Album Review: Avatar – The King Live in Paris (Century Media Records)

The Avatar train just keeps on rolling and sees no sign of slowing down anytime soon. After a phenomenal 2018 with the release of the excellent Avatar Country (read our review here) and several great live shows, the Swedish metallers are now releasing a live album.

Captured at Download Festival in Paris, France last year, The King Live in Paris is 11 tracks of Avatar’s most popular songs. Out on May 17th 2019 via Century Media Records.

Not necessarily their best but certainly most of the fan favourites. From A Statue of the King to Bloody Angel to The Eagle Has Landed to Smells Like A Freakshow, there’s something for every Avatar fan here. The questions don’t surround the track list, that’s good. No, the question surrounds the quality of the live performance and sound.

As we always say, we don’t want studio renditions of these tracks. Those already exist. We want raw. We want to hear the crowd singing and shouting along. That’s live music. We want to be there even if we weren’t. Does The King Live in Paris capture that?

Happily it does, which makes it a standout live album especially as it’s a little rough around the edges in regards to quality. We like that and listening to the likes of Let it Burn and The King Welcomes You to Avatar Country with the roars of the crowd puts us there, in the field of Download France.

It’s a great showcase of Avatar, their popularity and the Avatar Country train that is likely to be coming to a stop soon.

Avatar – The King Live in Paris Full Track Listing:

1. Intro
2. A Statue of the King
3. Let it Burn
4. Paint Me Red
5. Bloody Angel
6. For the Swarm
7. Tower
8. The Eagle Has Landed
9. Smells Like A Freakshow
10. The King Welcomes You to Avatar Country
11. Hail the Apocalypse

The album will be available via all major streaming services on release.