The heavy metal visionaries collectively known as AVATAR — vocalist Johannes Eckerström, guitarists Jonas Jarlsby and Tim Öhrström, bassist Henrik Sandelin, and drummer John Alfredsson — have announced the thoroughly fitting October 31 release of their latest masterwork Don’t Go in the Forest.
The band also shared the video for “Tonight We Must Be Warriors” (see below).
“It has become a necessity to me over the years to be able to answer one question: Why is this important? It can’t be just another album. We need to discover something, try something else. It has to come from the heart. What is being said matters,” says vocalist Eckerström regarding the release of single “Tonight We Must Be Warriors.” He continues, “In days of isolation and despair, maybe we need to be reminded that we are not alone? We are one of many. Maybe we also need a reminder that the burden is on our shoulders? To get it done, we need to do the fighting ourselves.”
He finishes, “In our shared pain, we find solidarity.”
Regarding the album, Eckerström offers, “The secret ingredient is that we still feel like we’re just getting started. Don’t Go In The Forest is an album filled to the brim with stuff we’ve never done before. It’s all songs and concepts we haven’t been close to touch until now. The mind is wild and we have lost ourselves in the darkest woods, filled with memories, and fantasies. Forbidden thoughts that must be spoken.”
He concludes, “It would have been impossible to make this album at any other time than now. That’s all we ever wanted, and I think you’ll find it’s all you ever wanted too.”
AVATAR have gone from strength to strength over the past several years. There’s the critically acclaimed, 2023-released album Dance Devil Dance, which included their first #1 at Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay, “The Dirt I’m Buried In.” There have been scores of sold-out headline shows across the globe, and an actual fossil named after them. The list goes on and on.
But the past is the past and the future is, well, dark in the best possible way and that’s JUST how AVATAR like it!
The track listing for Don’t Go in the Forest will be revealed in due course. The band has previously shared “Captain Goat” and “In the Airwaves.”
Avatar will spend the foreseeable future (if not forever) on the road — with forthcoming tours supporting IRON MAIDEN and METALLICA, along with the band’s biggest show EVER in Mexico City. See below for a complete rundown of the band’s planned tour activity for the next two years.
AVATAR show no signs of pausing to take a breath in their quest for absolute world domination — much less stopping.
AVATAR tour dates:
2025 Mexico Headline
October 31, 2025 – Mexico City, MX – The Pepsi Center
2025 U.S. Headline Tour
November 5, 2025 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
November 6, 2025 – San Diego, CA – The Observatory San Diego
November 7, 2025 – Riverside, CA – Riverside Municipal Auditorium
November 8, 2025 – Las Vegas, NV – Brooklyn Bowl
November 10, 2025 – Seattle, WA – Moore Theater
November 11, 2025 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theatre
November 12, 2025 – Boise, ID – Revolution
November 14, 2025 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Union
November 15, 2025 – Denver, CO – Fillmore
November 17, 2025 – Minneapolis, MN – Fillmore
November 18, 2025 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee
November 20, 2025 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit
November 21, 2025 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
November 22, 2025 – Columbus, OH – KEMBA Live!
November 23, 2025 – Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore Silver Spring
November 25, 2025 – Huntington, NY – Paramount
November 26, 2025 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
November 28, 2025 – Allentown, PA – Archer Music Hall
November 29, 2025 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Charlotte
November 30, 2025 – Louisville, KY – Old Forester’s Paristown Hall
December 2, 2025 – Chicago, IL – Riviera Theater
December 4, 2025 – Nashville, TN – Marathon Music Works
December 6, 2025 – Tulsa, OK – Tulsa Theater
December 7, 2025 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues
2026 European Headline Tour
February 5, 2026 – Stockholm, SE – Fållan
February 7, 2026 – Helsinki, FI – Kulttuuritalo
February 9, 2026 – Oslo, NO – Sentrum Scene
February 10, 2026 – Copenhagen, DK – Vega
February 11, 2026 – Osnabrück, DE – Die Botschaft
February 12, 2026 – Brussels, BE – A.B.
February 14, 2026 – London, UK – Exhibition
February 15, 2026 – Manchester, UK – Academy
February 16, 2026 – Glasgow, UK – Barrowland
February 17, 2026 – Nottingham, UK – Rock City
February 18, 2026 – Bristol, UK – O2 Academy
February 20, 2026 – Amsterdam, NL – AFAS Live
February 21, 2026 – Esch-Sur-Alzette, LU – Rockhal
February 22, 2026 – Zürich, CH – Komplex
February 24, 2026 – Barcelona, ES – Razzmatazz
February 25, 2026 – Madrid, ES – La Riviera
February 27, 2026 – Lisbon, PT – LAV
February 28, 2026 – Bilbao, ES – Santana 27
March 2, 2026 – Lyon, FR – Le Cube
March 3, 2026 – Milan, IT – Alcatraz
March 4, 2026 – Vienna, AT – Gasometer
March 5, 2026 – Munich, DE – Tonhalle
March 6, 2026 – Cologne, DE – E-Werk
March 7, 2026 – Paris, FR – Le Zenith
March 9, 2026 – Wiesbaden, DE – Schlachthof
March 10, 2026 – Zlin, CZ – Sports Hall Datart
March 11, 2026 – Warsaw, PL – Stodola
March 12, 2026 – Berlin, DE – Columbiahalle
March 13, 2026 – Hamburg, DE – Docks
Supporting Metallica — Summer 2026
May 24, 2026 – Frankfurt, DE – Deutsche Bank Park
June 11, 2026 – Budapest, HU – Puskas Arena
June 19, 2026 – Dublin, IE – Aviva Stadium
July 5, 2026 – London, UK – London Stadium
Reeder, the visionary behind Metal Addicts, has transformed his lifelong passion for metal into a thriving online community for metal aficionados. As a fervent devotee of black metal, Reeder is captivated by its dark, atmospheric, and often unorthodox soundscapes.