Avatar take pride in doing things a little differently, and the Swedish quintet’s new video for A Secret Door is a perfect example of their unique, left-field vision.
To be perfectly honest we’re not entirely sure what’s going on in the six minute video for the latest single to be lifted from the group’s Hunter Gatherer album, but it’s a feast for the eyes, featuring athletic interpretative dance, a trippy, shape-shifting haunted house, an island made of heads... oh, and a whistled intro from Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor.
Quite what all this has to do with an album which deals with what it means to be human in a dystopian, high-tech gilded cage we couldn’t possibly say, but it’s a fascinating and freaky watch.
Last month Avatar announced a series of concert streams, billed as Avatar Ages - An Impossible Concert Experience - to take place in January 2021.
The four part concert film experience launches January 9 and will feature songs from the Swedes’ back catalogue, starting with a performance of their latest album in full, Hunter Gatherer, out now via Century Media.
The subsequent January concerts will feature fan voted setlists—chosen by ticket purchasers—with songs from Avatar Country, Feathers & Flesh, Hail The Apocalypse, Black Waltz, Thoughts of No Tomorrow, Schlacht and Avatar.
The schedule of Avatar Ages - An Impossible Concert Experience concert stream events is as follows:
Saturday, January 9 – Age of Dreams (Hunter Gatherer from start to finish plus Avatar's biggest songs)
Saturday, January 16 – Age of Illusions (Feathers & Flesh and Avatar Country fan voted set list)
Saturday, January 23 – Age of Madness (Black Waltz and Hail the Apocalypse fan voted set list)
Saturday, January 30 – Age of Memories (Thoughts of No Tomorrow, Schlacht and Avatar fan voted set list)
About the performances, frontman Johannes Eckerström says, “Nothing can top the feeling of standing eye to eye with the roaring beast that is a metal crowd, hungry for blood. Instead, what we are setting out to do is a series of shows we could never do on a normal stage. You will see Avatar as you've never seen us before. More music, more madness. We enter this with a game plan like no other, but ultimately the power is yours. This is something we'll create together. We have missed you.”
Further details and tickets are available from the band’s website.
