Avatarium | |
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 Avatarium at Rockharz Open Air 2018 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Labels | |
| Members |
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| Past members |
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| Website | avatariumofficial |
Avatarium is a Swedish doom metal band from Stockholm, founded by Candlemass member Leif Edling in 2013. [1]
In the winter of 2012, Candlemass founder and bassist Leif Edling started to work on a new project and wrote a few demos. Looking for musical partners, he first reached out to his friend, Opeth frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt, but due to a lack of time, he declined. [3] Therefore, Stockholm-based guitarist Marcus Jidell (Soen, ex-Evergrey, ex-Royal Hunt) offered to help. Soon, Tiamat drummer Lars Sköld and keyboarder Carl Westholm joined the new band and the line-up was completed by Jidell's wife Jennie-Ann Smith, whose deep and bluesy voice added a new touch to Edling's typical heavy doom riffs.[ citation needed ]
By September 2013, they released their first EP Moonhorse and in November, their critically acclaimed eponymous full-length debut followed through Nuclear Blast.
The band's first live show outside of Sweden took place at the Dutch Roadburn Festival in April 2014, and in the fall of the same year, the Swedes released the EP All I Want. [4]
After a European tour and several festival appearances, the band entered the studio once more to record their second album. The Girl with the Raven Mask was released worldwide in October 2015 and was voted Album of the Month in several leading European magazines, such as Rock Hard [5] and Metal Hammer . [6] It was nominated for the independent music prize Manifest in Sweden, and in September 2016, Avatarium received the "Up and Coming" award from Germany's Metal Hammer. [7]
For health issues, Leif Edling quit playing live shows with the band on their headline tour through Europe, and Anders Iwers [8] joined the band as a live member. Although Edling stepped out of the spotlight, he is still active as songwriter for the band.
At the end of 2016, Avatarium entered the studio again to record their third album, Hurricanes and Halos, together with their new bassist Mats Rydström and organist Rickard Nilsson. [9] This time, singer Jennie-Ann Smith and guitarist Marcus Jidell also contributed to the songwriting. The full-length album was released on 26 May 2017 through Nuclear Blast. Their next album, The Fire I Long For, was released on 22 November 2019. [10]
As of April 2022, Avatarium is signed to AFM Records [11] and their fifth album, Death Where Is Your Sting, was released in October 2022. [12]
Candlemass is a Swedish doom metal band formed in Upplands Väsby, a suburb of Stockholm, in 1984 by bassist, songwriter, and bandleader Leif Edling, alongside drummer Matz Ekström. The band has had a defining influence on doom metal, with the epic doom genre itself taking its name from their debut album Epicus Doomicus Metallicus. Along with Pentagram, Saint Vitus, and Trouble, Candlemass has been recognized as one of the "big four of doom metal".
Leif Edling is a Swedish musician, best known as the bassist, main songwriter and one of the founding members of the doom metal band Candlemass. He is the only constant member of the band since its inception to the present day. Nevertheless, since the band's second reunion in 2002 Edling has been backed up again by founding rhythm guitarist Mats Björkman, who had been absent from 1997 to 2002.
Peter Iwers is a Swedish musician and the current bass player of the melodic death metal band The Halo Effect. He was a member of the melodic death metal band In Flames from their 1999 album Colony up until their 2016 album Battles, originally replacing Johan Larsson who departed after 1997's Whoracle. He was also the bassist for the band Cyhra with former In Flames bandmate Jesper Strömblad from 2017 to 2018. Before he joined in Flames, Iwers played in a band called Chameleon.
Abstrakt Algebra was a Swedish experimental metal band with influences from power metal and doom metal. It was founded by bassist Leif Edling in 1994, shortly after his main project Candlemass split up.
Epicus Doomicus Metallicus is the debut studio album by Swedish doom metal band Candlemass, released on 10 June 1986 by Black Dragon Records.
Nightfall is the second studio album by Swedish doom metal band Candlemass, released on 9 November 1987 through Axis Records. After being dropped from the label Black Dragon Records, Candlemass were the first band signed to Axis. The group had a new line-up from their previous album including vocalist Messiah Marcolin, whose decisions became instrumental during the production and release stages of the album.
Anders Iwers is a Swedish heavy metal musician and bassist of the bands Tiamat and Avatarium. He is the older brother of former In Flames bassist Peter Iwers, a band which he was lead guitarist of in their early years.
Jörgen Sandström is a Swedish musician. He provided vocals, bass and guitar for Grave on their first three albums and played with Entombed, on bass and backing vocals, between 1995 and 2004. He has also been involved with bands such as Krux, Vicious Art, The Project Hate MCMXCIX and Torture Division. He also did guest vocals on Nasum's Helvete and on Death Breath's Stinking up the Night.
Candlemass is the eighth studio album by Swedish doom metal band Candlemass, released on 3 May 2005 through Nuclear Blast Records. It is the band's last album to feature vocalist Messiah Marcolin.
Dactylis Glomerata is the sixth studio album by Swedish doom metal band Candlemass, released on 13 April 1998 through Music For Nations. This was their first album released since their split in 1994.
King of the Grey Islands is the ninth studio album by Swedish doom metal band Candlemass, released on 22 June 2007 through Nuclear Blast Records. It is the first album recorded following the departure of vocalist Messiah Marcolin, who left the band during the pre-production phase of the album. He was replaced by Robert Lowe, who would stay with the band until his departure in June 2012.
Amanethes is the ninth studio album by Swedish gothic metal band Tiamat. It was released on May 2, 2008. The album was more positively received than Tiamat's previous releases, in part because of its return to their earlier metal sound in a few songs, while keeping the gothic rock in other songs.
Death Magic Doom is the tenth studio album by Swedish doom metal band Candlemass.
Lucifer Rising is an expanded EP by Swedish doom metal band Candlemass, released in 2008 by Nuclear Blast Records. Candlemass recorded two new tracks, "Lucifer Rising" and "White God", and re-recorded "Demons Gate" for this release. The collection is also primarily composed of a series of 9 live tracks recorded in Athens, Greece on their 2007 tour. Recording on the new material was completed in April 2008. The title track, "Lucifer Rising", is included as a bonus song on the digipak edition of the full-length album Death Magic Doom, which was released six months after the EP.
Psalms for the Dead is the eleventh studio album by Swedish doom metal band Candlemass, released on 8 June 2012. At the time of its release, the band stated that this would be their final album, though bassist and founding member Leif Edling has since retracted this claim. Psalms for the Dead is, however, the last Candlemass album recorded with singer Robert Lowe, who left the band just six days before its release.
"Solitude" is a song by Swedish doom metal band Candlemass. It is the opening track on the band's debut studio album, Epicus Doomicus Metallicus, released in June 1986. It is one of the band's signature songs, and has been a feature of all the band's live setlists since the release of the album.
Sorcerer is a Swedish epic doom metal band from Stockholm that was founded in 1988, disbanded in 1992 and re-formed in 2010.
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.
Sweet Evil Sun is the thirteenth studio album by Swedish doom metal band Candlemass. It was released on 18 November 2022 through Napalm Records. Recording sessions took place at Nox Studios in Jakobsberg. Production was handled by Marcus Jidell.
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