Avatar Reveal What It's Really Like To Tour With Metallica

Supporting Metallica is the sort of opportunity most metal bands dream about.

But according to Avatar frontman Johannes Eckerström, the biggest surprise wasn’t playing stadiums packed with tens of thousands of people – it was how warmly Metallica welcomed the Swedish theatrical metallers behind the scenes.

AVATAR – ‘Crying Fire’

Fresh off wrapping their massive European and UK run supporting the metal legends, Eckerström tells Music Feeds the experience topped even his wildest expectations.

“It all lived up to that and more,” he says. “They made time for us and ramped up how they would interact with us over the course of the tour in a very friendly, welcoming, accommodating way. Headliners are usually very nice, but here it was just a different level of it.”

Having grown up idolising Metallica, Eckerström says sharing the road with one of heavy music’s biggest bands was surreal enough. But seeing Metallica publicly champion Avatar – even posting about them on social media and praising them for “raising the bar” on the M72 Tour – hit him on a whole other level.

“It’s an anointment in a way,” he explains. “They help elevate people by making sure fans understand these people we’re bringing out are with us for a reason.

“That kind of extra effort absolutely helps put people in the right mindset. You can’t force anyone to like something, of course, but it gives you a very fair shot at connecting with their audience.”

He says it’s something Avatar consciously try to do for their own support acts too.

“We can see ourselves in that position,” he says. “When we bring bands out with us, we want people to understand there’s a reason they’re here.”

“Australia Has Really Good Coffee”

Next month, Avatar return to Australia for their second ever headline tour here, following a breakout first visit in 2023 that left a lasting impression on the band.

Travelling literally to the opposite side of the world, Eckerström admits they weren’t sure what to expect.

“It’s pretty much as far away from home as we can be,” he laughs.

Instead, they found crowds already singing every word back to them.

“There was a bunch of people who knew the songs and got what we were about. You don’t take that for granted.”

And while the audiences impressed him, there was another Australian discovery he wasn’t expecting.

“Coffee in Australia is very good,” he laughs. “I didn’t have a bad cup of coffee while I was there.”

How Avatar Make Stadiums Feel Personal

After supporting both Iron Maiden and Metallica on stadium-sized stages before returning to theatres of their own, Avatar have had to learn two very different approaches to performing.

Ironically, Eckerström says the bigger the stage becomes, the more personal the performance has to feel.

“When you’re starting out, you spend a lot of time learning how to make something very small feel very big,” he explains. “Then, if you’re lucky enough to get these opportunities, you suddenly have to learn the opposite – how to make something very big feel small.”

He points to Bruce Dickinson as one of the greatest examples of that skill.

“Everyone thinks Bruce Dickinson waved directly at them,” he says. “It’s physically impossible, of course… but somehow he makes every single person feel seen.”

That’s the mindset Avatar now bring to massive support slots: immediately pulling an entire stadium into the performance instead of treating it like an introduction.

Headline shows, meanwhile, allow the band to do what they love most.

“You have more time to take people on a journey,” he says. “You can elevate people, bring them back down, recharge them, have different chapters. That’s really the way Avatar is supposed to be experienced.”

“We Never Want To Write The Same Song Twice”

Avatar released their tenth studio album, Don’t Go In The Forest, last year, but Eckerström says every record still has to earn its place.

“The most important thing is finding a reason why it’s important to make that particular album.”

But rule has never changed: “We never want to write the same song twice,” he says.

And for this new record, he deliberately leaned further into instinct than ever before.

“I relied a lot on the subconscious,” he says. “I didn’t feel it was necessary to explain to myself or anyone else what things meant until everything was finished.”

The result, he says, is one of the dreamiest and most instinctive collections of songs Avatar have ever made.

The Secret To Avatar’s Longevity?

After more than two decades together, Avatar continue to climb to new heights. So what’s kept them together?

For Eckerström, the answer is surprisingly straightforward.

“We want to write, record and perform our own stuff. That’s what we want to do first and foremost.”

Everything else, he says, is secondary.

“We’ll take it as far as we can in a manner where we remain friends.”

It’s that final point, more than anything else, that he credits with Avatar’s longevity.

“That friendship part – taking care of each other – that’s the isolated longevity of the band.”

It’s a philosophy that’s taken Avatar from tiny clubs in Sweden to sharing stadium stages with Metallica. Next month, Aussie fans will get another chance to see exactly why one of metal’s biggest bands thought they were worthy of “raising the bar”.

Grab your tickets down below.