Primordial Radio is excited to announce that Swedish metallers Avatar will be taking part in the next Radio Residency for November, marking their return as the first band ever to feature twice in the series.
Hosted by presenter Adam Whalley, the Radio Residency will air every Wednesday with Avatar frontman Johannes Eckerström joining Adam to talk about the band’s new album ‘Don’t Go In The Forest’, heavy metal in 2025 and his thoughts on the use of AI in today’s world.
Johannes also reflects on the strange mix of letting go and rebirth that comes when an album finally leaves the band’s hands and belongs to the listeners. He shares how a fleeting moment on the Helsinki metro, a man wearing one slipper and one shoe, sparked the song “Train,” and why simplicity and instinct still drive Avatar’s creative process.
Listen On-Demand
Tune into the Avatar Residency exclusively on Primordial Radio. Listen on Wednesday 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th November from 10am (GMT). Shows will be available on demand here shortly after broadcast.
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The heavy metal visionaries collectively known as AVATAR — vocalist Johannes Eckerström, guitarists Jonas Jarlsby and Tim Öhrström, bassist Henrik Sandelin, and drummer John Alfredsson — have gone from strength to strength to strength over the past several years.
There’s the critically acclaimed, 2023-released album Dance Devil Dance, which included rock radio chart topper “The Dirt I’m Buried In.” There have been scores of sold-out headline shows across the globe and an actual fossil named after them. The list goes on and on.
But the past is the past, and the future is, well, dark in the best possible way and that’s JUST how Avatar like it! Today, the band dropped the video for the new single “In the Airwaves.”
Avatar is defined by the challenges we put in front of ourselves. We always push for more and look for new angles. In this ever ongoing pursuit for the next great thing, we return to one of the most important aspects of metal: Speed.” The band continues, “This is the fastest song we have done in what seems to be an eternity, and it feels good to push the engine to the max again. In a way, it feels like a return to something. Enjoy our rage.
Avatar will spend the foreseeable future (if not forever) on the road — with tours supporting Iron Maiden throughout Europe summer 2025, a massive headline run across America with Alien Weaponry and Spiritworld, across Europe with Metallica in 2026, along with the band’s biggest show EVER in Mexico City.
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