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 finally unleashed their latest masterwork Don’t Go in the Forest. Listen and get the album HERE.
Regarding the album, Eckerström has explained, “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.”
Watch the video for title track:
He furthered, “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’s growth and momentum has only accelerated in recent 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.
Avatar will spend the foreseeable future (if not forever) on the road. See below for a complete rundown of the band’s planned tour activity for the next two years. Avatar shows no signs of pausing to take a breath in their quest for absolute world domination — much less stopping. Check all tour dates HERE.
The heavy metal visionaries collectively known as AVATAR — vocalist Johannes Eckerström, guitarists Jonas Jarlsby and Tim Öhrström, bassist Henrik Sandelin, and drummer John Alfredsson — previously announced the thoroughly fitting October 31 release of their latest masterwork Don’t Go in the Forest. Pre-save it here.
Today, the band shares the video for the new single “Death and Glitz.” Watch it HERE
Vocalist Johannes Eckerström states Death and Glitz is a song about perversion and detachment. A homeless, young runaway collapses and dies on a dancefloor. The crime scene tape becomes a red velvet rope. The investigator’s camera flashes like paparazzi on the red carpet. We love her for dying. Now she’s perfect. Obedient. Anything you want. The true crime genre is as sick as the sickest goregrind band you’ve ever heard. Its popularity and the form in which it’s being consumed, as a choice between Mickey Mouse and hospital dramas, reveals a darkness. The best ones are when it’s someone young and attractive. A couple goes hiking. Only the man returns. What do we project on this very real person’s very real tragedy? Do we see ourselves, with a strange envy for being so desired? Do we see a canvas on which we can paint the perfect future, if we were there to make it right? Do we completely dehumanize the victim and those who lost her, obsessed with the puzzle? No matter the reason, it is clear that no one is more obedient than the dead. People simply like it when death has a nice rack.
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.
Avatar will spend the foreseeable future (if not forever) on the road. See below for a complete rundown of the band’s planned tour activity for the next two years, including a Fall 2025 North American headline run after album release.
Avatar show no signs of pausing to take a breath in their quest for absolute world domination — much less stopping.
2025 U.S.A. HEADLINE
Wed, Nov 5, 25 — Phoenix, AZ — The Van Buren Thu, Nov 6, 25 — San Diego, CA — The Observatory San Diego Fri, Nov 7, 25 — Riverside, CA — Riverside Municipal Auditorium Sat, Nov 8, 25 — Las Vegas, NV — Brooklyn Bowl Mon, Nov 10, 25 — Seattle, WA — Moore Theater Tue, Nov 11, 25 — Portland, OR — Roseland Theatre Wed, Nov 12, 25 — Boise, ID — Revolution Fri, Nov 14, 25 — Salt Lake City, UT — The Union Sat, Nov 15, 25 — Denver, CO — Fillmore Mon, Nov 17, 25 — Minneapolis, MN — Fillmore Tue, Nov 18, 25 — Madison, WI — The Sylvee Thu, Nov 20, 25 — Detroit, MI — The Fillmore Detroit Fri, Nov 21, 25 — Pittsburgh, PA — Stage AE Sat, Nov 22, 25 — Columbus, OH — KEMBA Live! Sun, Nov 23, 25 — Silver Spring, MD — The Fillmore Silver Spring Tue, Nov 25, 25 — Huntington, NY — Paramount Wed, Nov 26, 25 — Boston, MA — House of Blues Fri, Nov 28, 25 — Allentown, PA — Archer Music Hall Sat, Nov 29, 25 — Charlotte, NC — The Fillmore Charlotte Sun, Nov 30, 25 — Louisville, KY — Old Forester’s Paristown Hall Tue, Dec 2, 25 — Chicago, IL — Riviera Theater Thu, Dec 4, 25 — Nashville, TN — Marathon Music Works Fri, Dec 5, 25 — St. Louis, MO — The Pageant Sat, Dec 6, 25 — Tulsa, OK — Tulsa Theater Sun, Dec 7, 25 — Dallas, TX — House of Blues
2025 MEXICO HEADLINE
Fri, Oct 31, 25 — Mexico City, MX — The Pepsi Center
2026 EUROPEAN HEADLINE TOUR
