Avatarium - Hurricanes And Halos

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Again, I have to make a statement: Leif Edling is a workaholic!

Yes, the legendary bassist and leader of CANDLEMASS is an addicted to work. I say that due the fact that he seems to have an endless creative power, and he may not sleep! I say these words because a month and a half after the release of THE DOOMSDAY KINGDOM album, we have another album from one of his bands, now with AVATARIUM, with their third release, called “Hurricanes and Halos”.

Different from his other bands, AVATARIUM is a Doom Metal band as well, but with a more melodic and tender work, exploring a more clean and introspective form of music. Of course, some punctual experimentation can be detected in the songs (as we hear on “Road to Jerusalem”), and due the use of this melodic female voice, the band’s musical work sounds more accessible to a broader public. Of course, the band knows how to play heavy and truly in a more bitter form. Fans of his other works will be hooked to “Hurricane and Halos”.

The production of “Hurricanes and Halos” made a perfect mix between the clean sound that their melodic lines can be heard and understood, but with that heavy and bitter essence that a Doom Metal album must have. Marcus Jidell (the band’s guitarist) made a fine work on the production, having David Castillo on the recording and mixing, and the mastering was done by the hands of Jens Bogren. The sound is fresh and organic, but with a clean quality.

Elegant, melodic and heavy as Hell, “Hurricanes and Halos” is a fine and truly catchy album, showing excellent songs as “Into the Fire/Into the Storm” (a heavy and thunderous song, with a lovely chorus and great work on bass and drums), the darkened and introspective melodic lines of “Road to Jerusalem” (very good clean chords and vocals, and this song seems to carry a strong influence from World Music), the long, somber and bitter “Medusa Child” with its dissonant parts (what great guitar riffs and fine keyboards touches), the raw energy on the melodic lines of “The Sky at the Bottom of the Sea”, and the brutal weight imposed by the guitars and rhythmic kitchen heard on “A Kiss (From the End of the World)”. But the entire album is truly excellent!

AVATARIUM gave birth to another fine piece of music!

Originality: 8
Songwriting: 10
Memorability: 8
Production: 10