Gothenburg, Sweden-based heavy metal group Avatar have dropped another ripper from their highly anticipated eighth full-length, Hunter Gatherer — which is due August 7th via eOne Music. “God of Sick Dreams” has no shortage of chugging riffs and perhaps their catchiest chorus of all time. Listen to it below along with its accompanying visualizer.
Avatar has promised this Hunter Gatherer era would be dark and indeed it is with the new song’s lyrics. Here’s a sample: “This is how ends/Every night is the same/We awake to get sentenced/And a choice must be made/Will you succumb to excruciating pain?/Or will you try to escape?/Doesn’t matter, you’re fucked either way/I am the god of sick dreams.”
Earlier this spring, the theatrical troupe announced they are leaving Avatar Country behind via a movie-trailer-style video teaser and then released the first single, “Silence in the Age of Apes,” which is also heavy as hell. “A new door opens. A new era begins. Step into the darkness, and see,” read the YouTube description, which was directed by longtime collaborator Johan Carlén.
In January, frontman Johannes Eckerström spoke to Loudwire about the LP and explained its darker direction. “Avatar Country, we wanted to see if we could do comedy,” he said. “It was funny and we wanted to see if we could make something funny … But it was humorous for us, and now it’s important for us to do something devoid of humor, there is no joking around with this and it pulls us back into reality. It deals more with darkness, sadness, detachment, alienation and the anxiety of thinking of the world at large.”
So far this dark version Avatar kicks major ass. You can pre-order Hunter Gatherer here.