Thu, Feb 5, 26 — Stockholm, SE — Fållan Sat, Feb 7, 26 — Helsinki, FI — Kulttuuritalo Mon, Feb 9, 26 — Oslo, NO — Sentrum Scene Tue, Feb 10, 26 — Copenhagen, DK — Vega Wed, Feb 11, 26 — Osnabrück, DE — Die Botschaft Thu, Feb 12, 26 — Brussels, BE — A.B. Sat, Feb 14, 26 — London, UK — Exhibition Sun, Feb 15, 26 — Manchester, UK — Academy Mon, Feb 16, 26 — Glasgow, UK — Barrowland Tue, Feb 17, 26 — Nottingham, UK — Rock City Wed, Feb 18, 26 — Bristol, UK — O2 Academy Fri, Feb 20, 26 — Amsterdam, NL — AFAS Live Sat, Feb 21, 26 — Esch-Sur-Alzette, LU — Rockhal Sun, Feb 22, 26 — Zürich, CH — Komplex Tue, Feb 24, 26 — Barcelona, ES — Razzmatazz Wed, Feb 25, 26 — Madrid, ES — La Riviera Fri, Feb 27, 26 — Lisbon, PT — LAV Sat, Feb 28, 26 — Bilbao, ES — Santana 27 Mon, Mar 2, 26 — Lyon, FR — Le Cube Tue, Mar 3, 26 — Milan, IT — Alcatraz Wed, Mar 4, 26 — Vienna, AT — Gasometer Thu, Mar 5, 26 — Munich, DE — Tonhalle Fri, Mar 6, 26 — Cologne, DE — E-Werk Sat, Mar 7, 26 — Paris, FR — Le Zenith Mon, Mar 9, 26 — Wiesbaden, DE — Schlachthof Tue, Mar 10, 26 — Zlin, CZ — Sports Hall Datart Wed, Mar 11, 26 — Warsaw, PL — Stodola Thu, Mar 12, 26 — Berlin, DE — Columbiahalle Fri, Mar 13, 26 — Hamburg, DE — Docks
SUPPORTING METALLICA — SUMMER 2026
Sun, May 24, 26 — Frankfurt, DE — Deutsche Bank Park Thu, Jun 11, 26 — Budapest, HU — Puskas Arena Fri, Jun 19, 26 — Dublin, IE — Aviva Stadium Sun, Jul 5, 26 — London, UK — London Stadium
ABOUT AVATAR:
As a strange light in the sky beckons you towards something forbidden, far away, you see a robed, horned ferryman, rowing across a restless sea at the end of days. Back home a strange sound rolls through your house. It comes from the basement. The news talks about a beautiful corpse, lauded for her magnificent demise on a dance floor by men who could have fixed her. You catch the last broadcast from an outpost succumbing to flames on a distant moon. Its inhabitants try to outrun their own madness. Outside there is a place you’re not allowed to go, no matter how intoxicating the gaze of the eyes among the trees.
You lay awake at night, yet you dream thousand dreams more real than any waking moment.
Strange times call for a strange band. With a life long commitment to the misfit arts, Avatar delves deep into the collective subconscious. They travel beyond the realms of flesh and far past the spiritual barriers broken in past works. No matter how many times they were warned, they keep treading deeper into the woods. There is sense to be made out of the senseless. They lay a soft gaze upon terrifying, almost shapeless inner landscapes, and they have a damn good time doing it.
Don’t go in the forest is a warning said by others, heeded as a challenge for a certain kind of freak who just can’t fight the urge to seek truth and feel alive. It is a collection of strange tunes emerging from a circus tent in a meadow in a faraway valley. You can only ever get there by accident, walking a path impossible to remember and map out. Two eyes closed, one eye open.
Formed by John Alfredsson and Jonas Jarlsby as teenagers, soon joined by Johannes Eckerström, Henrik Sandelin and Simon Andersson, Avatar started an evolution that would see a group always looking to connect what you hear with what you see. Once Andersson left and Tim Öhrström joined, they had all the ingredients to a brew so potent it would forge their names into the souls of millions. More than a band, Avatar has evolved to concept art. In order to keep going with the same drive as they had on day one, they make sure that what is made must be done. Every single time must matter more than ever before. No matter how far they get, they are sworn to remain underdogs. There is so much to do, to try. So many ways to rediscover the simple yet sublime power hidden inside an electric guitar.
It’s all about trying new things, on and off stage. Choirs, brass instruments, Moogs, piano, cellos and violas. As long as it all worships at the altar of the riff, the possibilities are as vast as the universe. Don’t go in the forest once again stretches, bends and breaks the boundaries of what Avatar is and can be by providing both the most introspective as well as their most explosive moments. It is all done in a way that can only be achieved after a lifetime in servitude to the madness where all your gathered experiences are used to be reborn. In other words, by embracing discovery as the core tenet for what they do, every new release is as fresh and exciting as their very first time in a rehearsal room.
