Band: Avatar
Title: Subjects Of The Same Suffering
Label: own
Distribution: Metalfan
Release date: 2011
Review: CD

Romania… I know this country for its magnificent and extra-ordinary (Underground) Black Metal scene in general, yet Romania does house a modest amount on acceptable Death Metal formations as well. First names that come to mind are Grimegod or Rising Shadow when talking about the past, or Gruesome Fate and Era Decay right now, but believe me: the Romanian scene was, and still is extremely vivid!
An upcoming yet at the same time rather ‘old’ name is this one: Avatar. No, not the movie, nor one of the many Metal-bands with the very same moniker (only that ancient Belgian Sympho-Black horde Avatar is worth mentioning, haha, and maybe, just maybe, the Swedish Death Kommando with that very same name as well?), a five-piece that had this album mixed and mastered at, jawel, yes indeed, the über-famous Antfarm Studios with Mister Tue Madsen himself (think: Witchery, Cataract, Aborted, Urkraft, Sons Of Jonathas a.m.m.)! Subjects Of The Same Suffering is the name of this spawning, which was produced by the band itself, engineered by Marius Costache (of Satanochio / H8 / Necrovile-fame), and which lasts for thirty five minutes.
[despite their fifteen years of existence, this isn’t but the second studio full length - FYI]
What Avatar bring with Subjects … is a universal form of monstrous and grooving Death Metal with a hint to the earliest nineties. It’s melodic yet harsh at the same time, and both the North-American and West-European scene have clearly been of influence. The whole isn’t as technical and progressive as in was in the past; the whole sounds better structured and less complex – read: no-nonsense and deadly indeed…
Original? Forget it! Renewing? Not at all. Therefore unnecessary? No, not at all either! In spite of a total lack of something unique, this album is a recommendation because of its honesty and purity. I won’t point any comparable name, yet let’s say that especially the Dutch and German scenes come to my mind in general.

87/100

Ivan Tibos.