The sound roars & rumbles, and all manner of film tricks are used, but not to the point of distraction. The real fun comes with the backstage and road footage.
While Avatar may not satisfy the hard psych freaks who worship earlier records, there’s room for both sides of the band’s personality in my collection.
Spooky, ‘verbed-out production over psychedelic surf rock. A Munsters-at-the-beach feel. A bit of House of The Rising Sun, a little Doors, a lotta bong hits…
Airtight, stop-on-a-dime rhythm section burns these high octane bulldozer riffs around corners on the rails. The musicianship and character to get somewhere.
Someone made a radio-friendly Black Label Society by toning down the aggression, lowering the metal, throwing in big hooks, and prettying up the fellas.
The live half is the only officially sanctioned live recording from the band’s early years. The second half contains their best studio work at that point.
Hard rock that wouldn’t’ve sounded out of place in the early ’90s, alongside bands like Soundgarden, The Obsessed, Mother Love Bone, and Alice In Chains.