Avatarium is a fairly new band from Stockholm in Sweden, featuring Candlemass’s bassist Leif. The band often falls under the ‘doom’ description as a result of this but that’s perhaps not a fair description as their sound is more of an amalgamation of a few different genres and styles – from psychadelia, to classic rock, to avant-garde and yes, even doom. All I Want is the latest offering from the band, following from their 2013 self-titled full-length and it is a five-track EP featuring two studio tracks and three live ones.
It’s not a bad release, but it lacks the sparkle of their previous album, almost feeling like a stop-gap release between Avatarium and their next full-length. Title track All I Want is a catchy track but that’s all it is, and the other new track for the EP, Deep Well, isn’t even that – it’s a sparse and jumpy track that doesn’t flow and isn’t really a song you’ll want to come back to.
Whilst there’s no denying that the three live tracks – Pandora’s Egg, Tides Of Telapathy and Bird Of Prey – are excellent songs, the fact of the matter is that they don’t really stray too far from the original renditions and in all honesty, you’re better off just listening to the more polished studio versions.
As a whole, All I Want is quite disappointing after how impressive Avatarium was – but hopefully their next release will be a return to form for the band.
4/10
