Hail the Apocalypse is the first official US release and fourth overall from Swedish metal sensations Avatar. Appearing on SONY/Gain/E1 Music is somewhat of a big deal, so one has to ask, what's all the fuss about? Taking a look at this five-piece, Avatar no doubt have been influenced by KISS, Alice Cooper, and Marilyn Manson with their face paint and gaudy costumes, but musically this is sort of a melodic, theatrical and somewhat progressive style of metalcore. Lead vocalist Johannes Michael Gustaf Eckerstrom has a multi-faceted style, handling all sorts of extreme styles, melodic clean, as well as a more gothic, Manson/Zombie delivery. Groove laden thumpers like "Vultures Fly" mix with more extreme fare such as the title track and "What I Don't Know". I'm reminded of Korn on "Bloody Angel", and "Murderer" throws nu-metal, death metal, metalcore, and goth at the listener for a somewhat perplexing yet ultimately satisfying experience. Plenty of raging riffs and some seriously blazing lead guitar work throughout the album courtesy of Kungen & Tim Ohrstrom, both of whom have cut their teeth on classic as well as modern metal shredders. Other highlights include the deep, heavy grooves of "Tsar Bomba", the bouncy folk metal of "Puppet Show", and the upbeat metal attack that is "Get in Line".
Whether Avatar strikes it big here in the US remains to be seen, but you can totally see the appeal of Hail the Apocalypse. Let's see what happens.
Track Listing
1) Hail the Apocalypse
2) What I Don't Know
3) Death of Sound
4) Vultures Fly
5) Bloody Angel
6) Murderer
7) Tsar Bomba
8) Puppet Show
9) Get in Line
10) Something in the Way
11) Tower
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