AVATAR/Alien Weaponry/Witch Club Satan; Rock City, Nottingham; 17/02/26

Mention the name Avatar to most people and the word will conjure images of James Cameron's multi-billion dollar film franchise. Unless they're very much in the know, they probably won't associate it with a Swedish band who specialise in what's best described as avant-garde demonic circus metal. But, the truth of it is that the Molndal quintet are 25 years into their career and they seem to love a UK February show. Four years on from their last tour, they're back in town, touting a new album and with new support to back them up. 

WITCH CLUB SATAN kick things off, to a room filled with curious onlookers. The all-female Norwegian trio aim to use their gnarly, pagan black metal to reclaim feminine power in what is, sadly, still a misogynistic genre. They take to the stage, dressed in outfits that resemble possessed deer/rabbit hybrids and begin what is best described as a ritual, with bursts of riff punctuated by screams and periods of spoken word. They then disappear off stage and return a few moments later, in the nude, to complete the set. The second half is the most interesting musically, with the blackest of riffs showcasing the influence of such genre luminaries as Mayhem and Satyricon. It's an exercise in potent, politically charged BM with hellish vocals and the deepest and darkest instrumentation, all blastbeats and doom-laden downtuning. Unfortunately, the response is somewhat mixed. The stop-start nature of the opening half of the set seems to have confused and alienated some, and there are way too many phones in the air, which raises questions about safeguarding. The ambition is admirable and they've definitely earned themselves some new fans and some considerable respect along the way, but the question remains as to whether their controversial performance style will translate as they hope, and be a beacon of feminine strength in an increasingly polarised world.

Where Witch Club Satan aim to take back the power of the female form, ALIEN WEAPONRY are aiming to reclaim indigenous Maori culture through the medium of thrash. The three lads from New Zealand, brothers Henry and Lewis de Jong, on drums and guitar respectively, alongside bass player Turanga Morgan-Edwards (who joined in 2020), have been plying their trade since they were literally children and have definitely grown into their roles and significantly developed their command of the stage. The emerge to the sounds of a traditional Haka being played over the sound system, with Henry himself performing part of the dance. In a room such as this, it's easy to see why it has been used to terrify generations of opposing rugby players. What follows is 45 minutes of well-executed, old-school thrash with some prog elements, all sung in the native Maori tongue. All of the band are of Maori descent and have loaded their songs with disgruntled tirades against the colonialism that destroyed and co-opted much of the indigenous culture. Not only do the songs carry a message, they hit hard. The core thrash elements are all present and correct. Chugging riffs and machine gun drumming carry Lewis's guttural, rage-inflected vocals. Rooms like this suit Alien Weaponry down to a tee. The songs that first got them noticed still sound as aggressive and as relevant as when they first burst onto the scene. This is a band who have matured sonically as well as physically. They might not have blown up to the scale expected when they first emerged on the scene but based on powerhouse slots like this, and in a time when metal is firmly embracing indigenous influences across all sub-genres, their time is surely coming.

Whilst the support acts come from very different ends of the metal spectrum, they both make sense in the context of what is to follow. AVATAR are known for melding influences from across metal's gamut of subgenres into an eclectic, cohesive whole. New album Don't Go in the Forest might be their most accessible and most radio-friendly but it is still unmistakably Avatar, equal parts industrial stomp, heavy metal riffage, sing-along choruses and death metal brutality. The stage lights turn a disconcerting shade of blue and the band appear, with frontman Johannes hidden by a cloak and carrying a lantern, like a late arrival to the Traitors turret. Without further ado, the band lurch into Captain Goat, a devilish, slow motion sea shanty that sounds like the condemned souls of a Viking raiding party finally making it to shore. And then the gloves, and the cloak, are off and everything properly fires into life. 

Whilst this tour is showcasing the new album, Avatar have come loaded with some choice cuts from across their discography, which showcases the almost dizzying array of influences that have coalesced to produce the sound that they call their own. Setlist staple The Eagle has Landed elicits the first proper singalong of the night. The industrial march of Colossus is a menacing parade of staccato drumming, with all of the band at the front of stage, as if leading everyone in the room straight to Hell. Bloody Angel is a haunting, twisted lullaby with a hummable earworm riff that would not be out of place in a haunted playground in the dead of night. Central to the band's showmanship is the towering figure of frontman Johannes Eckerstrom, who controls proceedings like a demented ringmaster, prowling the stage balletically and often grinning manically. His black and white makeup, done like a sinister clown (is there another kind?) creates the impression of the bastard son of Eric Draven and Pennywise. Aside from the imposing stage getup, he demonstrates his vocal prowess, from the softer cleans of the piano-led Howling at the Waves to full bore growls for Silence in the Age of Apes, in itself a nailed-on death metal banger.

