AVATAR

In terms of music, 21st century Sweden has become what England was in the sixties. Amongst that small, but beautiful, country lives a plethora of multi-talented individuals that create some of the most incendiary heavy music that is in the game today.

The group's eponymous third studio album was released in 2009, and the next two years found Avatar hitting the tour circuit hard, including their first-ever U.S. jaunt. Arriving in 2012, the well-received Black Waltz peaked at the number 25 slot in their native Sweden, and 2014's Hail the Apocalypse became the first Avatar outing to crack the Billboard 200. In 2016 the band issued its sixth studio long-player, Feathers & Flesh, a conceptual piece about an owl who declares war on the world. Their seventh, Avatar Country, arrived in early 2018.

Produced by Jay Ruston (Stone Sour, Anthrax, Steel Panther), the album featured the singles "A Statue of the King" and "The King Wants You," as well as Avatar's spin on the Swedish royal anthem "Glory to Our King." The following year, the band released their first live outing, The King Live in Paris. 2020 found them returning to the studio once again with Jay Ruston to record their eighth album. The resulting Hunter Gatherer -- which delivered a blast of melodic death metal -- was issued toward the end of the year.