Avatar Brought Their Circus to Moline

The Rust Belt in Moline is home to many returning rock bands such as Lorna Shore, Ice Nine Kills, Sleep Theory, In This Moment, and of course... Avatar. Every time Avatar is in town, everybody knows to show up. All of the bands were full of energy and had the crowd moshing and going crazy to every song. I personally couldn't think of a more perfect match for the openers on this tour. Frozen Soul has been going on a touring spree, tagging along with artists such as Cattle Decapitation, The Black Dahlia Murder, Lamb of God, and even having vocalist of My Chemical Romance, Gerard Way, featured on the track "No Place of Warmth." For Fleshgod Apocalypse, It was my first time hearing them and seeing them live, but they fit the vibe perfectly. With opera vocals mixed with horror makeup and chugging guitar riffs, they were the perfect fit for this tour.

As for Avatar, they were outstanding. Not only did they sound amazing live, their stage presence was mixed with theatrics, energy, and good crowd engagement. Johannes Eckerström (vocalist of Avatar) came out on a dark stage covered in a black cloak and nothing but a lantern. When the first song (Captain Goat) was close to the end, the cloak came off and all of the lights came on and the whole band started which was ethereal. You could tell everybody in the packed crowd was fully engaged and was full of life to see Avatar. Being able to photograph such an amazing band with such an amazing stage presence really helped me get to my full creative potential. As the show went on, the crowd only got louder, and Avatar brought even more energy. The show closed with the song "Hail the Apocalypse" which has cemented itself as an anthem song (in my humble opinion). I really hope to be able to work with Avatar as they always have an amazing show!