AVATAR Announces November/December 2026 European Tour

Following a monumental summer that sees AVATAR supporting METALLICA on their global juggernaut and lighting up some of Europe's most iconic festival stages before heading Down Under to Australia, the Swedish theatrical metal titans are ready to end the year on their own terms. AVATAR are thrilled to announce a headline tour across Europe this late autumn 2026.

AVATAR lead singer Johannes Eckerström says: "A Europe in November. A Europe in December. Cold, wet and dark. We all know what it’s like, and we know exactly what you’ll need. The first European leg made us feel very lucky to be doing this. This time around, we will do everything within our power to make you feel lucky to participate. We live by but one ethos: Better than ever. I really want to see you, and you really don’t want to miss this."

The tour kicks off on November 20 in Wolverhampton, U.K. and runs through until December 19 in Wrocław, Poland. The Danish death metal band NECKBREAKKER will be support on all dates. Tickets go on sale on Tuesday, May 26 at 10 a.m. local time from avatarmetal.com.

AVATAR's "Don't Go In The Forest '26" tour dates:

Nov. 20 - Wolverhampton, England - KK's Steelmill
Nov. 21 - Southampton, England - O2 Guildhall
Nov. 22 - Cardiff, Wales - Depot
Nov. 24 - Dublin, Ireland - National Stadium
Nov. 25 - Belfast, N.Ireland - Limelight
Nov. 27 - Norwich, England - UEA
Nov. 28 - Newcastle, England - Northumbria Uni
Nov. 29 - Edinburgh, Scotland - Corn Exchange
Dec. 01 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Gashouder
Dec. 03 - Oberhausen, Germany - Turbinenhalle
Dec. 05 - Budapest, Hungary - Barba Negra Red
Dec. 06 - Prague, Czechia - Sasazu
Dec. 08 - Innsbruck, Austria - Musichall
Dec. 09 - Linz, Austria - Posthof
Dec. 10 - Ulm, Germany - Roxy
Dec. 11 - Esch-Sur-Alzette, Luxembourg - Rockhal
Dec. 12 - Zürich, Switzerland - Komplex
Dec. 13 - Frankfurt, Germany - Zoom
Dec. 15 - Padova, Italy - Hall
Dec. 16 - Ljubljana, Slovenia - Cvetlicarna
Dec. 17 - Zagreb, Croatia - Boogaloo
Dec. 18 - Bratislava, Slovakia - Majestic Music Club
Dec. 19 - Wrocław, Poland - A2

AVATAR released its tenth studio album, "Don't Go In The Forest", last October via Black Waltz Records. The follow-up to 2023's "Dance Devil Dance" was once again produced by Jay Ruston, who has previously worked with ANTHRAX, STEEL PANTHER and URIAH HEEP, among many others.

Ruston first worked with AVATAR when he mixed "Hail The Apocalypse", a role he reprised on "Feathers & Flesh" before taking the wheel as producer on "Avatar Country" and "Hunter Gatherer".

"Dance Devil Dance" featured a guest appearance by Lzzy Hale of HALESTORM on the song "Violence No Matter What". The record also included the single "The Dirt I'm Buried In", which hit No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.

Johannes formed AVATAR in 2001. The band's lineup has remained virtually the same ever since, save for guitarist Tim Öhrström, who entered the fray just over a decade later. AVATAR also includes guitarist Jonas Jarlsby, bassist Henrik Sandelin and drummer John Alfredsson.

Eckerström told Metal Symphony about how AVATAR has managed to keep its lineup intact for a decade and a half: "For us, the most important thing is friendship. That's not just a nice thing to say — it's very practical. Our job is to write and perform our own music; we don't use outside songwriters or fake it in the studio. We want to write, play, and perform what's truly ours — and do it in a way that keeps us friends. Sometimes that means making decisions that might not be the best for business in the short term but are better for the band and our relationships in the long run. That's always the priority. The longer we stay together, the more opportunities we have to grow — both personally and artistically. That's the secret: we genuinely want to stay together."

Regarding how much each AVATAR member contributed to the composition of "Don't Go In The Forest", Johannes told Metal Symphony: "It's hard to measure. Our producer, Jay Ruston, often says AVATAR is the most democratic band he's ever worked with. Traditionally, the main songwriters are Tim, Jonas and myself. But the process is so collaborative that all five of us get deeply involved in finishing the songs. Take the title track, for example: it began as a song Tim wrote, but we couldn't make the full version work. Years later, Jonas brought back one of the riffs, added new bass and drums, and built something around it. Then I came in to clean it up, rearrange parts, add keyboards and a pulsing bass line — and everyone added something. Each song is different. Sometimes one of us writes most of it; sometimes it's a complete group effort. But the key is that by the end, everyone feels ownership — it becomes our song."

Photo credit: Johan Carlén