Candlemass' Leif Edling's doom supergroup Avatarium put out a very impressive self-titled debut on Nuclear Blast in 2013, and here they are with a follow-up EP to told their fans over until their next full-length release. All I Want features two new songs and three live tracks from the Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, Netherlands in 2013. Joining Edling once again are powerhouse vocalist Jennie-Ann Smith, ex-Evergrey/Royal Hunt guitarist Marcus Jidell, Tiamat drummer Lars Sköld and Carp Tree/Jupiter Society's Carl Westholm on keyboards. The title cut is a mid-paced doom track, powered by huge riffs and Smith's soaring vocals, while "Deep Well" offers a more bluesy take on the genre, as the band mixes up smokey blues passages with thunderous, metallic riffing. The three live numbers are all standout songs from the debut, showing off the bands Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Jethro Tull, and Blue Oyster Cult influences but also allowing their uniqueness to shine through. "Pandora's Egg" features mountains of divine Sabbath inspired riffing and Deep Purple/Rainbow/Uriah Heep styled Hammond organ, with Smith soaring to the heavens and Edling rumbling underneath. Both "Tides of Telepathy" and "Birds of Prey" succeed just as mightily, with Smith delivering a vocal performance that you could easily envision the late Ronnie James Dio giving had either of these two songs been written by either Sabbath or Rainbow.
Now that fans have the chance to hear that Avatarium are as equally impressive on stage as they are in the studio, hopefully we'll get another full-length studio album from them in 2015, and perhaps some live appearances here in North America won't be far behind it.
Track Listing
1. All I Want
2. Deep Well
3. Pandora's Egg
4. Tides Of Telepathy
5. Birds Of Prey
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