Theatrical heavy metal go getters Avtar had announced this past New Year that they would be heading out on a spring headlining tour, in support of their latest album "Don't Go in the Forest", as they had done a headlining run just last fall. This time they would bring Fleshgod Apocalypse and Frozen Soul, making a stop in Los Angeles, California on Downtown LA at The Novo.
That Friday night would be a packed crowd upstairs and downstairs, lots of fans dressed up as the famous Avatar singer, sporting his either leather attire or circus themed attire with red jacket and hat, with others wearing casual wear band t-shirts, shorts, pants, jeans, etc. Upon arriving exactly around 7:30PM, the opening band Frozen Soul out of Texas, would play for the next thirty minutes, bringing on a special guest Gerald Way of My Chemical Romance, for their collaborated track "No Place of Warmth", which was quite the surprise! The entirety of their set was quite entertaining, their frontman being goofy yet highly entertaining, interacting with the audience from start to finish. The crowd kept the energy flowing with lots of crowd surfing, moshing, and freebies, as whoever crowd surfed would get a free t-shirt! It was quite a performance that was fun, with just the right amount of death metal to please all.
FROZEN SOUL LIVE PHOTOS:
Next up was Italians Fleshgod Apocalypse, whom I had not seen since 2011! Since then, the band's line up has changed up quite a bit, prior being an all-male act, as opposed to nowadays being an all-male act with an added female as backing and main vocalist, alongside guitarist/vocalist Francesco Paoli. Female vocalist Veronica Bordacchini, would be the welcomed addition, as she brought an operatic style to the mix, creating a more theatrical element to the band's symphonic death metal style. It was intense yet playful, as the pianist and drummer, would entertain the crowd, clapping, throwing their hands up and down getting that hyped up energy overflowing it made everyone enthusiastic. They had a solid set, with classical arrangements with mellow moments that kept it in check, making it mellow dramatic but not that dramatic.
FLESHGOD APOLCAYPSE LIVE PHOTOS:
Last up would be Avatar from Sweden, their heavy metal, hard rock style, being quite brutalizing with intensity unlike any other within a lot of their tracks, ranging from "Colossus", "Smells Like a Freakshow", and "Hail the Apocalypse", among other more tame tracks like "Don't Go in the Forest", "Torn Apart" and "Howling at the Waves". The extensive set consisted close to twenty songs total, rounding off to 17. The whole performance brought crazy antics from loads of theatrics, costumes, facial expressions, and lots of goofy madness that made the audience roar with laughter and excitement. The singer is always goofing off, making faces, dancing, singing greatly, with such fun it made the whole night such fun. If you have not seen Avatar yet, then go do so.
AVATAR LIVE PHOTOS:
This run of a tour brought such fun, that cannot be said enough, lots of laughs with so much fun at hand, it made the music that more memorable and so much more enjoyable in the end.
SETLIST:
1. Caption 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 Dirty 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
Dallas’ beloved death metal / hardcore unit Frozen Soul announce No Place of Warmth - a monolithic, majestic and exigent collection of anthems built on the perfect blend of ferocity and subtle melody, allowing soaring guitar leads to guide a lantern through the dark chasm of merciless riffs. Across their third full-length studio album, Frozen Soul tells tales of the dark territories that come with dealing with the everyday struggle. It surveys the wasteland in the wake of their triumph and is an open letter to fans that decries the cold realities of life yet gives them the tools and the motivation to conquer on their own.
Album opener and title track “No Place of Warmth” features Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance) is “about life at its coldest and the choice you have to let it consume you, or to use it to find warmth in a world that feels void of it. Life is always coming at you, and death doesn’t stop—you might slow it down, but it’s always coming—so you have to make the best out of it and march on” reveals Frozen Soul vocalist Chad Green.
Green collaborated with director Brendan McGowen to bring the concept of “No Place of Warmth” to life visually. Actor London Smith from Frozen Soul’s 2023 “Morbid Effigy” returns, this time to play Death. “The lead character attempts to keep her dagger with rosary beads away from Death, as a stand to say we won’t be afraid of what’s coming and we will live happy with the memories and experiences of our time here,” Green explains.
Of the collaboration he adds, “We met Gerard a couple of years ago and have become friends. I knew he had a love for metal, so I spun the idea to him about singing in a Frozen Soul song and he was stoked! Gerard is an amazing artist and musician whose creative vision has shaped generations and more to come.”
“No Place of Warmth (Feat. Gerard Way)” is available today across all digital platforms and is the follow up to Frozen Soul’s 53 second anti-authoritarianism anthem “Absolute Zero” which was released earlier this month. No Place of Warmth sees its release May 8 via Century Media.
Directed by Brendan McGowan, Produced by Vile Luxe, Makeup: Raven Faye, Starring Stephanie McReynolds & London Smith, Concept by Frozen Soul & Brendan McGowan
Check out the new video single HERE.
TRACKLIST: