AVATARIUM — The Girl with the Raven Mask (review)

AVATARIUM — The Girl with the Raven Mask album cover Album · 2015 · Doom Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
Nightfly
Avatarium’s self-titled debut album, released in 2013 was one of the best albums ever released in the doom metal genre in my humble opinion so naturally I was looking forward to The Girl With The Raven Mask. It certainly had a lot to live up to and wasn’t going to be easy to better it. Well, I guess Avatarium have done the smart thing and released an album that’s totally different.

Their debut album was built on the incredibly heavy and powerful riffs of guitarist Marcus Jidell and the first thing you notice here is the keyboard work of Carl Westholm is much more prominent and on an equal footing to the guitars. These songs are still heavy though they take on a more retro vibe and the psych element is more evident. Another great thing about their debut was plenty of light and shade in the songs and that’s still the case here, if not more so, perfectly highlighted in two of the best tracks on the album, The January Sea and Pearl’s And Coffin’s, both of which feature early on after the opening title track which captures the band at their most commercial and accessible. The Girl With The Raven Mask is also an early indicator that the band won’t be restrained by the restrictions of the slow tempos associated with doom metal.

One of the biggest revelations of their debut was the stunning vocal performance of then unknown Jennie-Ann Smith who not only has power but infuses each song with feeling and vocal dynamics. If anything, she is even better here having had time to develop her vocal skills out on the road no doubt. The band as a whole are on great form and all turn in strong performances as you’d expect from such seasoned pros.

There’s no denying the quality of this album and I take my hat off to Avatarium for not repeating the same formula as their debut. I think I prefer the debut slightly over this one, partly down to a couple of tracks that aren’t quite on the same level, Iron Mule being the weakest, though in a lesser band would still be a triumph. This is a minor quibble though and such is the quality of TGWTRM it’s going to be in my top 10 albums of the year barring an unlikely late rush of strong albums I’ve yet to hear. Doom metal purists are also likely to prefer the first album but anyone with an open mind for heavy music in general will almost certainly be impressed by this excellent album.
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Nightfly wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Thanks - they're both great albums for sure. Roll on no 3!
adg211288 wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Great review. I'm still not sure which of the albums I prefer as I love both styles they've done.

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