Artist description One of the most representative bands of Romanian Extreme Metal.

Music Style Power Progressive Black Metal

Musical Influences all metal stiles ( especially progressive and black ) and a little jazz

Artist History It all started back in 1994 with the dream of two ratle-head, highschool boys : Dan Scurtu and Marius Popeanga. In order to be able to use the instruments of the school, Avatar became its representative band. Too bad for the ones in school, as a school band proved not to be what it was supposed to, mainly because its members only listened and played to... Death Metal. During high school they recorded their first demo: Orgiastic Ceremony and they had their first contacts with the public. In time, for Avatar, music became more then just fun, turning into a real job which demanded a lot of sacrifice. Suffocation, Immolation, Morbid Angel and other similar sound monstrosities were the only sources of inspiration for Avatar at that time. Avatar became a well known band as a consequence of the recording of a second demo: Holy Infection. In 1998 this demo was taken over and distributed by Bestial Records, the only national label who promoted extreme music exclusively. It was that year also that Avatar performed in a lot of festivals and concerts inside the country, where it managed to win many important prizes. In 1999 Alin Deca, a second vocal, joined the band, a moment when Avatar took its first step on the land of Black Metal . In time, the band s influences became more numerous, fact which determined a continuos metamorphosis in the musical evolution of Avatar. As a consequence, the sound of Avatar gained originality and uniqueness on the scene of Romanian Metal. In March - April 2000, The Alchemist was recorded, Avatar's first album, which came as the result of a seven years time of hard work and musical activity. In summer 2001 was filmed the first video of the band of The Inner Alchemy, the most atmospheric track from The Alchemist, which was broadcasted on MCM Romanaia and other local televisions. Right now, at the begining of 2002, Avatar is preparing a new material for a second album and it is still searching for a producer.

Group Members Dan Scurtu - guitars Marian Calin - drums Catalin Branzan - bass Alin "Cocozoi" Deca - high voice Marius Popeanga - low voice

Albums ORGIASTIC CEREMONY demo1996, HOLY INFECTION demo1998 (Bestial Records), THE ALCHEMIST album 2000 (Bestial Records)

