Under the Big Top - Circus Avatar Takes Over Oslo
- Kenneth Sporsheim
- 11 minutes ago
- 4 min read
IMAGES KENNETH SPORSHEIM / WORDS THOMAS KIRKEBY
Sentrum Scene Oslo - 9th January 2026
Swedish metal act Avatar are currently touring Europe on their In the Airwaves EU 26 Tour, joined by Norwegian band Agabas and New Zealand’s Alien Weaponry as support. Agabas had already completed their set by the time I arrived at Sentrum Scene on this cold February evening, so this review begins with Alien Weaponry.
I had never heard of the New Zealand trio prior to this show, so I sampled a few tracks on Spotify earlier in the day just to get a sense of what awaited me. To be completely honest, their blend of groove and thrash metal with lyrics in te reo Māori did not immediately connect with me, although Māori metal as a concept is undeniably fascinating.
The live experience, however, proved far more convincing. With ritualistic chanting and a bass tone that made the floor vibrate, the band gradually won over much of the audience. Despite a slightly restrained atmosphere early on, Alien Weaponry managed to pull the room into their world over the course of their set.
My own familiarity with Avatar is fairly limited. I reviewed their 2016 album Feathers & Flesh upon release and caught them live at Tons of Rock Festival in Oslo in 2023. At the time, my impression was that they were a perfectly fine — if slightly silly — Swedish metal band. I understood the joke of the towering, ever smiling clown frontman Johannes Eckerström, and as a long-time Alice Cooper fan, their theatrical approach was easy to appreciate.
That said, I had been genuinely looking forward to seeing Avatar headline a full show, having heard countless people describe their concerts as something truly special. And a show it most certainly was.
The stage was set to music approaching a hundred years in age, fitting neatly with my expectations so far. The setup appeared classic: the drum kit positioned centre stage, microphones flanking either side, and what looked like a circus tent looming in the background.
Moments before the band emerged, the music was abruptly drowned out by the sound of a violent thunderstorm, before the intro to ‘Captain Goat’ rang out across the PA. Suddenly, the drum kit split in two and slid apart, as the band glided onto the stage dressed in black cloaks. At that point, I was already completely sold.
After the opening number, the band discarded their cloaks and launched straight into ‘Under Silence in the Age of Apes’. Every member of the band — including the outstanding drummer John Alfredsson — was headbanging in unison. It was also here I noticed a wonderful little detail: the guitarists’ microphone stands could be folded away entirely when not in use, ensuring nothing obstructed the performance.
The third song, ‘The Eagle Has Landed’, sent a visible surge of excitement through the room as the opening notes rang out. By now, the party was well underway, with arms raised and sing-along choruses
.
It feels increasingly rare for bands to genuinely engage with the audience between songs these days, but the clown was a notable exception. Johannes enthusiastically explained that this was only the third show of the tour — the point at which the band, in his words, starts to play well together.
“Right now, Norway is the capital of the Nordics,” he declared, before taking a sip of water from a petrol can placed on stage. Humour in metal is always welcome.
And humour was abundant. During ‘Bloody Angel’, the band suddenly froze completely, standing completely still. A stagehand walked onstage wearing a cymbal on his head and positioned himself next to drummer Alfredsson, who remains a firework display and a performance in his own right. When the drummer struck the cymbal, the band exploded back into motion.
Following ‘Dance Devil Dance’, the drum kit once again split apart, making room for a piano that slid into place as the band began the excellent ‘Howling at the Waves’ from their latest album. Whether due to its more subdued nature or simply its relative newness, the audience response here was slightly more reserved.
Seated at the piano, Johannes took a moment for another heartfelt exchange with the crowd, explaining that the band had endured a terrible day where everything that could go wrong had done so — making it all the more meaningful to stand on stage this evening, where everything felt exactly right.
The mood remained controlled during ‘Tower’, as the stage was gradually dressed with banners in preparation for what followed. It was time for ‘Legend of the King.’
The band exited the stage, the drum kit split yet again, and a throne was rolled out, upon which one of the guitarists took his seat, dressed as a king — performing the entire song from the throne.
A rock concert is not necessarily better with humour and spectacle, but it is undeniably more fun.
The celebration continued at Circus Avatar, with highlight following highlight. During ‘The Dirt I’m Buried In’ and ‘Tonight We Must Be Warriors’, the entire floor area in front of the stage was in constant motion.
The band then left the stage ahead of the encore — and took their time before returning. Unlike many shows, however, the crowd never stopped cheering and chanting while they were gone. Too often applause fades quickly into passive waiting; that was not the case here. It must have been a satisfying moment for the Swedes waiting behind the curtain.
After ‘Don’t Go in the Forest’, ‘Smells Like a Freakshow’ and ‘Hail the Apocalypse’, the lights finally went out on Circus Avatar. But what a night it had been.
And if you are considering catching Avatar on this tour later on, the recommendation is simple: do it.
SET LIST
1. Captain Goat
2. Silence in the Age of Apes
3. The Eagle Has Landed
4. In the Airwaves
5. Bloody Angel
6. Death and Glitz
7. Blod
8. Colossus
9. Dance Devil Dance
10. Howling At the Waves
11. Tower
12. Legend of the King
13. Let It Burn
14. The Dirt I’m Buried In
15. Tonight We Must Be Warriors
16. Don’t Go In The Forest
17. Smells Like a Freakshow
18. Hail the Apocalypse
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