While the studio experience is becoming a more and more powerful tool for self expression, it is on the stage where Avatar truly comes alive. Every testimonial makes the same claims in all caps. Avatar is a MUST SEE experience. Every album cycle has provided record breaking milestones. A few of the more recent ones being kicking the door in on Latin America, first with Iron Maiden, and then with sold out shows all throughout Mexico and beyond. They have also become the talk of countless festivals across Europe and the United States, being a surefire stage closer and show stealer everywhere they go, all while setting attendance record after attendance record for their headline shows. From Australia to Brazil. From Scandinavia to the Mediterranean Sea. From the Pacific Northwest to the Deep South. Everywhere they go, their unique blend of suggestive theatrics and unabashed, unapologetic good heavy metal times, they have proven that there is only one Avatar and everyone else is playing for second place. Their impact is shown with chart toppers such as “The Dirt I’m Buried In” reaching heights that are hard to imagine from a band that has stepped into the craziest era in music history, taking matters into their own hand with their own independent label, Black Waltz Records.
For centuries the circus would come to town. Now, for the first time in history, the gravitational pull of Avatar is so strong that the town is coming to the circus. A circus deep in the forest. A forbidden place. A taboo you are destined to break.
AVATAR ARE: Johannes Eckerström — Vocalist Jonas Jarlsby — Guitarist Tim Öhrström — Guitarist Henrik Sandelin — Bassist John Alfredsson — Drummer
The heavy metal visionaries collectively known as AVATAR — vocalist Johannes Eckerström, guitarists Jonas Jarlsby and Tim Öhrström, bassist Henrik Sandelin, and drummer John Alfredsson — are thrilled to announce 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.” Watch it 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”. 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.”
“In our shared pain, we find solidarity.”
“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.” States vocalist Eckerström regarding the upcoming release of Avatar’s album “Don’t Go In The Forest”.
“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.”
Did you enter the forest via the new track?
The band announced headline A Night To Be Tour Apart headline tour back in April, now have rebranded the tour as In the Airwaves with fresh new admat announcing additional support Norwegian Feminist Black Metal group Witch Club Satan, as well as Norwegian Death Jazz band Agabas for select dates. 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 rock radio chart topper “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.
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.
2025 MEXICO HEADLINE
Fri, Oct 31, 25 — Mexico City, MX — The Pepsi Center
2026 EUROPEAN HEADLINE TOUR
Thu, Feb 5, 26 — Stockholm, SE — Fållan Sat, Feb 7, 26 — Helsinki, FI — Kulttuuritalo Mon, Feb 9, 26 — Oslo, NO — Sentrum Scene Tue, Feb 10, 26 — Copenhagen, DK — Vega Wed, Feb 11, 26 — Osnabrück, DE — Die Botschaft Thu, Feb 12, 26 — Brussels, BE — A.B. Sat, Feb 14, 26 — London, UK — Exhibition Sun, Feb 15, 26 — Manchester, UK — Academy Mon, Feb 16, 26 — Glasgow, UK — Barrowland Tue, Feb 17, 26 — Nottingham, UK — Rock City Wed, Feb 18, 26 — Bristol, UK — O2 Academy Fri, Feb 20, 26 — Amsterdam, NL — AFAS Live Sat, Feb 21, 26 — Esch-Sur-Alzette, LU — Rockhal Sun, Feb 22, 26 — Zürich, CH — Komplex Tue, Feb 24, 26 — Barcelona, ES — Razzmatazz Wed, Feb 25, 26 — Madrid, ES — La Riviera Fri, Feb 27, 26 — Lisbon, PT — LAV Sat, Feb 28, 26 — Bilbao, ES — Santana 27 Mon, Mar 2, 26 — Lyon, FR — Le Cube Tue, Mar 3, 26 — Milan, IT — Alcatraz Wed, Mar 4, 26 — Vienna, AT — Gasometer Thu, Mar 5, 26 — Munich, DE — Tonhalle Fri, Mar 6, 26 — Cologne, DE — E-Werk Sat, Mar 7, 26 — Paris, FR — Le Zenith Mon, Mar 9, 26 — Wiesbaden, DE — Schlachthof Tue, Mar 10, 26 — Zlin, CZ — Sports Hall Datart Wed, Mar 11, 26 — Warsaw, PL — Stodola Thu, Mar 12, 26 — Berlin, DE — Columbiahalle Fri, Mar 13, 26 — Hamburg, DE — Docks
