Avatar Country and Defy

It's been a while since I reviewed new music and there's a couple of albums that I'd like to share about.  Avatar and Of Mice & Men are not new bands, but they each recently released new albums that made it into my catalogue.

Avatar - Avatar Country

This Swedish band formed in 2001.  They have recently been becoming more popular in the United States.  Some think 2018 will be a breakout year for them on this side of the Atlantic.  They are mostly described as melodic deathcore, but they certainly have a unique sound that is hard to nail down with labels.  Take lead track "Legend of the King," for example.  There are shredding guitar parts, noodling guitar parts, and clean rock rhythm parts.  There is chanting, soaring vocals, and gutteral sounds.  At 8:18 it is an opus and one that is dynamic enough to keep it interesting.  I'm sure this band would be amazing in a live setting.  They're touring in the US right now, but don't reach the east coast before going over to Europe in the spring.  "King's Harvest" has more rough vocals over chugging guitars.  "The King Wants You" sounds like a throwback power metal song, but then there's cowbell, and then there's groove metal riffs.  You don't know what turn they are going to take next, yet they sound like a cohesive band with their own identity.  And have you noticed the King theme?  All the songs on this album have "king" in the name and it is a concept album about a character called the King of Avatar Country.  My only complaint is that there are a couple of skippable tracks.  Overall, I'm a fan and I will keep on the lookout for more from these guys.

Avatar @ Hellfest 2017

By Selbymay (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Of Mice & Men - Defy

This is the fifth full length studio album by the band, but the first since their original lead singer, Austin Carlile, has departed.  Carlile previously took a hiatus for heart surgery and creative differences.  It seems health and creative conflicts are both reasons playing into his leaving the band this time around.  Bassist, Aaron Pauley, has taken over all of the singing duties and sounds terrific in my opinion.  The vocals are mostly clean with intermittent screams and growls.  The clean singing on this album actually reminds me of Lo-Pro/Ultraspank singer, Pete Murray, who is superbly talented.  Aaron is actually no stranger to the microphone; he was a lead singer in the bands Jamie's Elsewhere and and Razing Alexandria. 

The OM&M album sounds less harsh metalcore and more smooth-edged hard rock with obvious influences from nu-metal.  The production level is incredible.  Each song has a few measures of instrumental intro where one guitar riff or drum beat dominates before the singing and full band kicks in.  There are some heavy parts, but not too much down-tuning or distortion.  The screaming is less prominent than on previous albums.  Some fans might find this sound a departure and be disappointed.  I find it pretty accessible and more appealing than their previous work.  Singles "Warzone" and "Defy" are probably the heaviest and most aggressive.  They even covered "Money" by Pink Floyd and made it heavier.  Single "Unbreakable" is inspired by the band's resilience despite various struggles and changing members.  "Back to Me" is probably my favorite track right now.