AVATAR TAKE NASHVILLE BY STORM
“Into The Airwaves USA ‘25” tour unleashes metal theatre mayhem at Marathon Music Works, Nashville, TN, USA – December 04,2025
If hell had a house band, it would sound a lot like Avatar. On a cold December night in Nashville, Tennessee, the Swedish heavy metal ringmasters brought their infernal carnival to Marathon Music Works — Melting the ice and leaving scorch marks on the stage for a crowd of believers begging for more.
Starting the fires of the night, SpiritWorld opened the night with a blast of grit and outlaw swagger. Their sound hit like a desert storm — fast, abrasive, and cinematic. Their ‘death-western’ identity isn’t a gimmick; it’s an entire metal frontier brought to life onstage. They tore through their set with zero hesitation, dragging the room into a dust-covered maelstrom of riffs and hardcore intensity.
SpiritWorld originally began as a studio project before evolving into a full touring act with their imagery that pulls from grindhouse cinema, old westerns, and apocalyptic fiction.
Their newest album “DEATHWESTERN” is a violently stylish blend of thrash, hardcore, and outlaw themes. The album plays like a metal soundtrack to a blood-soaked frontier apocalypse.
Next was Alien Weaponry who brought a seismic shift in energy, grounding the night in heritage and rhythmic power. Their Māori roots pulsed through every drum strike and chant-like vocal pattern. The trio performed with a level of precision and emotional weight that commanded stillness, then eruption, from the crowd. Their set felt less like a performance and more like a cultural invocation.
Their newest album “Te Rā” is their most mature and emotionally resonant record yet. Heavy, melodic, and deeply tied to Māori stories, identity, and lineage. They are Internationally recognition for bringing Te Reo Māori to global metal and being one of New Zealand’s most successful metal acts with strong festival presence. All members of Alien Weaponry have Māori ancestry and incorporate real historical narratives into their music.
Now the time has come for Avatar. The moment the lights cut to black, the air inside the venue went electric. Smoke rolled across the stage. And then came that riff — thick, snarling, and unmistakably Avatar.
The crowd erupted as Johannes Eckerström and the rest of Avatar glided towards the crowd with eerie blue lights that created a dark and mysterious atmosphere on stage. Reminiscent of a portrayal of riding a ferry to the gates off the underworld. What followed wasn’t just a concert. It was a collision of theatre, chaos, and precision — a two-hour ritual of noise and storytelling that felt part rock show, part fever dream. Eckerström doesn’t just perform — he possesses. Between guttural growls and operatic howls, he commands the room like a gothic preacher, equal parts menace and mischief. His voice carried the weight of a thousand sins one moment and the tenderness of confession the next. Between songs, he prowled the stage, swinging his mic stand like a blade, cracking jokes in his dry Swedish drawl before snapping back into character with terrifying ease. It’s that balance — unhinged yet controlled — that makes him one of metal’s most captivating frontmen. Joking that if you called out a song that you know is going to be played that it would be removed from the setlist. He always follows thru with his on the spot made up laws. However, since he is the one making them, rules can be overlooked and broken once in a while. The night doubled as a celebration of Avatar’s new album, Don’t Go in the Forest — released, fittingly, on Halloween 2025. The record marks a bold new chapter for the band, blending their signature industrial heaviness with cinematic depth and haunting melody. Live, the songs hit even harder. The opening blast of “Captain Goat” had the floorboards shaking. “Tonight, We Must Be Warriors” became an anthem of defiance, with hundreds of voices screaming the chorus in unison. And when the eerie intro to “Don’t Go in the Forest” crept through the speakers, the entire room seemed to hold its breath. The setlist mixed these new beasts with old favorites like “Smells Like a Freakshow” and “Hail the Apocalypse,” bridging the band’s evolution from Gothenburg underground chaos to full-blown arena spectacle. Musically, Avatar is a machine running on adrenaline and
artistry. Jonas Jarlsby and Tim Öhrström sliced through the air with twin guitars that snarled and soared in perfect synchrony. Henrik Sandelin’s bass rumbled like thunder underfoot, while John Alfredsson’s drums cracked like rifle fire — tight, punishing, relentless. But what separates Avatar from most modern metal acts is the production value. Every lighting cue, every fog burst, every pause felt choreographed to tell a story. The stage at Marathon became a living organism — pulsing, glowing, and breathing in rhythm with the music. Two decades into their career, Avatar has carved their own lane in heavy metal — a fusion of brutality and performance art that no one else dares to touch. From their 2017 Metal Hammer Golden Gods “Breakthrough Artist” award to their Billboard Mainstream Rock #1 hit “The Dirt I’m Buried In” in 2023, the band have proven they can marry substance and spectacle without compromise.
