1. The Swedish metal band, Avatar was formed in Gothenburg in 2001 by drummer John Alfredsson and vocalist Christian Rimmi as Lost Soul. After several changes in the line-up, Avatar now consists of John Alfredsson (drums), Johannes Eckerström (vocals), Simon Andersson (guitar), Jonas Jarlsby (guitar) and Henrik Sandelin (bass). Their first demo was released in spring 2004, and after two years their first full-length reached the stores. After the release they headed out on tour with Evergrey which was a huge success, and after that they were invited to the In Flames Sweden tour 2007, which also was a huge success, right now we are waiting for the second full length album that´s going to be released the 26th of November namely “Schlacht”.|__________________ 2. The Belgian Symphonic Black Metal band Avatar, incited by drummer Azagdaimon was formed in 1992. They released the “Emperors of the Night “(demo) in 1994 and Memoriam Draconis(Full-length) in 1996.|Avatar shared stages in Europe with Cradle of Filth, In The Woods and Dimmu Borgir.|The band recorded a second full-length that was never released and split-up shortly after.|They had a deal with Dutch Displeased Records for the release of the album, but after the recordings, Displeased blew off the deal. The band resurfaced in 1998 sporting an all new line up. Alongside longstanding members vocalist / guitarist Jeroen van Gorp and keyboardplayer Ivan Op De Beeck , Avatar introduced Klaartje Keppens on female vocals and bassist Stijn Buys.|They recorded a new album again and shortly after, they recuited Chris Heylen on drums, who was playing drums in ‘In de Schaduw’ at that time. |But the new album was also never released and the band decided to make a drastic change in their musical directions, this time in a more ‘Sisters of Mercy’ kind of way and went on for some time under the name ‘The Avatar’, recorded and released one album before they split up again.|__________________ 3. Avatar was a power-rock trio based in Denver Colorado in the mid 90’s. |__________________ 4. Avatar is also the original name of the heavy metal band Savatage.|__________________ 5. Avatar is also one of Krister Linders ambient side projects. 6. Avatar is also Avichay Avigal and Martin Cooper projects. Most important with track Kabal on Goa Gil: Forest of the Saints __________________ 7. Avatar is also a mexican pop-rock band. Its current members are: Kike de la Parra (voices, guitar, keyboards), Diego Medellín (drums and percussion), and Jonathan Porta (bass guitar). __________________ 8. Avatar is also the name of a jazzy dub project led by James Kennedy, hailing from Tralee, Ireland. __________________ 9. Another metal band named Avatar contributed the track “Octave” to the first ‘Metal Massacre’ compilation in 1982.|__________________ 10. Avatar is also a synthpop band from Peru. Its current members are: Robinson Ramos (voices, lyrics) & Julio Alca (Keyboards, Synths, Programming) www.myspace.com/avatarfuture|__________________ 11. Pete Martin & Marc van der Vlugt. Releases: Machine Life 12” (2000) on Dragonfly Records.|__________________ 12. Avatar from Romania. The band was formed in 1995 by Dan Scurtu (guitar), Marius Popeanga (vocals and drums), and Andrei Nemes (bass). They soon recorded their first demo, Orgiastic Ceremony. The following year Mihai “Bryzby” Petrescu joined the band on keyboards, and they recorded their second demo, Holy Infection. In 1999 they signed with Bestial Records. The following year Alin “Cocozoi” Deca joined the band as the second vocalist, and Cornel Tudosie replaced Nemes on bass. This lineup recorded and released the band’s first album, The Alchemist. After releasing their first video, “Inner Alchemy”, in 2001, the band had another lineup change: Marian Calin took over on drums and Catalin Branzan replaced Tudosie on bass. From 2002 to 2004 they performed at various metal festivals in Romania, Serbia, and Austria. In 2005 Avatar recorded the promo Cyclops and later they started a tour called “Avatour” through Germany and Austria; the Salzburg concert was recorded and released as Live on Mozartstrasse. Later that year, Victor Manescu joined the band as second guitarist. In March-April 2006 they recorded the EP Tentacles, which was released in July 2006 under the Metalfan Records Division label, and they also released a video of the song “The Deepest Corner of the Mind.” They later embarked on a new tour throughout Europe. 