Avatar (with Frozen Soul and Fleshgod Apocalypse) – Milwaukee, WI – May 1, 2026

Avatar (with Frozen Soul and Fleshgod Apocalypse) – May 1, 2026 at the Rave / Eagles Club, Milwaukee, WI

Review and photos by Jim Zons

It was a Friday night for death metal in Milwaukee as Avatar along with Frozen Soul and Fleshgod Apocalypse took over half the ballroom at the Rave / Eagles Club in Milwaukee on May Day!

First up was Frozen Soul.   Frozen Soul hails from Fort Worth, Texas and features Michael Munday on guitar, Samantha Mobley on bass, Matt Dennard on drums, Chris Bonner on lead guitar, and Chad Green on vocals.  I would describe their sound as classic 90s death metal sound mixed with what you would expect from a contemporary touring death metal band.  Their short set featured a mix of energetic music from their three studio albums, and the crowd was loving it, especially after Chad encouraged the crowd surfing to start, which continued throughout the night!

Next on stage: Fleshgod Apocalypse. Fleshgod Apocalypse is a symphonic death metal band from Perugia, Italy that was founded in 2007. The band currently features Francesco Paoli on vocals and bass, Francesco Ferrini on piano, Veronica Bordacchini on operatic vocals, Fabio Bartoletti on lead guitar, and Eugene Ryabchenko on drums. Symphonic death metal is a really good description for the music of Fleshgod Apocalypse: with Veronica Bordacchini’s soaring, operatic vocals, and incredible costumes and imagery, they reminded me of a heavier version of the Los Angeles band In This Moment. Just like Frozen Soul, their set was relatively short, but featured songs from five of their six studio albums and kept the crowd fired up.

Finally, it was time for the headliner: Avatar! Avatar was founded in Sweden in 2001 and today features John Alfredsson on drums, Jonas “Kungen” Jarlsby on guitar, Henrik Sandelin on bass, Tim Öhrström on guitar, and Johannes Eckerström on lead vocals. Avatar has been described as “melodic death metal” and that is really a good description as their music ranges from heavy death metal to more radio friendly hard rock, reminiscent of the music of Ghost. I’ve been a huge Avatar fan since first hearing them at Rock Fest in Cadott, WI maybe a decade ago, so I was excited to see them again in a smaller venue like the ballroom at The Rave /Eagles Club, and they did not disappoint! From their first song, “Captain Goat,” through almost two hours of music, Avatar kept the full house at the Rave on their feet (except the many crowd surfers!) and singing along to music that spanned 20 years of metal hits. Everything from the heaviest music in their catalog like “Silence in the Age of Apes” and “In The Airwaves,” to more radio friendly music like “The Dirt I’m Buried In” and “Don’t Go in the Forest,” this concert had it all! The imagery was amazing, and I especially loved “Legend of the King” featuring guitarist Jonas Jarlsby playing guitar while seated in a throne wearing a crown! Lead singer Johannes Eckerström mentioned that the band has played at The Rave multiple times, but this is the first time they’ve played the big ballroom as the headliner. The encore featured two of Avatar’s biggest hits: “Smells Like a Freakshow” and “Hail the Apocalypse.”  Before the very final note/chord from “Hail the Apocalypse, John Alfredsson on drums fired up the crowd to get them worked up as much as possible before they played the very last note/chord of the song.  And when they did … the drum set and stage lights split in half and went off the stage in opposite directions!  It was a great way to end another fantastic show at The Rave /Eagles Club in Milwaukee!