Out of the Box and Spiralling out of Control - A Review of Avatar's Dance Devil Dance

Avatar is a Swedish quintet that has been around for more than two decades by now and Dance Devil Dance is already the band's ninth regular full length record. Personally, I have heard rock and metal fans talking about this band before but I have only now decided to finally listen to its most recent studio album because the quintet will be opening on a few dates for Iron Maiden next summer and I will be attending one such concert.

To be honest, the eleven songs with a total running time of forty-one minutes make me ask more questions rather than answering any. The unusual cover artwork already seems to indicate that the quintet might want to troll its listeners. The band sounds like a mixture of their compatriots Pain and Norwegian musician Leo Moracchioli who is most known for his experimental cover songs on social media. Avatar combines genres such as electronic rock, groove metal and melodic death metal which means that this band might sit well with genre fans who have grown up in the late nineties and early years of the new millennium while fans of traditional heavy metal of the eighties most certainly won't find much to like here.

Despite its eclectic songwriting, this record fails to offer much that stands out as this album needs more than a few spins to slowly open up. "Valley of Disease" might be the most energetic song with aggressive guitar riffs and enthusiastic vocals. "The Dirt I'm Buried In" is a nu metal power ballad that would most likely get the band some radio airplay in North America. "Clouds Dipped in Chrome" sounds like a slowed-down mixture of Suicide Silence and System of a Down. "Train" features elements of a danceable ballad flirting with country influences that might be appreciated in the Bible Belt. Album closer "Violence No Matter What" sounds like a forgotten Pantera b-side with restrained additional participation by singer Lzzy Hale of hard rock band Halestorm.

All of these song descriptions might sound creative, innovative and unique but the accumulation of odd experiments simply leaves listeners scratching their heads. This album offers too many experimentations, genres and influences to appeal to a wider audience. Said record doesn't have any coherency, flow or structure whatsoever. There are a few bits and pieces on this record that show promise but they are often poorly developed and intertwined with other ideas that barely blend in. The final result is an intoxicating cocktail of musical weirdness that is best enjoyed in very small doses and doesn't inspire me to give this album any further chances or check out the rest of this group's vast discography at all.