| Avatar Country | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 12 January 2018 | |||
| Recorded | Summer 2017 | |||
| Studio | Spinroad, Lindome, Sweden | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:18 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Jay Ruston | |||
| Avatar chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Avatar Country | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Blabbermouth.net |   [1] |
| Metal Injection | [2] |
Avatar Country is the seventh studio album by Swedish heavy metal band Avatar, released on 12 January 2018. It is a concept album. [3]
The band recorded their seventh studio album throughout Summer 2017 at Spinroad Studios in Lindome, Sweden. The album was produced by Jay Ruston, noted for working with Stone Sour, Anthrax and Steel Panther. [4] Keyboards and orchestral arrangements were provided by Aron Parmerud.
Avatar took part in the Avatar Country World Tour 2017, touring the United States from January to February 2018, and various countries in Europe from March to April, with The Brains and freakshow attraction Hellzapoppin'. [5] [6] Just one night before the album's release, in New York City, Avatar performed six songs from the album for the first time, along with songs from their previous albums. [7]
Avatar released music videos for three songs on the album; "A Statue of the King" on 24 October 2017, [6] "The King Wants You" on 19 December 2017, [4] and "The King Welcomes You to Avatar Country" on 23 May 2018. All three videos were directed by longtime collaborator Johan Carlén. [8]
Avatar also called the opening track, "Glory to Our King", the album's "national anthem". [9] Notably, every song on the track listing has the word "King" in its name. [10]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Glory to Our King" | 0:51 |
| 2. | "Legend of the King" | 8:17 |
| 3. | "The King Welcomes You to Avatar Country" | 5:36 |
| 4. | "King's Harvest" | 3:55 |
| 5. | "The King Wants You" | 4:20 |
| 6. | "The King Speaks" | 3:17 |
| 7. | "A Statue of the King" | 3:44 |
| 8. | "King After King" | 5:07 |
| 9. | "Silent Songs of the King Pt. 1: Winter Comes When the King Dreams of Snow" | 3:34 |
| 10. | "Silent Songs of the King Pt. 2: The King's Palace" | 4:37 |
| Total length: | 43:18 | |
| Chart (2018) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [11] | 90 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [12] | 161 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [13] | 87 |
| US Billboard 200 [14] | 132 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard) [15] | 2 |
Genexus is the ninth studio album by American heavy metal band Fear Factory, released on August 7, 2015. It is the third Fear Factory album since guitarist Dino Cazares rejoined the band in 2009, their first album to feature drummer Mike Heller, and the final album they released with vocalist Burton C. Bell before his departure from the band in 2020, although his vocals appear on the band's next album, Aggression Continuum, which was initially recorded in 2017 but not released until four years later. Genexus is also Fear Factory's first release through Nuclear Blast. Upon its release, the album received positive reviews from critics.
This is a discography for the Swedish melodic death metal band Amon Amarth. The band is from Stockholm and was founded in 1992. Their lyrics mostly deal with the Vikings, their mythology and their history. The band comprises vocalist Johan Hegg, guitarists Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Söderberg, bassist Ted Lundström, and drummer Jocke Wallgren. Amon Amarth has released twelve studio albums, one compilation album, three EPs, one video album, and twenty two music videos.
Avatar is a Swedish heavy metal band, formed in Mölndal, Gothenburg in 2001. The band has released nine studio albums, the most recent being Dance Devil Dance in 2023. The band has had some success on US rock radio, notably with their song "New Land", which peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart in May 2017 and "The Dirt I'm Buried In" peaking at number 1 of the same chart in August 2023, making it the song with the longest journey to number 1 in the last 20 years.
Device was an American industrial metal band started by David Draiman, frontman of the heavy metal group Disturbed, and Geno Lenardo, former guitarist of Filter. They released one album, Device, in 2013.
Dystopia is the fifteenth studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth. It was released on frontman and guitarist Dave Mustaine's Tradecraft label via Universal on January 22, 2016. It is the first Megadeth album to feature guitarist Kiko Loureiro and their last album with bassist David Ellefson. The album was produced by Mustaine and Chris Rakestraw and features cover artwork by Brent Elliot White.
Meliora is the third studio album by Swedish rock band Ghost. The album was produced by Klas Åhlund and released on August 21, 2015. The album was generally well received, placing on several music publications' lists of the best heavy metal albums of the year and winning Best Hard Rock/Metal Album at the 2015 Grammis Awards. Lead single "Cirice" won the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. In September 2016, the band released a special edition of the album, called Meliora Redux.
Silence in the Snow is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Trivium. It was released on October 2, 2015, through Roadrunner Records. It is the first and only album to feature third drummer Mat Madiro, who joined the band in May 2014 and before he had departed from the band in December 2015. It is the band's only album to date to not feature any harsh vocals. Michael "Elvis" Baskette was hired as the producer whom the band had met while recording In Waves album back in 2011.
