Even without harlequin makeup painted across my face walking into the Powerstation, I was more than ready for Swedish heavy metal icons Avatar. Gracing New Zealand shores for the first time ever, the band were closing out the Australasian leg of their Don’t Go In The Forest tour. It was a packed house for a chilly Tuesday evening, and true to form, the Powerstation purred like a well-oiled machine.
Wellingtonian black metal stalwarts Bulletbelt came out swinging early, ripping into “Burn It Up” and “Punishment of God.” One eager fan got a collective laugh from the floor with a mid-set exclamation of “I love God!”—though whether that came before or after the punishment remained unclear. Blasting into new track “Deathgasm 2,” frontman Diego Attinger warned the crowd they’d only played it live three times, cautioning: “Don’t get it confused, we are not Devilskin—so no shitting in the pit!”
A respectable circle pit began to take shape as Bulletbelt did what they do best: hyping up a weeknight crowd. Guitarist Josh O’Brien’s face-melting solo on final track “Midnight Fistfight” did the trick. The floor was officially moshing and primed for what promised to be a rowdy night. (Sources on the ground later confirmed a Devilskin situation was successfully avoided).
The choice of 1930s and ’40s big band swing music during the changeover was a slight head-scratcher, somewhat undermining the hard work of the openers to keep the room’s pulse racing—especially as it stretched on. However, the moment the headliners materialised, the immediate dive into their hyper-theatrical world completely erased Glenn Miller from memory.
Stepping out in dark robes, guided by a single lantern’s light and the trudging riffs of “Captain Goat,” Avatar made an entrance positioned somewhere between Charon and a Nazgûl. Synchronized headbanging during “Let It Burn” was nothing short of epic.
The sheer energy delivered by frontman Johannes Eckerström cannot be understated. His soaring vocals and high-note control didn’t waver for a second as he danced, marched, headbanged, and marionetted his way across the stage. By the end of track two, the crowd was eating out of the palm of his hand.
Even the crew got in on the theatricality; a gimp-masked roadie roamed the wings, while another wore a helmet rigged with a cymbal that became an irresistible target whenever he stepped into the drummer’s range. Pausing the theatrics for a moment, the band took time to sincerely thank the packed Auckland crowd for showing up in force for their maiden journey.
“First-time international tours are usually like Flight of the Conchords with one fan in the room,” Eckerström joked. “That is usually the norm, so to be met with this… thank you for being here. The first time is the hardest part. Now that we’ve kicked down this door, we will definitely be back!”
A minor synth hiccup during the intro to “Howling At The Waves” forced Eckerström to pivot and kill time, which quickly turned into an impromptu crowd singalong of “Happy Birthday” for tech crew member Harry, who was frantically (and unsuccessfully) trying to revive the rig. The eventual rendition of the song was still impeccable, and the lighthearted snag injected a welcome dose of humanity into the theatrical onslaught.
Returning for a three-song encore kicked off by the title track of their latest record, “Don’t Go In The Forest,” Avatar showed no signs of tapping out. The show reached its visual peak here—give the lighting tech a raise—culminating in a perfect storm of drama, heavy riffs, and unbridled energy. Avatar took Auckland on a wild journey, and one that won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
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