If Don’t Go in the Forest is any indication, their next chapter isn’t just evolution — it’s revolution. By the time the encore closed with “Hail The Apocalypse” the crowd was drenched, hoarse, and completely possessed. Marathon Music Works was transformed into a cathedral of chaos — proof that even in the heart of country music territory, metal still reigns supreme. Avatar didn’t just play Nashville. They claimed it — one riff, one scream, one perfectly controlled act of madness at a time.
REMAINING TOUR DATES
SAT, DEC 06, 2025 TULSA THEATER TULSA
SUN, DEC 07, 2025 THE CAMBRIDGE ROOM AT HOUSE OF BLUES DALLAS
SUN, JAN 25, 2026 SHIPROCKED 2026 PORT OF MIAMI
THU, FEB 05, 2026 FALLAN STOCKHOLM
SAT, FEB 07, 2026 KULTTUURITALO HELSINKI
MON, FEB 09, 2026 SENTRUM SCENE OSLO
TUE, FEB 10, 2026 ASTRA VEGA KØBENHAVN
WED, FEB 11, 2026 DIE BOTSCHAFT OSNABRÜCK
THU, FEB 12, 2026 A.B BRUSSELS
SAT, FEB 14, 2026 EXHIBITION LONDON LONDON
SUN, FEB 15, 2026 MANCHESTER CITY ACADEMY STADIUM MANCHESTER
MON, FEB 16, 2026 BARROWLAND BALLROOM GLASGOW
TUE, FEB 17, 2026 ROCK CITY NOTTINGHAM
WED, FEB 18, 2026 O2 ACADEMY BRISTOL BRISTOL
FRI, FEB 20, 2026 AFAS LIVE AMSTERDAM
SAT, FEB 21, 2026 ROCKHAL ESCH-SUR-ALZETTE
SUN, FEB 22, 2026 KOMPLEX ZURICH
TUE, FEB 24, 2026 RAZZMATAZZ 1 BARCELONA
WED, FEB 25, 2026 SALA RIVIERA MADRID
FRI, FEB 27, 2026 LAV – LISBOA AO VIVO LISBOA
SAT, FEB 28, 2026 SALA SANTANA 27 BILBAO
MON, MAR 02, 2026 FIDUCIAL ASTÉRIA DÉCINES-CHARPIEU
TUE, MAR 03, 2026 ALCATRAZ MILAN
WED, MAR 04, 2026 GASOMETER WIEN
THU, MAR 05, 2026 TONHALLE MÜNCHEN MÜNCHEN
FRI, MAR 06, 2026 E-WERK KÖLN
SAT, MAR 07, 2026 ZENITH PARIS – LA VILLETTE PARIS
MON, MAR 09, 2026 SCHLACHTHOF WIESBADEN WIESBADEN
TUE, MAR 10, 2026 DATART HALA ZLÍN
WED, MAR 11, 2026 KLUB STODOŁA WARSZAWA
THU, MAR 12, 2026 COLUMBIAHALLE BERLIN
FRI, MAR 13, 2026 DOCKS HAMBURG
SUN, MAR 15, 2026 FESTIVAL VIVE LATINO 2026 MÉXICO
SAT, MAY 09, 2026 WELCOME TO ROCKVILLE 2026 DAYTONA BEACH
SUN, MAY 17, 2026 SONIC TEMPLE 2026 COLUMBUS
SUN, MAY 24, 2026 DEUTSCHE BANK PARK FRANKFURT AM MAIN
SUN, JUN 07, 2026 TRONDHEIM ROCKS 2026 TRONDHEIM
THU, JUN 11, 2026 PUSKÁS ARÉNA BUDAPEST
FRI, JUN 19, 2026 AVIVA STADIUM DUBLIN
FRI, JUN 19, 2026 GRASPOP METAL MEETING 2026 DESSEL
THU, JUL 02, 2026 ROCKHARZ 2026 BALLENSTEDT
SOCIAL MEDIA
SpiritWorld
Website: https://spiritworldprophet.com/
Instagram: @spiritworldprophet
Facebook: facebook.com/spiritworldprophet
Alien Weaponry
Website: https://www.alienweaponry.com/
Instagram: @alienweaponry
Facebook: facebook.com/AlienWeaponry
Avatar
Website: https://avatarmetal.com/
Instagram: @avatarmetal
Facebook: facebook.com/avatarmetal