However, it's all very well having the theatricality and the evil carnival gimmick but you still need the style and musicianship to pull it off. Luckily, Avatar are blessed with that, and in spades. John Alfredsson is a gurning, wide-eyed lunatic on drums, with his elaborate fills and spidery patterns holding everything together. On guitars, Jonas Jarlsby and Tim Ohrstrom (the band's newest member, despite joining in 2011), match up perfectly, their leads and rhythmic riffs intertwining to sometimes haunting effect. They both even get time to unleash blistering solos that owe a considerable debt to old school heavy metal. Henrik Sandelin's bass underpins everything with an ominous chugging menace, his backing vocals complementing Johannes's delivery perfectly. They're a well-oiled unit, clearly well-versed in how to put on one hell of a show. The crowd are bonkers, virtually from the get-go. A man, for some reason dressed as a banana, crowdsurfs for every single song, at least in the first half of the set. The level of devotion, especially for a band who occupy a very particular niche, is profound. We're all having a wonderful time and the setlist is fantastic. We get a rousing rendition of The Dirt I'm Buried In, Johannes's falsetto almost drowned out by the extent of the crowd interaction. Smells Like a Freakshow marries the industrial clatter of Ministry with the melodic death metal riffing of In Flames. Let it Burn is a satanic waltz. Hail the Apocalypse, a plea for the end of everything, closes things out with an explosion of confetti and a rapturous reception. Avatar have given everyone an education in modern heavy metal. They're hard to pigeonhole, constantly adapting and continuing to merge styles and influences from metal's vast spectrum into something truly unique. As the crowd files out and the band take their bows, appropriately enough to Vera Lynn's wartime ballad We'll Meet Again, there's a feeling in the air of a job well done. Avatar have proven their worth, as if it was ever in doubt. They might be a band with a very specific schtick but they deserve to be massive. After 25 years of rampaging, genre-bending, carnival theatrics, surely it's time that they were filling arenas? We will, indeed, meet again. And a bloody good, off-kilter, zany time it will be. 

,Avatar Setlist

Captain Goat

Silence in the Age of Apes

The Eagle Has Landed

In the Airwaves

Bloody Angel

Death and Glitz

Blod

The Dirt I'm Buried In

Colossus

Torn Apart

Howling at the Waves

Glory to Our King

Legend of the King

Let It Burn

Tonight We Must Be Warriors

Don't Go in the Forest

Smells Like A Freakshow

Hail the Apocalypse

JINJER/Unprocessed/Textures; O2 Institute, Birmingham; 30/01/26

Birmingham will forever be a place of heavy metal pilgrimage. The indelible stamp left on the music scene by Messrs Osborne, Iommi, Butler and Ward will continue to attract those who lean towards the heavier way of things. For that reason, any metal gig in Birmingham always feels a little bit different, almost like those on stage are paying homage to those that helped their band to exist in the first place. With so many of the old guard winding down or, in too many cases, no longer with us, it's up to the next generation to keep the scene alive. The new guard might transcend genres and styles but the debt owed to the fathers of heavy metal is still the same. The same DNA is intertwined across the entire metal spectrum. Performing in the Second City can be a seen as a rite of passage. Which is why, on a cold, wet and windswept Friday night, a queue of punters is snaking down the street awaiting entry to an evening of progressive metalcore, headlined by Ukraine's finest export since Andriy Shevchenko and the brothers Klitschko.

The peculiarities of Birmingham gigs means that queuing to get in always seems to take a while. By the time the majority have shuffled in from the rain and made their way into this 1500 capacity former church and civic hall, they're just in time for the final couple of songs from TEXTURES. The Dutch sextet are rattling through some fairly by-the-numbers metalcore to an appreciative crowd which has swelled significantly since they emerged on stage. Following support act UNPROCESSED are an entirely different beast. Hailing from Germany, they've attracted a sizeable crowd, with no small number clearly familiar with their work, even before the opening notes are properly struck. Soon, fists, horns, and a number of pints, are in the air as they treat us to 40 minutes of well-executed technical metal that lands in the sweet spot between Deftones' spacious atmospherics and the riff-driven emotion of Killswitch Engage. It's an impressive performance and one that certainly wins them several converts and a rapturous send-off. 

