Memories is a set that truly shines through for the diehards that’ve been supporting AVATAR since their inception in 2001. Comprising solely of songs selected from their first three albums – 2006’s Thoughts Of No Tomorrow, 2007’s Schlacht, and 2009’s self-titled – there’s only three songs throughout the sixteen-strong set that have featured in their setlists since 2012. It’s a true testament to the fan service they’ve shared throughout their labyrinth of livestreams, coming up trumps in comparison to many of their peers who have pandered to something a little more along the lines of ‘so and so does the hits at a festival’.
Before they’ve even struck a single chord, the earlybirds who’d be catching the worm at the front of the barrier are treated to footage from AVATAR’s first ever show, exclusive to the live broadcast. Once again, it’s a traipse through a time capsule to see a tale as old as time – a band at the beginning of their journey with absolutely no idea of what is about to come, and it lends itself so well to segway into the evening’s main meal.
On every livestream so far, they’ve captured the true essence of each era they’re covering, going as far to keep up with the countless costume changes they’ve undergone over the years. Age of Memories is no different, as they wash off the makeup and strip-back the fairground theatrics, finding themselves in uniform black. If that wasn’t enough, they’ve mixed up the monotony of their shifting soundstage setup they’ve been doing to death at Kajskjul 105 in Gothenburg in favour of something similar to the rehearsal rooms they’ve run around in, known to other artists as ‘the underwear rockers’ according to charismatic vocalist Johannes Eckerström. It’s a romantic notion that brings out the best in the comment section, singing the praises of a band who are blasting through true treats such as the melodic death metal devastation of Schlacht and the shape of things to come-sounding Stranger; aided anecdotally by Johannes calling out former guitarist Simon Andersson, who wrote the song, suggesting that if he were in attendance, he better have paid for a ticket.
After a rummage through the rarities of their first two albums, an interactive interval throws us through a timewarp of images and videos from AVATAR’s heralded history, ending with a shot of them leaving their infamous gold-letter logo stage. Not a band to be outdone, they open up the second half of their show with a replica of the very same stage, yet another nod to fan service that the stream is successfully riddled with. It’s not all cosmetic, the scene-setting ushers in a run-through of 2009’s self-titled in its entirety.
Something that’s been shown throughout the streams is AVATAR’s sheer ability to shred riffs and slay live, breathing new life into tracks that trundled on through their studio recordings that now sound like they’re on another planet of production. It’s ever present throughout Age of Memories, aided by the band looking the happiest they have, at home in the comfort of their old friends. The groove-grinding ground and pound of The Great Pretender and Out Of Our Minds are skull-shaped shooting pains of a reminder that the band have some absolute bangers in their back catalogue that could most definitely make a comeback as staples of their liveset when the pandemic let’s concerts do their thing again.
At the risk of falling flat on their faces as their streams drifted off into staleness, Age of Memories is an injection of resurrection for the band who’s humble beginnings are immortalised throughout this set. In a time where we are longing so lovingly for the feeling of a crowded concert hall, AVATAR’s trip down memory lane is like a much-needed hug from a loved one.
Rating: 8/10