2007 was a busy year for Avatar, with concerts all over Romania. In May they represented Romania at “The Cultural Days of Bucharest in Wien”; on July 12 2007 they performed in Bucharest as the opening act for Sepultura. After Victor Manescu left, a new guitarist, Catalin Diaconu, joined the band. In 2008, The Avatar band members performed at the ARTMANIA INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL, from Sibiu, Romania, on the stage with prestigious names such as Lacrimosa, Atrocity or Gamma Ray. At the end of the year 2008, the Avatars offered to their fans a preview of their next album, which will be released in 2009, the single and the video Pendulum. __________________ 13. Avatar is a melodic hard rock band from Hungary since 2006. In 2008 the band made their first album called A Szabadság Felé…, and they have a video as well. www.avatarzenekar.hu|__________________ 14. Avatar is an US Underground HipHop Emcee from Los Angeles . |Genre: Experimental / Hip Hop / Indie Ort helL.A., Un |Website www.dumptruckrecords.com Label:DumpTruck Records Indie Label Members:|Avatar: emcee, vocalist, wordsmith. |DJ Obi: production, scratches, co-conspirator, Smile |OAK: hype-man, metaphysical bomb-dropper. …Avatar is proud to be the purveyor of “Thinking Man’s Hip Hop”, a form of music characterized by deep, thought-provoking lyrics rife with wordplay, double (sometimes even triple) meanings, and utilizing any poetic device at the author’s disposal. Delivered in his throaty, barbwire-tinged style, Avatar’s lyrics reflect all points of his personal philosophy, from the borderline absurd (“some people shouldn’t procreate—if they have to put paper bags over their faces to fornicate”) to the abstract (“what if every day was yesterday and there was no tomorrow, and someone handed you a hand grenade you accidentally swallowed”). Known for his maniacal, intimidating stage presence and his barely controllable anger when he’s attacking ignorant belief systems, he has undoubtedly earned his place in the Los Angeles underground hip hop scenes with five independent releases under the DumpTruck Records imprint: “Republik”, “Double Negative Pt. I: For Lack of a Better World”, “Deus Ex Machina” - w/DJ Obi, “Stompbox Graveyard” and, most recently, “Chaos Theory”. In 2003, Double Negative Pt. I gained recognition as the Home Grown selection by well-respected record chain Amoeba Music in Hollywood, CA. as well as receiving international airplay and critical acclaim. Coupled with the ubiquitous DJ Obi, “Deus Ex Machina” became a landmark in “Thinking-Man’s Hip Hop”—an album so dense in content it warrants several listens to grasp the scope of its importance in today’s largely superficial hip hop scene. Avatar has since appeared on numerous L.A. underground hip hop releases, most notably including Akuma’s “Eye in the Sky”, The Beyonders’ “Time Capsule”, Bleek’s “You’re Stupid For Thinking I’m Stupid”, and 2007’s Ex Vandalz “Docile Takeover Pt. 1: Graffiti Brydge”- a seminal graff/hip hop mastrepiece featuring Prince Po, Rakaa of Dilated Peoples among countless underground luminaries. His forthcoming album “Chaos Theory” produced by Sweden’s Dynamo414 promises to be Avatar’s best work to date, with mind-shattering lyrics coursing over some serious Scandinavian breakbeat heat. 2009 also showcases Avatar’s production skills, as he sits behind the helm for NEILA’s “Better Late Than Never” album, an unmistakable force of nature where the latter’s sweet pitch-perfect delivery flows effortlessly over Avatar’s eclectic beats with guest appearances from Sleep, 2Mex, Awol, Volume Ten, Bigg Jus and many others. Not to be outdone by himself, Avatar is also primed to release the full-length debut from SPEAKEASY with drunken cohorts BLEEK and DJ LIMEGREEN in the summer of 2009. Having embarked on the KILL THE RADIO tour with XOLOLANXINXO, NEILA, ECID, KERS and DJ ESPINFINITI, Avatar hit the road in the Summer of ‘09 with unmatched intensity. Avatar’s unrelenting approach will surely cause a chain-reaction and heighten the consciousness of younger generations involved in the multi-faceted art form of urban music. … … … … … … … … REVIEWS: “Spooky beats and raps to match that aren’t devoid of playfulness” - URB Magazine “Unapolagetic lyrics…it’s fair to say that Avatar isn’t the happiest man on Earth.” - UrbanSmarts.com “The flow of his rhymes confidently keeps up with, if not speaks faster than his already quick wit” - Fixins.com “Avatar is basically a lunatic escaped from a nearby asylum who somehow manages to rap on point with such bizarre delivery that you can’t help but like him (think Murdoch from the A-Team)”- |—-|In their own circle, Avatar and DJ Obi teaming up is like Snoop doing an album with Dr. Dre. Both constantly getting more successful and attention garnering, the two teaming up is a step that makes sense for both of ‘em. And not just stylistically. It allows Avatar to focus on the rhymes, while on his last album “Double Negative Pt. 1 : For Lack Of A Better World” he also did the production. |The content of the rhymes is where Avatar is the strongest. While he at times struggles to put the right amount of syllables in each line, he really shines with clever little quotes and because he dares to address uncomfortable topics. And while there was a certain despair on the last album, here Avatar is mainly pissed off. |Why? Well, for once because he’s facing so many people that he’d like to punch in the face and if not that: at least give a good spankin’. This disgust for so many people shows on “Darwin’s Folly” where he asks the reasonable question of why there’s no requirements for people before they are allowed to procreate. What sounds rather brash, and often is brash, the last verse also features a little humor. The conclusion to the song however still is that “we should build more abortion clinics. A statement that will make him oh so popular with the American Taliban, i.e. the current elected Administration and their Christian Right Wing shadows. |A certain depression can still be felt though, like when Avatar talks about a past and how he finds ‘this is no way to live’ on “Pipe Dreams.” A song that also openly talks about the grip of addiction. Yes, life is full of “Ups & Downs”, a rather philosophical offering over a nice Obi beat. Avatar’s best lyrical moment comes on “Day Dream Time Machine” though, where he says things like: “finally got an audience but now I am at a lost for words/ stating the obvious is no job for a philosopher.” The great piano line adds more to the hunted and haunted vibe of the song. |The production by Obi is a serious and massive step forward in the right direction. He now found the right balance of bounce and grit on a “No Restraints”, a song that Avatar uses to diss people. This is a completely different vibe to the rather underproduced, too live instrument-ish and not that glorious “Metamorphosis” and “Trouble Magnet”, or to the dense and thus excellent title track “Deus Ex Machina”. The emcees - i.e. Avatar, Existereo and Akuma of The Shapeshifters - ponder: “I think my computer can tell if I touch it/ I wonder what that shit would do if I’d fuckin’ punched it,” while Obi adds many layers of music and growling over a really interesting percussion sample. |Obi also takes us a couple of years back with the style of “Breaking Loose,” while he achieves to make the instruments sound excellent on “Even Angels Fall”, a song that gives Avatar another chance to question his surroundings. “Soupbox Prophet” and “Nowhere Fast” take a lot of hints from other producers and the guitar on “Foolish Mortals” sounds kinda familiar too. But Obi adds to it a lot of other sounds, creating an interesting and well done beat with more gaps than actual consistency. |It’s fair to say that Avatar is not the happiest person on this planet. He can be happy with this release though. It cannot have been easy to do it and it’s not easy to digest. Both the unapologetic lyrics and the rugged landscapes of Obi’s beats. However, with both of these elements, “Deus Ex Machina” fits into the big picture of all Los Angeles releases, with the two slowly but surely securing their place in the pantheon of what LA adds to the whole of this hip hop culture. LP´s - Ep´s: Avatar_and_Dynamo-Chaos_Theory-2009|Avatar-deus_ex_machina-2004|Avatar-double_negative_pt.1-for_lack_of_a_better_world-2003|Speak_Easy_(Avatar_and_Bleek)-Speak_Easy-2009|Avatar-the_articulate_(vinyl_ep)-2001|Avatar-stompbox_graveyard-cdr-ep-2007|__________________ 15 - Avatar are a Thrash Metal duo from Trinidad and Tobago influenced by early Metallica, Kreator and NWOBHM. Regarded as one of the best metal bands in Trinidad. |
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