SUPPORTING METALLICA — SUMMER 2026
Sun, May 24, 26 — Frankfurt, DE — Deutsche Bank Park Thu, Jun 11, 26 — Budapest, HU — Puskas Arena Fri, Jun 19, 26 — Dublin, IE — Aviva Stadium Sun, Jul 5, 26 — London, UK — London Stadium
2025 U.S.A. HEADLINE
Wed, Nov 5, 25 — Phoenix, AZ — The Van Buren Thu, Nov 6, 25 — San Diego, CA — The Observatory San Diego Fri, Nov 7, 25 — Riverside, CA — Riverside Municipal Auditorium Sat, Nov 8, 25 — Las Vegas, NV — Brooklyn Bowl Mon, Nov 10, 25 — Seattle, WA — Moore Theater Tue, Nov 11, 25 — Portland, OR — Roseland Theatre Wed, Nov 12, 25 — Boise, ID — Revolution Fri, Nov 14, 25 — Salt Lake City, UT — The Union Sat, Nov 15, 25 — Denver, CO — Fillmore Mon, Nov 17, 25 — Minneapolis, MN — Fillmore Tue, Nov 18, 25 — Madison, WI — The Sylvee Thu, Nov 20, 25 — Detroit, MI — The Fillmore Detroit Fri, Nov 21, 25 — Pittsburgh, PA — Stage AE Sat, Nov 22, 25 — Columbus, OH — KEMBA Live! Sun, Nov 23, 25 — Silver Spring, MD — The Fillmore Silver Spring Tue, Nov 25, 25 — Huntington, NY — Paramount Wed, Nov 26, 25 — Boston, MA — House of Blues Fri, Nov 28, 25 — Allentown, PA — Archer Music Hall Sat, Nov 29, 25 — Charlotte, NC — The Fillmore Charlotte Sun, Nov 30, 25 — Louisville, KY — Old Forester’s Paristown Hall Tue, Dec 2, 25 — Chicago, IL — Riviera Theater Thu, Dec 4, 25 — Nashville, TN — Marathon Music Works Fri, Dec 5, 25 — St. Louis, MO — The Pageant Sat, Dec 6, 25 — Tulsa, OK — Tulsa Theater Sun, Dec 7, 25 — Dallas, TX — House of Blues
AVATAR ARE: Johannes Eckerström — Vocalist Jonas Jarlsby — Guitarist Tim Öhrström — Guitarist Henrik Sandelin — Bassist John Alfredsson — Drummer
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 gone from strength to strength to strength over the past several years.
There’s the critically acclaimed, 2023-released album Dance Devil Dance, which included rock radio chart topper “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!
Today, the band dropped the video for the new single “In the Airwaves.” Stream it Here
“Avatar is defined by the challenges we put in front of ourselves. We always push for more and look for new angles. In this ever ongoing pursuit for the next great thing, we return to one of the most important aspects of metal: Speed.”
The band continues, “This is the fastest song we have done in what seems to be an eternity, and it feels good to push the engine to the max again. In a way, it feels like a return to something. Enjoy our rage.”
It follows the recent single “CAPTAIN GOAT.” Watch the video here.
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.
More music is coming. You won’t be disappointed.
2025 U.S.A. HEADLINE (JUST ANNOUNCED!) :
11/5 — Phoenix, AZ — The Van Buren 11/6 — San Diego, CA — The Observatory San Diego 11/7 — Riverside, CA — Riverside Municipal Auditorium 11/8 — Las Vegas, NV — Brooklyn Bowl 11/10 — Seattle, WA — Moore Theater 11/11 — Portland, OR — Roseland Theatre 11/12 — Boise, ID — Revolution 11/14 — Salt Lake City, UT — The Union 11/15 — Denver, CO — Fillmore 11/17 — Minneapolis, MN — Fillmore 11/18 — Madison, WI — The Sylvee 11/20 — Detroit, MI — The Fillmore Detroit 11/21 — Pittsburgh, PA — Stage AE 11/22 — Columbus, OH — KEMBA Live! 11/23 — Silver Spring, MD — The Fillmore Silver Spring 11/25 — Huntington, NY — Paramount 11/26 — Boston, MA — House of Blues 11/28 — Allentown, PA — Archer Music Hall 11/29 — Charlotte, NC — The Fillmore Charlotte 11/30 — Louisville, KY — Old Forester’s Paristown Hall 12/2 — Chicago, IL — Riviera Theater 12/4 — Nashville, TN — Marathon Music Works 12/5 — St. Louis, MO — The Pageant 12/6 — Tulsa, OK — Tulsa Theater 12/7 — Dallas, TX — House of Blues
