Avatarium to Release The Girl with the Raven Mask on Oct. 30
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 9th, 2015 by JJ KoczanSwedish outfit Avatarium, who feature in their ranks none other than Candlemass bassist and songwriter Leif Edling, are set to release their second album later this month. Dubbed The Girl with the Raven Mask, it will follow-up their 2013 self-titled debut, and will see release in Europe on Nuclear Blast Oct. 23 and in North America in cooperation with Metalville Records on Oct. 30.
Art, tracklisting and release info follow, courtesy of the PR wire:
SWEDISH DOOM METALLERS AVATARIUM SET TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM THIS FALL
THE GIRL WITH THE RAVEN MASK OUT OCTOBER 30TH
Founded in 2012 by bassist Leif Edling (ex-CANDLEMASS) and guitarist Marcus Jidell (EVERGREY), Swedish-based doom act AVATARIUM, are set to release their magnum opus The Girl With The Raven Mask in North America on October 30th as part of a joint licensing venture between Nuclear Blast Records and Metalville Records.
Recorded and mixed in the Ghostward Studio in Gröndal, Stockholm with engineer David Castillo (BLOODBATH, OPETH, KATATONIA) at the helm, The Girl With The Raven Mask follows the group’s first EP Moonhorse (2013), a highly acclaimed self-titled debut that same year, and a second EP All I Want (2014).
“The quest for the perfect studio wasn’t that easy,” states Jidell, who also produced the record. “To get the right feel, drums, guitar, bass and some keys were recorded live. It was extremely important to find the right studio and the right equipment to make the album sound like we wanted.”
AVATARIUM, which also features Jennie-Ann Smith (vocals), Lars Sköld (drums), and Carl Westholm (keyboards), once again had the pleasure to work with Michael Blair (TOM WAITS, LOU REED) who emerged as guest percussionist. “He did his usual magic and helped us to catch a little of that cool old school vibe we were looking for,” Jidell confirms.
The Girl With The Raven Mask is not only the name of the album but also the opening track. It is the shortest song on the record at just over four minutes. Jidell explains, “It is an up-tempo hard rock/doom number with a very strong lyric made by Leif about a little girl with a big raven head mask. The song asks questions like: Who is she and what did she experience? What is it that she doesn’t want us to see?”
The band’s musical aim on the forthcoming album was to continue the philosophy and atmosphere they had created on their on their self-titled album and the All I Want EP.
“We want to catch the vibe of our heroes, bands like MOUNTAIN, RAINBOW, BLACK SABBATH, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT, CROSBY, STILLS & NASH and LED ZEPPELIN, to make organic sounding music but to combine that with the raw and heavy sound of today. The songs all have their own soul and touch, we really wanted to have a nice flow on the album and to make something different both musical and lyrical wise. We wanted to keep the energy in all the individual performances and at the same time allowed the songs to grow the way they needed,” Jidell closes.
This is evident in the lengths of the tracks. None of the songs (except the title track) are shorter than five minutes, taking listeners on an epic prog-rock journey.
The Girl With The Raven Mask track listing:
1. Girl With The Raven Mask
2. The January Sea
3. Pearls And Coffins
4. Hypnotized
5. Ghostlight
6. Run Killer Run
7. Iron Mule
8. The Master Thief
Pre-order THE GIRL WITH THE RAVEN MASK here: http://amzn.to/1LNokOO
www.AVATARIUMofficial.com
www.facebook.de/AVATARIUMofficial
www.twitter.com/_AVATARIUM
www.youtube.com/AVATARIUMofficial
www.facebook.com/Metalville
