Avatarium – Death Where Is Your Sting Review

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Avatarium’s live album “An Evening with Avatarium” was my one thousandth review here with Metal Addicts. I don’t think my dear fan would totally understand what that meant to me. What to have the honor of writing the thousandth review of such a band. A band that triggered my affective memory in so many ways. It’s not easy to be in this end. Every word has to be carefully chosen no to offend. It’s so easy to offend these days. Each band reviewed here deserves the best attention I could give them. No matter the band. No matter the album. If I choose to review it, I’ll have to give it my best. That’s the whole idea.

The experience of listening to an alive album of a band I’d say is totally different from a studio album. In a show a band can experiement. Their songs can get longer or, rarely, shorter. Faster, with different pace, differente tempo. Most times the songs get really heavier. It’s the effect of the amps and the drums. Or even the voice. “Death Where Is Your Sting” presents to me a completely different band that I ran into with “An Evening with Avatarium” alive album. Better? Worst? No, just different. I guess hardcore Avatarium fan will agree with me that this album showcases a different band from the previous albums. “Death Where Is Your Sting” showcases a band that got more progressive in their Gothic Metal. “Death Where Is Your Sting” showcases a band that got doomier in their Doom Metal. The feeling I got here is a band that dares to combine Pink Floyd with Doom/Gothic Metal. By the way, and with some Symphonic dashes to spice up the dough. “Mother Can You Hear Me Now” explains it better. Listen carefully to the acoustic parts in the end with that classic guitar solo that reminds a lot the feeling we get with Pink Floyd. The grand finale with the eerie instrumental “Transcendent” changes all the mood of the album. Maybe the doomier track of all with a very sweet violin giving the Symphonic experience I mentioned before. Finally, tittle track “Death Where Is Your Sting” has such a delicious Fleetwood Mac feeling. Fleetwood Mac? Yeah, go for it my dear fan.

I guess it’s fair to say that with “Death Where Is Your Sting” Avatarium go beyond their own music and genre. Jennie-Ann Smith is singing marvelously giving the songs her own pesonal touch. In this very especific case, it’s her voice that makes the genre breaking. Well, there are very few Doom Metal bands with female vocals. Her voice has that special ability of getting even melodic and tender to contrast with the uneasy of the guitars of “Nocturne,” for instance. There is still some of the 1990’s in here, but less, much less.

“Death Where Is Your Sting” isn’t fan only. It’s an album that can be appreciate for may kinds of metallers. It was such a pleasant enterprise listening to it. Avatarium are a very different material.

Avatarium “Death Where Is Your Sting” will be released on October 21st via AFM Records.

Track Listing:

  1. A Love Like Ours
  2. Stockholm
  3. Death, Where Is Your Sting?
  4. Psalm for the Living
  5. God Is Silent
  6. Mother Can You Hear Me Now
  7. Nocturne
  8. Transcendent

Watch “Death Where Is Your Sting” official music video here: