Avatar Debut New Songs ‘Going Hunting’ + ‘Barren Cloth Mother’ Ahead of 2021 U.S. Tour

Sweden's theatrical metal masters Avatar have debuted two new songs — "Going Hunting" and "Barren Cloth Mother" — in advance of their headlining U.S. tour, which kicks off today (Sept. 1).

This pair of fresh tracks also comes as a means of celebrating their signing with Thirty Tigers and starting up their own imprint, dubbed Black Waltz Records, named after their 2012 album, Black Waltz.

"Going Hunting" and "Barren Cloth Mother" highlight the dichotomy of Avatar's music, which ranges from cinematic and theatrical to unrelentingly aggressive. The former is largely piano-driven, building with nervous tension that crescendos into powerful, explosive moments as frontman Johannes Eckerström shows off his dramatic clean singing.

"Barren Cloth Mother" is a complete reversal of the moods heard on "Going Hunting," made immediately clear within the first two seconds with a "Bleaghhh" vocal wretch and blackened death metal melodies before Eckerström's monstrous growl overtakes the song.

Commenting on the las happenings within the Avatar camp, the band stated, "Since the early '60s, Swedish children have grown up reading Lee Falk's The Phantom," the band says. "According to legend, The Phantom has the strength of 10 tigers. Thus, Avatar now has the strength of three Phantoms and are therefore finally unstoppable. Thirty Tigers are innovators and we are very excited to have signed with them. It's good to work with such forward thinking people who truly understand what it means to be an artist in this millennium."

They continued, "This calls for a celebration, so to commemorate this occasion, and the tour we're just about to embark on, we've chosen to tear up some eardrums with 'Going Hunting' and 'Barren Cloth Mother.' Both songs tell about inner and outer darkness in their own ways. We keep sailing over dark oceans, staring down into the abyss. These songs, as great as they are, are just a taste of what's yet to come."

Listen to both new songs below and read through the lyrics for each track (via AZ Lyrics) below as well. At the bottom of the page, see if Avatar's U.S. tour alongside Magic Sword and Tallah is stopping at a city near you.

Avatar, "Going Hunting" Lyrics

In the stillness of dim lit insomnia
He discovers his own body
Whisper names in the pillowcase
It's almost like he had somebody
It's ok, I didn't want to go out tonight anyway
I stay right here

The world is out of reach
For a body under siege
By a foreign mind implanted in a being
That used to be so innocent
Is this a cell
Or my bedroom? Who can tell
What secrets lie within this boy's drawer
A reason for his punishment

If I only had a friend like you
If I only had a friend like you
If I only had a friend like you
If I only had a friend like you

What to do when no one's watching
Anything else means nothing
When the world outside comes knocking
We are going hunting
What to do when no one's watching
Anything else means nothing
When the world outside comes knocking
We are going hunting

The world he kept outside
Got a scent of where he hides
And the skeletons of rats inside his drawer
Are proof that no one's innocent
What is the way?
Is it mercy? Is it brave
To let the stones fall down upon the sickly
Or is it simply punishment?

If I only had a friend like you
If I only had a friend like you
If I only had a friend like you
If I only had a friend like you

What to do when no one's watching
Anything else means nothing
When the world outside comes knocking
We are going hunting
What to do when no one's watching
Anything else means nothing
When the world outside comes knocking
We are going hunting

Our time has come and gone so stay inside
You have to keep your secrets small
Close your eyes
I hear you whisper through the walls

What's left for you to do now?
They've come to hunt you down
What's left for you to do now?
They've come to hunt you down

What to do when no one's watching
Anything else means nothing
When the world outside comes knocking
We are going hunting
What to do when no one's watching
Anything else means nothing
When the world outside comes knocking
We are going hunting

What's left for you to do now?
They've come to hunt you down
What's left for you to do now?
They've come to hunt you down

What to do when no one's watching
Anything else means nothing
When the world outside comes knocking
We are going hunting
What to do when no one's watching
Anything else means nothing
When the world outside comes knocking
We are going hunting

Avatar, "Going Hunting" Music Video

Avatar, "Barren Cloth Mother" Lyrics

Barren cloth mother
A life lost to starvation
I'm a creature bred to grant the wisdom of his suffering

Barren dead landscape
Retreated mind, stagnation
I'm a restless ghost inside a sick and nameless, dying child

Nameless evil, songs so sad
I make up names I've might have had

Life like conception
The clockwork heart's illusion
My own Hades, lies
My unseen world, my misery

Life like contraption
I'm forced to make decisions
I am tortured, torn and choose the delusion
I have chosen death

Nameless evil, songs so sad
I make up names I've might have had
She's eyeless
She's breathless
I'm losing myself to rage

For if we all shall be equal in death
You too must suffer
Suffer and know we hate you

Nameless evil, songs so sad
I make up names I've might have had
She's eyeless
She's breathless
I'm losing myself to rage

Suffer and know we hate you

Avatar, "Barren Cloth Mother"

Avatar 2021 "Going Hunting" U.S. Tour With Magic Sword + Tallah

Sept. 01 – Albany, N.Y. @ Empire Live
Sept. 02 – Baltimore, Md. @ Baltimore Soundstage
Sept. 03 – New York, N.Y. @ Irving Plaza
Sept. 04 – Boston, Mass. @ Big Night Live
Sept. 05 – Philadelphia, Pa. @ Theatre of Living Arts
Sept. 07 – Fort Wayne, Ind. @ Pierre’s
Sept. 08 – Pittsburgh, Pa. @ Roxian Theatre
Sept. 09 – Cleveland, Ohio @ House of Blues
Sept. 11 – Danville, Va. @ Blue Ridge Rockfest
Sept. 12 – Asheville, S.C. @ The Orange Peel
Sept. 13 – Atlanta, Ga. @ Buckhead Theatre
Sept. 15 – Chicago, Ill. @ House of Blues
Sept. 17 – Madison, Wis. @ The Sylvee
Sept. 18 – Detroit, Mich. @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
Sept. 20 – Kansas City, Mo. @ Truman Theater
Sept. 21 – Lincoln, Neb. @ Bourbon
Sept. 22 – Minneapolis, Minn. @ The Fillmore Minneapolis
Sept. 24 – Louisville, Ky. @ Louder Than Life
Sept. 25 – St Louis, Mo. @ Delmar Hall
Sept. 26 – Oklahoma City, Okla. @ Diamond Ballroom
Sept. 27 – Dallas, Texas @ House of Blues
Sept. 28 – Houston, Texas @ House of Blues
Sept. 29 – San Antonio, Texas @ The Aztec Theater
Oct. 01 – Albuquerque, N.M. @ Sunshine Theater
Oct. 02 – Denver, Colo. @ Summit
Oct. 03 – Salt Lake City, Utah @ The Depot
Oct. 05 – Phoenix, Ariz. @ The Van Buren
Oct. 06 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ The Wiltern
Oct. 07 – Las Vegas, Nev. @ House of Blues
Oct. 08 – Sacramento, Calif. @ Aftershock
Oct. 10 – Grand Junction, Colo. @ Mesa Theater
Oct. 12 – Billings, Mont. @ Pub Station
Oct. 14 – Spokane, Wash. @ Knitting Factory
Oct. 15 – Portland Ore. @ Roseland Theater
Oct. 16 – Garden City, Idaho @ Revolution Concert House and Event Center
Oct. 18 – Seattle, Wash. @ Neptune