By the time JINJER take to the stage, the room is packed. Tonight's show is not quite sold out, but you wouldn't know it. This is their first ever UK and EU headline tour, in support of last year's excellent Duel album. Such is the reputation that they've built and the strength of their live shows, they've not long come off a US tour supporting heavyweights Trivium. This tour is their chance to really flex their muscles and show that they belong at the top of bills and can thrive at this level. 

From the off, it's clear that they're not here to fuck about. No sooner have the band emerged onstage, all clad in black bar frontwoman Tatiana, whose white and peach combo adds contrast, the machine gun drums and razor sharp riff of the title and closing track from last year's album burst forth. The set will showcase most of the album but the band will also pluck choice cuts from their back catalogue throughout. The crowd are enraptured almost instantly as the opener is followed by another one-two punch from the same album. A particularly ferocious Fast Draw sees the evening's first crowd surfer hurtling towards the safe hands of the waiting security. It's obvious from the outset that a venue like this perfectly suits Jinjer as a live act. The small scale allows for the ebbs and flows of the music to wash over the crowd, like waves breaching a seawall in the heart of a storm. It also showcases the intricacies and technicalities of the instrumentation. Drummer Vlad, perched high above the rest of the band on his drum riser, hammers away with consummate precision, switching between skittering beats in the slower sections before battering away like a main possessed when required. Equally, bass player Eugene keeps the urgent, rampaging hum going, unleashing it with bowel-loosening intensity. On guitar, Roman makes use of the extra scales their sound requires to bring to life riffs that are both brilliant and brutal, highlighting an astonishing amount of dexterity and musical prowess. Tatiana's vocals are something to behold. The contrast between her guttural, almost malevolent roars, and the softer, almost angelic cleans holds the crowd in an almost hypnotic state. It's an incredible performance from a vocalist at the top of her game. The minimal amount of crowd interaction turns this into a thoroughly immersive experience, and she barely stops moving throughout the set, whether she's twisting seductively or whirling like a dervish. Enhancing the show are impressive, tesselating visuals on a screen behind the stage and a myriad of coloured lights. 

Jinjer's songs have never sounded so tight and their lyrics never more profound than they do on this night, when it feels like they finally have nothing to prove. A storming Disclosure! elicits the first singalong of the night. Kafka dials things down a notch and is all slow-burn, amidst an anxious sounding riff. Teacher, Teacher! is a jagged whirlwind of spite and rage. There are messages amongst these lyrics, deeply personal and profound, and conveyed in a way that really allows the songs to breathe. Someone's Daughter is a polemic about women throughout history and their struggle to make their own paths in a world that was historically made by men. It's a progressive metal, feminist battle cry that shines light on how, even in the widely accepting world of metal music, female artists and female led bands have often found themselves unfairly sidelined in favour of male contemporaries. Jinjer refuse to be pigeon-holed and routinely reject the label of 'female-fronted band'. The fact that this newer song sits so well alongside the older material is testament both to the strength of the songwriting and Jinjer's growth as a band. Judgement (& Punishment), from 2019's Macro, begins with a twanging bass riff before segueing into an almost ska-tinged number until the riffs come back with a vengeance. I Speak Astronomy, is a bludgeoning slice of in-your-face metalcore that not so much reads your horoscope as punts you into the Sun. Just when you think things are coming to a close, and a sublime Pisces has knocked everyone sideways with it's gentle intro into massive chorus, it's time for an absolutely caustic and vicious Sit Stay Roll Over. The band name flashes up on the screen, bathed in yellow and blue lights to reflect the Ukrainian national flag. And then it's over. 1500 punters stagger out into the Birmingham night, minds well and truly blown.

Jinjer have absolutely nailed this show. For a band that's had to battle so much adversity, not least the total invasion of their homeland and the ensuing war, this is a triumph. They truly are deserving of high praise, not least for their perseverance, but for the sheer strength to carry on and create metalcore for a new generation. Technically brilliant, vocally astonishing and with songs that not just back it up, but sound phenomenal live. In a recent interview, Tatiana herself revealed that she's a big believer in manifestation. Based on this, they won't be headlining venues this small for much longer. They'll certainly have manifested something even grander.

Jinjer Setlist

Duel

Green Serpent

Fast Draw

Vortex

Disclosure!

Tantrum

Teacher, Teacher!

Kafka

Judgement (& Punishment)

Hedonist

I Speak Astronomy

Perennial

Someone's Daughter

Rogue

Pisces

Sit Stay Roll Over