AVATAR ON TOUR WITH IRON MAIDEN:
7/19 — Paris, FR — Paris La Défense Arena 7/20 — Paris, FR — Paris La Défense Arena 7/23 — Arnhem, NL — GelreDome 7/25 — Frankfurt, DE — Deutsche Bank Park 7/26 — Stuttgart, DE — Cannstatter Wasen 7/29 — Berlin, DE — Waldbühne Berlin 7/30 — Berlin, DE —Waldbühne Berlin 8/2 — Warsaw, PL — PGE Narodowy 8/9 — Kortrijk, BE — Alcatraz Festival*
2025 MEXICO HEADLINE
10/31 — Mexico City, MX — The Pepsi Center
2026 EUROPEAN HEADLINE TOUR:
2/5 — Stockholm, SE — Fållan 2/7 — Helsinki, FI — Kulttuuritalo 2/9 — Oslo, NO — Sentrum Scene 2/10 — Copenhagen, DK — Vega 2/11 — Osnabrück, DE — Die Botschaft 2/12 — Brussels, BE — A.B. 2/14 — London, UK — Exhibition 2/15 — Manchester, UK — Academy 2/16 — Glasgow, UK — Barrowland 2/17 — Nottingham, UK — Rock City 2/18 — Bristol, UK — O2 Academy 2/20 — Amsterdam, NL — AFAS Live 2/21 — Esch-Sur-Alzette, LU — Rockhal 2/22 — Zürich, CH — Komplex 2/24 — Barcelona, ES — Razzmatazz 2/25 — Madrid, ES — La Riviera 2/27 — Lisbon, PT — LAV 2/28 — Bilbao, ES — Santana 27 3/2 — Lyon, FR — Le Cube 3/3 — Milan, IT — Alcatraz 3/4 — Vienna, AT — Gasometer 3/5 — Munich, DE — Tonhalle 3/6 — Cologne, DE — E-Werk 3/7 — Paris, FR — Le Zenith 3/9 — Wiesbaden, DE — Schlachthof 3/10 — Zlin, CZ — Sports Hall Datart 3/11 — Warsaw, PL — Stodola 3/12 — Berlin, DE — Columbiahalle 3/13 — Hamburg, DE — Docks
SUPPORTING METALLICA — SUMMER 2026:
5/24 — Frankfurt, DE — Deutsche Bank Park 6/11 — Budapest, HU — Puskas Arena 6/19 — Dublin, IE — Aviva Stadium 7/5 — London, UK — London Stadium
ABOUT AVATAR:
As a strange light in the sky beckons you towards something forbidden, far away, you see a robed, horned ferryman, rowing across a restless sea at the end of days. Back home a strange sound rolls through your house. It comes from the basement. The news talks about a beautiful corpse, lauded for her magnificent demise on a dance floor by men who could have fixed her. You catch the last broadcast from an outpost succumbing to flames on a distant moon. Its inhabitants try to outrun their own madness. Outside there is a place you’re not allowed to go, no matter how intoxicating the gaze of the eyes among the trees.
You lay awake at night, yet you dream thousand dreams more real than any waking moment.
Strange times call for a strange band. With a life long commitment to the misfit arts, Avatar delves deep into the collective subconscious. They travel beyond the realms of flesh and far past the spiritual barriers broken in past works. No matter how many times they were warned, they keep treading deeper into the woods. There is sense to be made out of the senseless. They lay a soft gaze upon terrifying, almost shapeless inner landscapes, and they have a damn good time doing it.
Don’t go in the forest is a warning said by others, heeded as a challenge for a certain kind freak who just can’t fight the urge to seek truth and feel alive. It is a collection of strange tunes emerging from a circus tent in a meadow in a faraway valley. You can only ever get there by accident, walking a path impossible to remember and map out. Two eyes closed, one eye open.
Formed by John Alfredsson and Jonas Jarlsby as teenagers, soon joined by Johannes Eckerström, Henrik Sandelin and Simon Andersson, Avatar started an evolution that would see a group always looking to connect what you hear with what you see. Once Andersson left and Tim Öhrström joined, they had all the ingredients to a brew so potent it would forge their names into the souls of millions. More than a band, Avatar has evolved to concept art. In order to keep going with the same drive as they had on day one, they make sure that what is made must be done. Every single time must matter more than ever before. No matter how far they get, they are sworn to remain underdogs. There is so much to do, to try. So many ways to rediscover the simple yet sublime power hidden inside an electric guitar.
