NORFOLK, VA | A visit from Avatar is always a treat and an excited crowd gathered in the NorVa, on a stormy night in Norfolk, VA to see the Swedish metal masters during their summer tour. Along for the ride were The Callous Daoboys and Light the Torch.
The Callous Daoboys, a seven-piece band from Atlanta, GA, crowded The NorVa’s stage a full thirty minutes ahead of the advertised schedule, a shock that sent us photographers scrambling to get into the pit, but a pleasant surprise for the fans already in the club. The hardcore outfit’s vocalist, the charismatic Carson Pace, addressed the crowd and suggested that the band’s sound might not be what Avatar fans are generally accustomed to hearing, it might be something different. Eh, maybe, maybe not; however, the 20-minute set provided the assembling crowd with enough of a mathcore assault to raise the energy in the house and help dry off fans soggy from the rain.
Light The Torch took the stage to a crowd that had been buzzing with excitement to see the band led by the former frontman of Killswitch Engage, Howard Jones. In 2012, Jones joined Devil You Know, which in 2018 would become metalcore band Light the Torch. Sunday night, Jones’ famously smooth vocals were on full display as he strode like a cat back and forth across the NorVa’s stage. It was a fast-paced set that got fans moshing in the back of the room and kept us photographers in the pit on our toes.
Finally, the main event. I’ll try to keep my gushing to a minimum here but it’s going to be difficult. I struggle to think of any band I’ve seen in my life that is as fun and as wildly entertaining as Avatar. Even if you’re not into metal in general, or if you feel like “melodic Swedish death metal” might not be up your musical alley, you owe it to yourself to drop in on an Avatar party. The costumes, the charisma, the musical ability, and obvious discipline of the five men from Gothenburg (Jonas Jarlsby, John Alfredsson, Johannes Eckerström, Tim Öhrström, and Henrik Sandelin) are irresistible and have the power to make instant rabid fans out of otherwise casual observers. I speak from experience. This is not an exaggeration.
As for the fans in attendance Sunday night, they were the choir Avatar preaches to. Singing, waving horns in the air, swirling in the pit in the back—they were fully present. All age groups were represented as well. I spotted a couple of fans against the rail that appeared to be close to my parents’ age and there were plenty of small kiddos around too.
As a photographer, I occasionally worry about keeping things fresh once I’ve photographed a band a few times. While Avatar’s summer tour has the same look and same costumes as the fall and winter tour (save for an early dust up involving missing luggage that had the gents wearing Hawaiian shirts in Canada), the theatricality and amended set list provided more than enough variety. Speaking with another photographer Sunday night, we both said the same thing—we’d go anywhere to photograph Avatar.
Avatar’s summer 2022 tour wraps up on July 31 in North America, then they head over to Europe in August.
LIGHT THE TORCH
THE CALLOUS DAOBOYS
AVATAR SETLIST
Colossus
Let it Burn
Silence in the Age of Apes
Bloody Angel
Child
The Eagle Has Landed
Paint Me Red
A Secret Door
For the Swarm
Torn Apart
Tower
Puppet Show
Tsar Bomba
A Statue of the King
The King Welcomes You to Avatar Country
Encore
Going Hunting
Smells Like a Freakshow
Hail the Apocalypse
