Album review by Carrie Brown, photography by Carrie Brown and Kirby Green
Metal fans of all ages lined up outside, of Buckhead Theatre in Atlanta, on the evening of October 4th. Two full hours before the doors opened, fans were already lined up around the block for both entrance doors. Fans of Avatar were some of the most exuberant, yelling over the rest of the crowd until the doors opened.
Photos by Carrie Brown
Finally, the time had come and the first band was ready to come on stage. Light the Torch (formerly known as Devil You Know) brought all of the energy they had. The frontman Howard Jones, was everywhere on the stage that night. He would yell at and to the crowds to pump them up. Coupled with the grunge-type feel of the lights and fog machine, they set up the evening to be an epic night.
Photos by Carrie Brown
After some of the fog had cleared and the stage was set, it was time for one of the most anticipated shows of the night and most definitely the most theatrical. As soon as the lights went back down, you could see the band start to walk out on stage. The crowd started cheering for Avatar the moment they were visible. Johannes came out to center stage and started the show in his full ring leader ensemble with “A Statue of the King.”
Photos by Carrie Brown
Within mere moments, the crowd was crowd surfing toward the stage. Avatar’s headbanging seemed almost choreographed throughout their songs, and they pulled out every stop for their show. Their name was lit up in a huge light display, they were in full costume, and they brought along props and bubbles. Their set ended with “Smells like a Freak Show”. Fans chanted and sang along as they left “Avatar Country” as bubbles flowed and popped overhead.
Photos by Kirby Green
The headliner, Trivium, took the stage after a brief intermission. The crowd was crazy pumped by this point of the show. The theatre was packed and all eyes were on the front of the stage. Vocalist and guitarist, Matt Heafy, took over the crowd with a hard-hitting opening song, with crowd surfers headed straight to the front. The fans didn’t waste any time trying to get a closer look at Trivium.
Photos by Kirby Green
There was a bit of a pile-up as Matt stood at the edge of the stage and watched the spectacle. It was a sight to see! Trivium pulled as much of the crowd’s energy and attention as Avatar even without all of the antics. Trivium was considerably more mellow compared to either of the other two bands in terms of stage presence, but the fans loved them for it. If anything, it showed that stage presence is just as much about the show as the music. Though, who doesn’t love seeing a good show?
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