It’s all about trying new things, on and off stage. Choirs, brass instruments, Moogs, piano, cellos and violas. As long as it all worships at the altar of the riff, the possibilities are as vast as the universe. Don’t go in the forest once again stretches, bends and breaks the boundaries of what Avatar is and can be by providing both the most introspective as well as their most explosive moments. It is all done in a way that can only be achieved after a lifetime in servitude to the madness where all your gathered experiences are used to be reborn. In other words, by embracing discovery as the core tenet for what they do, every new release is as fresh and exciting as their very first time in a rehearsal room.
While the studio experience is becoming a more and more powerful tool for self expression, it is on the stage where Avatar truly comes alive. Every testimonial makes the same claims in all caps. Avatar is a MUST SEE experience. Every album cycle has provided record breaking milestones. A few of the more recent ones being kicking the door in on Latin America, first with Iron Maiden, and then with sold out shows all throughout Mexico and beyond. They have also become the talk of countless festivals across Europe and the United States, being a surefire stage closer and show stealer everywhere they go, all while setting attendance record after attendance record for their headline shows. From Australia to Brazil. From Scandinavia to the Mediterranean Sea. From the Pacific Northwest to the Deep South. Everywhere they go, their unique blend of suggestive theatrics and unabashed, unapologetic good heavy metal times, they have proven that there is only one Avatar and everyone else is playing for second place. Their impact is shown with chart toppers such as “The Dirt I’m Buried In” reaching heights that are hard to imagine from a band that has stepped into the craziest era in music history, taking matters into their own hand with their own independent label, Black Waltz Records.
For centuries the circus would come to town. Now, for the first time in history, the gravitational pull of Avatar is so strong that the town is coming to the circus. A circus deep in the forest. A forbidden place. A taboo you are destined to break.
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 gone from strength to strength to strength over the past several years.
There’s the critically acclaimed, 2023-released album Dance Devil Dance, which included rock chart topper 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 band is looking forward to an even brighter future with today’s release of the brand new song “CAPTAIN GOAT.”LISTEN HERE
“I think it will be very clear to people hearing ‘Captain Goat’, that the rules once again have changed,” states vocalist Eckerström. “It will always be metal. It will always be Avatar. We will never do the same song twice and we will always find ways to reinvent ourselves. It’s the only way we know how to do this, and the only way to give ourselves a shot at being the best we have ever been. ‘Captain Goat’ uses the
motif of Satan and the spirit’s journey through the underworld as a meditation. It is a negotiation with the harsh state of being and finding acceptance as you navigate the ruthless darkness of life.”
Regarding the accompanying visual, he furthers, “In the video, we find a way to play with that, shamelessly lending imagery from various myths, folklore and legends. Besides, any day I get to see the boys undress for a part is a good day for all of us.”
Additionally, there are 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. There is more new music on the way, as well.
But for now, bow down to the Captain. Captain Goat, that is.
AVATAR ON TOUR:
WITH IRON MAIDEN: 7/3 — Belfort, FR — Eurockéennes 7/5 — Madrid, ES — Cívitas Metropolitano 7/6 — Lisbon, PT — MEO Arena 7/9 — Zurich, CH — Hallenstadion 7/11 — Gelsenkirchen, DE — Veltins Arena 7/13 — Padova, IT — Studio Euganeo 7/15 — Bremen, DE — Bürgerweide 7/17 — Vienna, AT — Ernst Happel Stadium 7/19 — Paris, FR — Paris La Défense Arena 7/20 — Paris, FR — Paris La Défense Arena 7/23 — Arnhem, NL — GelreDome 7/25 — Frankfurt, DE — Deutsche Bank Park 7/26 — Stuttgart, DE — Cannstatter Wasen 7/29 — Berlin, DE — Waldbühne Berlin 7/30 — Berlin, DE —Waldbühne Berlin 8/2 — Warsaw, PL — PGE Narodowy 8/9 — Kortrijk, BE — Alcatraz Festival*
2026 EUROPEAN HEADLINE TOUR: 2/5 — Stockholm, SE — Fållan 2/7 — Helsinki, FI — Kulttuuritalo 2/9 — Oslo, NO — Sentrum Scene 2/10 — Copenhagen, DK — Vega 2/11 — Osnabrück, DE — Die Botschaft 2/12 — Brussels, BE — A.B. 2/14 — London, UK — Exhibition 2/15 — Manchester, UK — Academy 2/16 — Glasgow, UK — Barrowland 2/17 — Nottingham, UK — Rock City 2/18 — Bristol, UK — O2 Academy 2/20 — Amsterdam, NL — AFAS Live 2/21 — Esch-Sur-Alzette, LU — Rockhal 2/22 — Zürich, CH — Komplex 2/24 — Barcelona, ES — Razzmatazz 2/25 — Madrid, ES — La Riviera 2/27 — Lisbon, PT — LAV 2/28 — Bilbao, ES — Santana 27 3/2 — Lyon, FR — Le Cube 3/3 — Milan, IT — Alcatraz 3/4 — Vienna, AT — Gasometer 3/5 — Munich, DE — Tonhalle 3/6 — Cologne, DE — E-Werk 3/7 — Paris, FR — Le Zenith 3/9 — Wiesbaden, DE — Schlachthof 3/10 — Zlin, CZ — Sports Hall Datart 3/11 — Warsaw, PL — Stodola 3/12 — Berlin, DE — Columbiahalle 3/13 — Hamburg, DE — Docks