Akróasis is the fourth album by German technical death metal band Obscura. It was released on February 5, 2016 through Relapse Records. A music video was released for the album's title track on November 19, 2015. A second music video for the song "Ten Sepiroth" was released through VEVO, MTV & VH-1 on June 20, 2016.
Feathers & Flesh is the sixth studio album by Swedish heavy metal band Avatar, released on 13 May 2016. A concept album, it is the story of an owl who goes to war against an eagle after the eagle threatens to bring the day and end the owl's reign.
Hydrograd is the sixth and most recent studio album by American rock band Stone Sour. Recorded at Sphere Studios in Los Angeles, it is the follow-up to the band's 2012–2013 double concept album, House of Gold & Bones Part 1 and 2. It was released worldwide on June 30, 2017 via Roadrunner Records. Hydrograd also had a special album premiere with commentary on each song from frontman Corey Taylor on June 29, 2017 on Octane. Two singles were released in promotion of the album ahead of its release: "Fabuless" and "Song #3". A third single, "Rose Red Violent Blue ", was released on September 13, 2017. On October 24, 2017, Hydrograd won the award for Hard Rock Album of the Year at the Loudwire Music Awards. On April 4, 2018, the album's fourth single, “St. Marie” was released. Hydrograd is the first album to be produced without founding guitarist Jim Root, as he departed Stone Sour in 2014 to focus more on his and Corey's other band Slipknot. On August 23, 2018, the album's fifth single, "Knievel Has Landed" has been released. Hydrograd is the last album the band released before they entered an indefinite hiatus in 2020.
"New Land" is a single by Swedish heavy metal band Avatar off their sixth studio album Feathers & Flesh. It peaked at number 20 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart in 2017.
The Sin and the Sentence is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Trivium. It was released on October 20, 2017, through Roadrunner Records and was produced by Josh Wilbur. The album is the first to feature fifth drummer Alex Bent, who replaced drummer Paul Wandtke. With the release of the album's title track, this album would also mark the return of frontman Matt Heafy's screaming vocals since the band's 2013 album Vengeance Falls, which were completely absent from the band's previous album Silence in the Snow due to an injury which caused Heafy to blow out his voice.
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Down Below is the fourth studio album by Swedish heavy metal band Tribulation. The album was released January 26, 2018 via Century Media Records. The band released a video for the song “The Lament”.
The Verdict is the fifteenth studio album by American heavy metal band Queensrÿche. It was released on March 1, 2019, through Century Media. It is the third studio album recorded with vocalist Todd La Torre, who additionally performed drum parts on the album due to the absence of drummer Scott Rockenfield, making it the first album since 2009's American Soldier to be recorded as a four piece band, and the band's last album with rhythm guitarist Parker Lundgren. The record was produced by Chris "Zeuss" Harris.
I, the Mask is the thirteenth studio album by Swedish heavy metal band In Flames, released on 1 March 2019. It is the band's first release since Whoracle (1997) without longtime bassist Peter Iwers, and the last to feature Joe Rickard on drums. It is the debut album for bassist Bryce Paul and drummer Tanner Wayne. It is also the last album to feature guitarist Niclas Engelin.
The Great War is the ninth studio album by Swedish power metal band Sabaton. It was released on 19 July 2019. It is the first studio album to feature guitarist Tommy Johansson. Like many of Sabaton's albums, it is a concept album, this time about World War I, often known as the Great War. The songs cover multiple stories from the war, including those of Manfred von Richthofen, T.E. Lawrence, Alvin York, the Attack of the Dead Men, the Battle of Verdun, and others.
Extreme Power Metal is the eighth studio album by British power metal band DragonForce, released on 27 September 2019. It is the band's last studio album to feature longtime bassist Frédéric Leclercq and the first not to feature longtime keyboardist Vadim Pruzhanov, who left the band in 2018; Epica keyboardist Coen Janssen recorded keyboards for the album as a one-off session member. The lead single "Highway to Oblivion" was released on 30 July 2019. The band embarked on a world tour in support of the album following its release. Music videos for "Troopers of the Stars" and "Strangers" were filmed, but not released until two years later, on 27 August 2021 and 25 October 2021, respectively. In 2022, the band continued touring the album after their last tour's cancelation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 29 November 2022, the music video for "The Last Dragonborn" was released, being the first music video with new bassist Alicia Vigil.
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Deceivers is the eleventh studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy. Originally scheduled for a 29 July 2022 release, the album was pushed back to 12 August 2022 for undisclosed reasons. Deceivers is Arch Enemy's first studio album since 2017's Will to Power, marking the longest gap between two of their studio albums. It is also the second and last studio album to feature guitarist Jeff Loomis before his departure from the band in 2023.
