The theatrical Swedish metal band celebrated a huge milestone on the Knoxville date of their latest tour in North America.
It seems to be a theme for me to cover bands on Keynote Music Collective that have left a huge impact on my work as a professional music photographer. The first time I saw Avatar in 2018, I was forming my own style in photography and the band’s quirky, unique performance inspired me to dive harder into my creativity and goals in the music industry, especially with touring and networking.
The band recently embarked on their 2022 Wicked Tour Title tour with support from Light the Torch and The Callous Daoboys (who joined after Otep dropped off the run). On July 17th, the Swedish troupe brought their one-of-a-kind stage presence to my favorite stage in Knoxville, and it ended up being a celebratory night for everyone in the room.
The Callous Daoboys
When I heard that The Callous Daoboys (yes, you read that right) jumped on Avatar’s tour, and I was excited to finally experience them live after hearing about their wild shows in small venues. The Atlanta seven-piece mathcore band filled up the Concourse’s entire stage and began their frantic set filled with heavy, intricate songs with names like “Flip Flops at a Funeral,” “A Brief Article Regarding Time Loops,” and “Fake Dinosaur Bones.” This band inspired the crowd to get rowdy early in the night, and some fans even smashed their way up to the barricade to take the mic. It was a treat to see this band on a big stage, and I hope they can see longterm success from this tour.
Light the Torch
Light the Torch is one of the top supergroups in metalcore and hard rock, featuring the iconic voice of Howard Jones (former vocalist of Killswitch Engage). The band also included Alex Rüdinger on drums for this tour – deathcore fans will know him from his time in Whitechapel. This band is clearly a group of seasoned musicians, with Jones working the stage in high energy, running back and forth while still delivering a solid vocal performance while the crowd sang along. He’s easily one of the top voices in both metal and rock, especially live. The band also took the time to chat during their set about the Tennessee summer heat and fishing in the creek behind the venue. They were the perfect warm-up for fans before Avatar took over the stage to begin their theatrical performance.
Setlist:
More Than Dreaming
Calm Before the Storm
Let Me Fall Apart
The Bitter End
Death of Me
Living with a Ghost
Become the Martyr
The Safety of Disbelief
Wilting in the Light
Die Alone
Avatar
The room went dark, and the stage lights came on with dramatic, orchestral music. Avatar took their places at the front of the stage to kick off their set with a robotic, puppet-like performance of “Colossus” and moved into hits like “Let It Burn” and “Silence in the Age of Apes.” The best part of this introduction to the show is always drummer John Alfredsson, who stays right up front with the rest of the band playing at high energy on a smaller setup. The rest of the band launched into their usual synchronized windmill headbanging in a spectacle of flying hair.
In concert photography, the standard rule is to shoot the first three songs at the barricade, but Avatar offered to let me stay there for the whole set for this show. I realize now that this was a huge night for the band, as frontman Johannes Eckerström mentioned that John had crunched the numbers before the show and discovered that Knoxville was their 1000th performance. The band celebrated with a cake lit by their stage gimp – and made a bit of a mess, of course.
Avatar’s performances are always full of action, multiple costumes, a trombone solo, a song in German, bubbles, fan interaction, and even a few special songs with the King of Avatar Country himself (they have free wifi there, by the way). Personally, I was surprised to see them perform an intimate rendition of “Tower” after not hearing it live since their 2018 show. My other favorites from the show included “Paint Me Red,” “Tsar Bomba,” “A Secret Door,” and “Torn Apart.” Their set turned out to be nearly two hours long, but it felt like it flew by thanks to the spectacle this band has created.
Overall, this show was a huge milestone for Avatar and a reminder for me about how far I’ve come with my career. Not only was the band incredible on stage, but their crew and the venue staff deserve a lot of recognition for making these unforgettable and unconventional performances happen. This Swedish band blends metal with a lighthearted, theatrical, and visual entertainment aspect that not many bands have been able to take this far.
Setlist:
Colossus
Let It Burn
Silence in the Age of Apes
Bloody Angel
Child
The Eagle Has Landed
Paint Me Red
A Secret Door
For the Swarm
Torn Apart
Tower
Puppet Show
Tsar Bomba
A Statue of the King
The King Welcomes You to Avatar Country
Encore:
Going Hunting
Smells Like a Freakshow
Hail the Apocalypse