SUPPORTING METALLICA — SUMMER 2026: 5/24 — Frankfurt, DE — Deutsche Bank Park 6/11 — Budapest, HU — Puskas Arena 6/19 — Dublin, IE — Aviva Stadium 7/5 — London, UK — London Stadium
ABOUT AVATAR:
As a strange light in the sky beckons you towards something forbidden, far away, you see a robed, horned ferryman, rowing across a restless sea at the end of days. Back home a strange sound rolls through your house. It comes from the basement. The news talks about a beautiful corpse, lauded for her magnificent demise on a dance floor by men who could have fixed her. You catch the last broadcast from an outpost succumbing to flames on a distant moon. Its inhabitants try to outrun their own madness. Outside there is a place you’re not allowed to go, no matter how intoxicating the gaze of the eyes among the trees.
You lay awake at night, yet you dream thousand dreams more real than any waking moment.
Strange times call for a strange band. With a life long commitment to the misfit arts, Avatar delves deep into the collective subconscious. They travel beyond the realms of flesh and far past the spiritual barriers broken in past works. No matter how many times they were warned, they keep treading deeper into the woods. There is sense to be made out of the senseless. They lay a soft gaze upon terrifying, almost shapeless inner landscapes, and they have a damn good time doing it.
Don’t go in the forest is a warning said by others, heeded as a challenge for a certain kind freak who just can’t fight the urge to seek truth and feel alive. It is a collection of strange tunes emerging from a circus tent in a meadow in a faraway valley. You can only ever get there by accident, walking a path impossible to remember and map out. Two eyes closed, one eye open.
Formed by John Alfredsson and Jonas Jarlsby as teenagers, soon joined by Johannes Eckerström, Henrik Sandelin and Simon Andersson, Avatar started an evolution that would see a group always looking to connect what you hear with what you see. Once Andersson left and Tim Öhrström joined, they had all the ingredients to a brew so potent it would forge their names into the souls of millions. More than a band, Avatar has evolved to concept art. In order to keep going with the same drive as they had on day one, they make sure that what is made must be done. Every single time must matter more than ever before. No matter how far they get, they are sworn to remain underdogs. There is so much to do, to try. So many ways to rediscover the simple yet sublime power hidden inside an electric guitar.
It’s all about trying new things, on and off stage. Choirs, brass instruments, Moogs, piano, cellos and violas. As long as it all worships at the altar of the riff, the possibilities are as vast as the universe. Don’t go in the forest once again stretches, bends and breaks the boundaries of what Avatar is and can be by providing both the most introspective as well as their most explosive moments. It is all done in a way that can only be achieved after a lifetime in servitude to the madness where all your gathered experiences are used to be reborn. In other words, by embracing discovery as the core tenet for what they do, every new release is as fresh and exciting as their very first time in a rehearsal room.
While the studio experience is becoming a more and more powerful tool for self expression, it is on the stage where Avatar truly comes alive. Every testimonial makes the same claims in all caps. Avatar is a MUST SEE experience. Every album cycle has provided record breaking milestones. A few of the more recent ones being kicking the door in on Latin America, first with Iron Maiden, and then with sold out shows all throughout Mexico and beyond. They have also become the talk of countless festivals across Europe and the United States, being a surefire stage closer and show stealer everywhere they go, all while setting attendance record after attendance record for their headline shows. From Australia to Brazil. From Scandinavia to the Mediterranean Sea. From the Pacific Northwest to the Deep South. Everywhere they go, their unique blend of suggestive theatrics and unabashed, unapologetic good heavy metal times, they have proven that there is only one Avatar and everyone else is playing for second place. Their impact is shown with chart toppers such as “The Dirt I’m Buried In” reaching heights that are hard to imagine from a band that has stepped into the craziest era in music history, taking matters into their own hand with their own independent label, Black Waltz Records.
