AVATAR Announces Royal Albert Hall Performance Of 'Feathers & Flesh' To Celebrate Album's 10th Anniversary

Swedish metallers AVATAR have announced a monumental evening of music, pipe organs, dancers and theatrics at London's historic Royal Albert Hall on March 30, 2027. The band will present "10 Years Of Feathers & Flesh", a one-night-only performance celebrating the tenth anniversary of their landmark concept album "Feathers & Flesh".

"'Feathers & Flesh' changed the entire trajectory of how we work," explains AVATAR vocalist Johannes Eckerström. "Once you've started to think of the big picture in your work, you can't put that genie back in the bottle. We've done all kinds of albums since then, and we will continue to do whatever the muses tell us to do. The thing they have in common, whether they're comedy concept albums or satanic sock hops, is that we view them as paintings. They are cohesive pieces of work with a point."

Following the acclaim of their latest studio album, "Don't Go In The Forest", a triumphant summer supporting METALLICA across Europe on the "M72" world tour and a blistering run of headline shows across the world on their "Don't Go In The Forest 2025-2027" headline tours, AVATAR intend to mark their territory by taking over one of the world's most iconic stages.

On March 30, 2027 the band will celebrate the 10th anniversary of "Feathers & Flesh", the landmark album that defined their cinematic vision, with an exclusive, one-night-only performance at the Royal Albert Hall. Fans can expect the album to be performed in its exclusive entirety, augmented by orchestral arrangements, dancers, a live choir and the members signature visual storytelling.

John Allfreddson, AVATAR's dream-weaving drummer and founding member states: "I end up in a rollercoaster ride, emotions run through every bone of my body," while reminiscing on the recording process of this record. "Half my mind ends up in another time and life in Dresden with this crazy lady laughing, painting owls, playing with microphones and water, hysterically and joyfully clapping her hands. The other half is in this dreamlike forest that only exists in my own mind… I ask myself, did we really create this?"

Standard tickets for this exclusive event go on sale via the band's official web site, AvatarMetal.com, on Wednesday, July 8 at 13:00 BST. Limited VIP "Parliament Packages" and "Talon Tickets" are available now through the band's official fan club web site, AvatarCountry.com.

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."