Concert Reviews

Avatar Concert Photos and Review

by Brooks Robinson

Updated April 24, 2026

Avatar – The Novo – April 17, 2026

Swedish heavy metal band Avatar played night two of their 26-date Don’t Go in the Forest Tour in Los Angeles on Friday, and it was beyond all expectations. Avatar is always a great show, and people that see them once tend to see them again and again. Their fanbase is extremely loyal, and for those lucky enough to attend, the show at The Novo in the L.A. Live complex in downtown Los Angeles was all a diehard fan or someone new to the band could wish for.

Avatar

The current tour is in support of 2025’s Don’t Go in the Forest album, and the evening’s set featured six songs off the new record. The crowd seemed to know them all, and was in a state of bliss throughout the evening.

Vocalist Johannes Eckerström talked about two things from the stage. The first came about halfway through the show - despite running and jumping all over the stage to that point, he admitted that he’d broken two toes just before leaving Europe for the tour by dropping a weight plate on his foot. He then thanked free European healthcare and lamented what we must go through to receive and pay for healthcare in this country. He said that we should organize to get better care, and that he was rooting for us. The second remark was that it was night two of the tour, which meant that “It is the first night of us sounding great.”, and sound great they did.

There was a unique element that I haven’t seen anywhere else - the stage was designed with rails embedded in the floor going side to side and front to back. During the intro to the opening song “Captain Goat”, a riser with Johannes, guitarists Jonas Jarlsby and Tim Öhrström, and bassist Henrik Sandelin seemed to float towards the crowd, while Johannes held a lantern in his hand next to his face. In addition, throughout the show, the drum riser moved between songs, and in some cases, half of the set went left, while the other half rolled right, allowing the band to walk through the middle of the drum set and out the upstage circus tent curtain to change instruments or take a breather out of sight.

The band was dressed in matching black leather wardrobe with the exception of Johannes, who wore his own version of it, while donning his customary dark, theatrical clown makeup. While each member provided their own individual attributes to bring their personalities into the fold, the stage gear unified them and drove home that they are a band united.

Formed in 2001, Avatar knows how to put on a show. I started listening to them in 2012 when “Smells Like a Freakshow” started gaining traction on Sirius/XM’s Octane, and have seen them multiple times, in settings ranging from 1000 seat theaters to tens of thousands cheering them on at festivals, and they simply know how to entertain regardless of the setting. There is something for everyone at their show – if you want to mosh, there’s a pit. If you want to crowd surf, someone will lift you up, and if you simply want to vibe and enjoy the show, that is encouraged too. Fans seem to be more inclusive than other heavy shows, and it makes perfect sense that their audience loves and remains loyal to them throughout their 10 album, 25-year career. They are one of the most fun bands to see live, and Friday night was no exception.

Setlist:

1) Captain Goat

2) Silence in the Age of Apes

3) The Eagle Has Landed

4) In the Airwaves

5) Bloody Angel

6) Death and Glitz

7) A Secret Door

8) The Dirt I'm Buried In

9) Colossus

10) Torn Apart

11) Howling at the Waves

12) Legend of the King

13) Let It Burn

14) Tonight We Must Be Warriors

Encore:

15) Don’t Go in the Forest

16) Smells Like a Freakshow

17) Hail the Apocalypse

Avatar is:

Jonas "Kungen" Jarlsby – Guitar
John Alfredsson – Drums
Johannes Eckerström – Vocals
Tim Öhrström – Guitar
Henrik Sandelin – Bass

Fleshgod Apocalypse

Operatic vocalist Veronica Bordacchini seemed to appear out of nowhere with an Italian flag by her side as the lights came up and Italian symphonic death metal band Fleshgod Apocalypse launched into their set with “Ode to Art (de' Sepolcri)”. A massive wall of sound exploded out of the PA system – a truly unique alchemy of blast-beats, opera style vocals, and orchestral arrangements. Dressed as though from the Renaissance period, Fleshgod Apocalypse was distinctive in every regard – visually, vocally, and musically, and the enthusiastic crowd responded appropriately.

Fleshgod Apocalypse is:

Veronica Bordacchini – Vocals –
Fabio Bartoletti – Guitar
Eugene Ryabchenko – Drums
Francesco Paoli – Guitar/Vocals
Francesco Ferrini – Keyboards

Frozen Soul

Dallas Texas death metal band Frozen Soul is touring in support of their upcoming album No Place of Warmth which comes out in three weeks. Vocalist Chad Green recently described the sound this way: “The best way I can put it is that it sounds like a fucking blizzard with razor sharp ice cutting through you.” That description sounded about right. Five of the eight songs played were from the new album and the audience seemed to love it. People showed up early for Frozen Soul’s 7:15pm start – the venue was mostly full by the time they hit the stage, and fans let them know how they felt about the music by happily moshing and crowd surfing throughout.

In a complete surprise to fans, Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance showed up to sing on the new record’s title track “No Place of Warmth”, which resulted in a massive roar of amazed approval from the crowd. Frozen Soul’s set was unrelenting, and a great way to kick off a fun and hard-hitting night of live music.

Frozen Soul is:

Chad Green – Vocals
Michael Munday – Guitar
Samantha Mobley – Bass
Matt Dennard – Drums
Chris Bonner – Guitar

Brooks Robinson Photographer & Writer

Brooks Robinson is an LA-based concert photographer, and 30+ year freelance camera operator for film, television, and music videos. He has photographed some of the largest film/TV projects in history, and hundreds of music videos in MTV's heyday.

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