For centuries the circus would come to town. Now, for the first time in history, the gravitational pull of Avatar is so strong that the town is coming to the circus. A circus deep in the forest. A forbidden place. A taboo you are destined to break.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Freaks and Friends… roll up, roll up and prepare yourselves for a night to be torn apart with AVATAR. Bringing a brand new spectacle of devilish drama, the beating black heart of AVATAR is soon to unleash an extravaganza for your delectation and delight across the frozen wastes of northern Europe, its central plains and its southern shores, travelling through the United Kingdom as it sets fire to hearts and minds in 2026.
“We are heavy addicts!” proclaims our Swedish ringmaster Johannes Eckerström. “For all the praise we’ve gotten for what we do on stage, we can’t shake the feeling that we have only just begun. Therefore, this tour is set to break every record and boundary of our past travels. I am not just talking about size. Everything must be better than ever. It’s what we live for, and what we promise.”
The journey commences this summer when the band embark on a sixteen-date run with heroes of metal, Iron Maiden, bringing their dark carnival to arenas and stadiums across the continent. And then they unfurl their brand new vision in Mexico City with their own enormous headline show ‘Noche De Brujas’ to thousands of fans on Halloween, ahead of Mexico’s famed Dia de los Muertos.
This will be the first taste of AVATAR’s stunning new live production ahead of an impending world tour that will see Johannes Eckerström lead his troupe of musical warriors John Alfredsson, Jonas Jarlsby, Henrik Sandelin, and Tim Öhrström around the globe. Featuring songs old and new from across the band’s career, this will be AVATAR as you have never seen them before, playing some of the biggest shows of their 25 year career – including a landmark show on Valentine’s Night at one of London’s newest venues, The Exhibition, situated in a Grade II listed building in White City.
AVATAR across EUROPE 2026
FEBRUARY
THU 05 – STOCKHOLM, SE – FÅLLAN SAT 07- HELSINKI, FI – KULTTUURITALO MON 09 – OSLO, NO – SENTRUM SCENE TUE 10 – COPENHAGEN – DK – VEGA WED 11 – OSNABRÜCK, DE – DIE BOTSCHAFT THU 12 – BRUSSELS, BE – A.B. SAT 14 – LONDON, UK – EXHIBITION SUN 15 – MANCHESTER, UK – ACADEMY MON 16 – GLASGOW, UK – BARROWLAND TUE 17 – NOTTINGHAM, UK – ROCK CITY WED 18 – BRISTOL, UK – O2 ACADEMY FRI 20 – AMSTERDAM, NL – AFAS LIVE SAT 21 – ESCH-SUR-ALZETTE, LU – ROCKHAL SUN 22 – ZÜRICH, CH – KOMPLEX TUE 24 – BARCELONA, ES – RAZZMATAZZ WED 25 – MADRID, ES – LA RIVIERA FRI 27 – LISBON, PT – LAV SAT 28 – BILBAO, ES – SANTANA 27
MARCH
MON 02 – LYON, FR – LE CUBE TUE 03- MILAN, IT – ALCATRAZ WED 04 – VIENNA, AT – GASOMETER THU 05 – MUNICH, DE – TONHALLE FRI 06 – COLOGNE, DE – E-WERK SAT 07 – PARIS, FR – LE ZENITH MON 09 – WIESBADEN, DE – SCHLACHTHOF TUE 10 – ZLIN, CZ – SPORTS HALL DATART WED 11 – WARSAW, PL – STODOLA THU 12 – BERLIN, DE – COLUMBIAHALLE FRI 13 – HAMBURG, DE – DOCKS
Tickets are available now.
AVATAR Supporting Iron Maiden on the ‘Run For Your Lives Tour’ Summer, 2025:
AVATAR supporting Iron Maiden, Europe 2025
JULY
SAT 5 – MADRID, ES – Cívitas Metropolitano SUN 6 – LISBON, PR – MEO Arena WEDS 9 – ZURICH, SZ – Hallenstadion FRI 11 – GELSENKIRCHEN, DE – Veltins Arena SUN 13 – PADOVA, IT – Studio Euganeo TUES 15 – BREMEN, DE – Bürgerweide THURS 17 – VIENNA, AT – Ernst Happel Stadium SAT 19 – PARIS, FR – Paris La Défense Arena SUN 20 PARIS, FR – Paris La Défense Arena WEDS 23 – ARNHEM, NL – GelreDome FRI 25 – FRANKFURT, DE – Deutsche Bank Park SAT 26 – FRANKFURT, DE – Cannstatter Wasen TUES 29 – BERLIN, DE – Waldbühne Berlin WEDS 30 – BERLIN, DE – Waldbühne Berlin
AUGUST
SAT 2 – WARSAW, PL – PGE Narodowy
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