Avatar Family Tree
Metal Family Tree
This is a project aimed at making it easy to see who inspired the bands you love or even hate. For this I try not to use any influences that the band don’t claim themselves. There will be a focus on predecessors but successors will be added as they site the band. These trees become more and more interactive as new bands are added, allowing you to click any band that has a tree and jump to it.
We want our lists to be better. If you know something that belongs on this list, let us know. When in doubt we will leave it out, so we need reliable sources.
Avatar has gained a lot of popularity over the years. They started with a very melodic death metal sound but since have evolved their sound becoming more mainstream but also less derivative from early pioneers of the genera. They have crafted a very eclectic sound. The band has had a consistent line up with only one change since the release of their first album. From that time the band consisted of vocalist Johannes Eckerström, Guitarist Jonas Jarlsby, bassist Henrik Sandelin, and drummer John Alfredsson. At that time the second guitarist was Simon Andersson, who was replaced by Tim Öhrström in 2011.
This list unfortunately is missing probably a lot of influences. In my research I was unable to find any interviews other than ones done by singer Johannes Eckerström. Fortunately he talks about band influences along with his personal ones but I’m sure the list is lacking important elements. This is one where I would really appreciate any sources that can improve this list. As I find more information it will be added. With that said, lets jump into what I have come up with so far.
Ludwig van Beethoven
Tom Waits
Mike Patton
Johannes has been vague with some influences naming “bands from Gothenburg where we are from, combined with the death metal scene of the late 80s/early 90s” He said he grew up with the music his parents listened to like Beethoven and then The Beatles. He also grew up with Guns n Roses and Kiss before later find German bands like Helloween. He called Michael Jackson a “musical genius and one of the greatest performers of all time”. He says he appreciates when actors sing because they know how to tell a story even if they aren’t the best singers. (He didn’t say if this includes William Shatner, but I hope it does). He says The Impaled was his first experience into the “fantasy” horror element but he wasn’t the biggest fan because of this he got into better bands like Carcass. He mentions borrowing a bunch of black metal but not liking a lot of it except Marduk.
Sources:
http://rockrevoltmagazine.com/interview-johannes-eckerstrom-avatar/
https://loudwire.com/remembering-dimebag-darrell-johannes-eckerstrom-avatar/
https://lotsofmuzic.weebly.com/home/one-day-in-avatar-country-our-interview-with-avatars-johannes-eckerstrom-and-a-reviewof-their-concert-in-toronto
https://myglobalmind.com/2016/12/10/interview-with-johannes-eckerstrom-lead-vocals-avatar-dublin-november-22nd-2016/
https://www.metalblast.net/interviews/the-last-laugh-an-interview-with-avatar/
https://mediamikes.com/2012/02/interview-with-avatars-johannes-eckerstrom/
https://www.loudersound.com/features/avatar-the-10-albums-that-changed-johannes-eckerstroems-life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_mA7F2-wok