Avatarium – Death, Where Is Your Sting (Review)

This is the fifth album from Swedish dark rock band Avatarium.

Both 2017’s Hurricanes and Halos and 2019’s The Fire I Long For were very enjoyable records, showing good progression from one to the next that simply saw the band improving and diversifying. So what next for Avatarium?

Death, Where Is Your Sting contains 45 minutes of dark, sophisticated music. Coming across as a mix of the band’s doom metal/rock roots overtaken by its rising progressive folk side, this album might not be what you were expecting, but it’s definitely what you need.

Death, Where Is Your Sting carries on what The Fire I Long For started; by introducing more and more elements from different styles and genres, Avatarium continue to expand our from their doom core and into wider territories. The album benefits from an array of different elements, including folk, pop, Gothic, psychedelic, metal, and alternative styles and influences, and many more besides. It’s all given a dark atmospheric  oating, and is absolutely bursting with hooks and depth.

Each of the songs has a life of its own, a personality that’s explored within the boundaries of its own structure. Yet each one also fits into and contributes to the whole, giving the album a measured flow that feels like a real journey. Rather than write the same song eight times, Avatarium have put in the work to craft eight individual slices of compelling music to get lost in.

Avatarium’s talented singer is the undeniable focal point of the music. This only works due to the high quality of the material as a whole, as otherwise you’d simply have a great singer fronting uninspired songs. That’s not the case here, and the music allows her stunning voice to shine with the best backing possible.

Death, Where Is Your Sting offers a rich tapestry of expressive dark rock. It is an accomplished and passionate release with some absolutely cracking songs. Avatarium’s music is extremely enjoyable, and I can’t recommend this highly enough if you’re a fan of well-written songs with dark appeal.

Essential listening.