Constant change makes AVATARIUM's creative fire blaze

31. January 2020

Avatarium

Beständiger Wandel bringt AVATARIUMS kreatives Feuer zum Lodern

A little bit the development of Avatarium reminds of growing up: In the beginning, doom icon Leif Edling had full creative control over the project, but in recent years he has been withdrawing more and more - like a father slowly releasing his children into independence. For "The Fire I Long For", the fourth album, he wrote only three of the total nine tracks. The new creative centre is formed by guitarist Marcus Jidell, who also collaborates with Edling on Candlemass and The Doomsday Kingdom, and singer Jennie-Ann Smith. In a natural way, something new is constantly emerging. A good example is the ballad "Lay Me Down", where instead of hard riffs acoustic guitar and sensual vocal harmonies shape the atmosphere

"That's a little closer to my musical background, but it's totally compatible with our Doom base", Jennie-Ann reflects and refers to the balance between mystical heaviness and rapturous pop melodies that is typical for Avatarium. "It's great that we've managed to keep our roots alive and still develop ourselves." She listens to a lot of jazz in private and orientates herself artistically towards singer/songwriters like Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell. "With them it is all about the pure structure of the song: melody, lyrics, harmony. You can't hide the basis. You can't hide the foundation."

On the other hand, the softer alignment of some tracks has quite pragmatic reasons: A year and a half ago, Marcus and Jennie-Ann's son was born. "At home with him, I don't play high hard rock notes", the singer laughs and spontaneously tunes in to "Pippi Longstocking". She remembers the special circumstances of the songwriting phase: "He was half a year old when we started writing 'The Fire I Long For'. We alternated between composing and taking care of him. As parents you become more efficient. You use every minute. At first I wondered if it was even possible. But it worked, the album is here! I am glad that we tackled it. Becoming a mother changes your life..."

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