Press Reviews These are only some reviews of our album from zines or webzines. I am still working in order to update this section with all the reviews. Reviews Ravenlord Zine : "This release is simply perfect! I can't find a "spot" that I don't like here. Music that AVATAR performs is melodic "new age black metal"... I saw some reviews in the zines were written that this band play death metal music but there are not many things on it that remainds on that metal style! Actually the demos "Orgiastic Ceremony" and "Holy Infection" were death metalish but this latest release open the new dimension in their music, they should continue playing in that way I think. Eleven tracks, including intro and outro, are here. Vocal is screamy and very powerful, reminds a little on the Portuguese DEMONARCH. Keyboards are mighty but wait to hear how guitars are played. Unbealievable! There are so many great guitar passages and background solos that will nail you to listen to it over and over again... when I've received this tape I was out of sleap for whole night ! " Apologia Descarnarii" is a track that will show you how perfect music can be. This is a "must" for everybody! Anyway, this band has guaranteed space in the next issue of Ravenlord zine!!!" Ravenlord Zine c/o Zeljko Hornjak; J.T. Bogmeka 26; 25233 Ruski Krstur Yugoslavia e-mail: raven1@eunet.yu Dysangelium Zine : AVATAR - "The Alchemist" Bestial Records Rating: 9/10 I'll say this from the very beginning: Avatar are my favourite Romanian band and "The Alchemist", their debut album, is a jewel. Although they've given up the sick Death Metal which made their 97 demo "Holy Infection" notorious in the Romanian underground, they can't be accused of wimping out or going mainstream. To be honest, I miss the old Avatar, but fortunately the new Avatar is even better, albeit radically different. "The Alchemist" is a mixture of technical Death Metal, Black Metal and Prog Metal with touches of jazz (evident especially in the playing technique of the bassist). The musicianship per ensemble is very high standard, but what really stands out (paradoxically for a Metal band) is the keyboards - I just can't help wishing they made the instrumentals longer! The lyrics are suitably philosophical and thought-provoking and, despite the odd typo or grammatical mistake, they make an interesting read. Add to this a slick production and an impressive cover, and you've got a damn fine album here! Read the Avatar interview in this issue to find out more. (Florian) Erebus Webmagazine : Avatar - The Alchemist Bestial Records, 2000. Of the three dictionary definitions: the incarnation of a Hindu deity, especially Vishnu, in human or animal form; an embodiment, as of a quality or concept or an archetype, a temporary manifestation or aspect of a continuing entity - we can dispense of the first and apply the latter two to the band of same name. This is Avatar from Romania, an archetype for outstanding symphonic death metal (Spiros and Sotiris of Septic Flesh, do you hear me?), and yet another manifestation of the magic that is so often found in the genuine underground. Alas, my Eastern friends, there is nothing of the Hindu here, in both symbolic content and musical. Truth is, I had no idea what to expect of this band and I am certain the rest of the world outside of Romania is scratching its heads right now as well. How many of these small bands have come and gone in this ever-proliferating scene of ours? And how many of them have undeservedly received no attention at all when they are obviously doing something much more creative and expansive than those who acquire greater recognition? In my experience, at least, surprisingly many. And in a way it can be both positive and negative at once, since you feel that they deserve more for their achievements, yet at the same time you understand that such obscure, exclusive status gives them a kind of individual appeal that others do not have. In a sense, it becomes your own art, 'you' have discovered it... seemingly, 'no one' else: a feat of discovery. Well, to get to the matter, Avatar is such a band. Not only is this young Romanian comprised of some 5 excellent musicians (and two session musicians), there is fascinating material on this album! If you examine the recording as a whole, if you examine it holistically, moreover, you will find some really active imagination here. The keyboards are just superb, possessing a very ambient, ethereal, indeed, grandiose presence and, when combined with the brutal, pounding guitars, create an odd,almost surreal texture. You can ask for little more in this brand of death metal. It reminds almost of a symphonically-enhanced Cynic and, in fact, it is to my understanding that the leader of this band is a great admirer of the Floridian legends. Vocals may ad here to all of the death metal canons: both throaty rasps and low gutteral grunts, but sound good and, without a doubt, highly pertinent to the overall sound. There are some great melodies here, subtle melodies: complex, and yet not tiring as one might expect with many of these progressive artists. Each song adheres to its own theme and mood and does not fly into a hundred separate ambivalent parts. What make everything cohesive are the ubiquitous keyboards; the keyboards and the guitars. They seem to interchange leading roles. And the bassist is actually quite actively involved in the final production, offering interesting melodies of his own to compliment the main. Exotic is the operative word. Grand is the other. I especially love the section towards the end of the track Between Hunger And Possession, when suddenly the keys switch abruptly to atonality. A very eerie and excellent outcome! I wish metal bands in general would experiment more with atonality, it can produce some really startling and insane results! But wait, I have yet to elaborate on the lyrics of this band. Is it a mundane occurrence to find a lyricist, in metal, with an active interest in postmodernism? No, I did not think so myself. The Avatar lyrics are surprisingly original. Now that, my friends, is a truly rare find, especially in metal music where all-too-often you are thankful bands sing exclusively in their own native tongue and are thus rendered incomprehensible to anyone but their own fellow countrymen. Just read the lyrics of Ethereal Presence and A Translucent Universe. Some bizarre and wonderful images are to be found here... So, to summarize, those that appreciate bands like Septic Flesh, Depresy, and the like will most probably enjoy this album. It has a very obscure and uncommon aura thanks in large part to the beautiful symphonic parts. At the moment this album is released only on cassette, but I hope that Adrian over at Bestial decides to produce a CD release later on. It will be well worth it. This is a band to look out for. Y. Arkadin 5 October 2000

Additional Info AVATAR CONTACT: e-mail: avatar_ro@hotmail.com danscurtu@yahoo.com

Location Craiova, Dolj - Romania

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