Biography
Sweden's Avatarium came into being in 2013 under the direction of Candlemass founder Leif Edling, who envisioned a sound blending crushing, atmospherically somber doom metal with classic-rock flourishes that echo My Dying Bride, Black Sabbath, Cathedral, Rainbow, Entombed, and Blue Öyster Cult. The Stockholm unit originally comprised Edling on bass, guitarist Marcus Jidell, drummer Lars Sköld, keyboardist Carl Westholm, and vocalist Jennie-Ann Smith. Early in 2014 the group unveiled its first EP, All I Want, before delivering a self-titled full-length on Nuclear Blast that November. Following the 2015 sophomore release The Girl with the Raven Mask, the band mounted concerts throughout Europe and beyond. Although Edling withdrew from the road—leaving Tiamat’s Anders Iwers to handle live bass duties—he remained the principal composer. The third album, Hurricanes and Halos, arrived in 2017 and included contributions from Smith and Jidell. By 2019 Smith and Jidell had assumed creative leadership, adding organist Rickard Nilsson and drummer Andreas Johansson as permanent members. The resulting fourth effort, The Fire I Long For, appeared on Nuclear Blast at the close of that year and contained several songs originally penned by Edling.