For a long time, Avatarium was just another Leif Edling project for me. Avatarium stood out due to the charismatic vocals of Jennie-Ann Smith, but a majority of their material still sounded like Candlemass with female vocals. Smith and her husband, veteran guitarist Marcus Jidell, started contributing to the songwriting on the band’s third album ‘Hurricanes And Halos’. ‘The Fire I Long For’ is the first album with a majority of songs written by Smith and Jidell, which turns out to be a big step forward. The album is less doom metal and more dark rock, but undeniably impressive.

Despite all the changes, the overall sound of Avatarium has not changed all that much on ‘The Fire I Long For’. Sure, it’s less upbeat than ‘Hurricanes And Halos’ and certainly less doomy as a whole, but the main ingredients are similar: thick, fuzzy guitar riffs that are generally relatively slow, an organic seventies feel and Smith’s emotional vocals. Unlike many female rock singers, Smith skillfully avoids the pitfalls of oversinging. Likewise, Jidell is perfectly capable of playing neoclassical speed exercises, but instead focuses on bluesy soul. Lars Sköld is one of the most serviceable drummers in heavy rock as well.

Atmosphere is an important part of what makes ‘The Fire I Long For’ the great album it is. Most of the album has a dark, desperate atmosphere, the only true exception being the excellent uptempo rocker ‘Shake That Demon’. First single ‘Rubicon’ has a somewhat hopeful vibe as well. It is a nice slower midtempo rocker with great melodies and an excellent guitar and Hammond arrangement. Truth be told, that track was what made me check out the album at all. The band also made a wise choice easing anyone who already loved the band into their new sound by opening with the relatively doomy ‘Voices’.

What may be most impressive about ‘The Fire I Long For’ is how it explores all the possibilities of Avatarium’s sound without ever sounding like a disjointed mess. The title track and closer ‘Stars They Move’ are heartfelt ballads, the latter being particularly low-key, ‘Great Beyond’ is a climactic, atmospheric monster of a track, while ‘Porcelain Skull’ and particularly ‘Epitaph Of Heroes’ are the doomiest tracks on the album. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Edling wrote those doomsters. The most pleasant surprise is ‘Lay Me Down’, which feels like Nick Cave exploring southern blues and has a mindblowing vocal arrangement. Truly a work of art.

‘The Fire I Long For’ impresses me much more than I expected it would. Jidell and Smith writing most of the songs apparently is exactly what the band needed to develop their own dark and moody rock sound. The band’s influences are quite obvious: Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and The Doors’ darker material – the Uriah Heep-isms of ‘Hurricanes And Halos’ only linger in the background – and yet, Avatarium sounds fresh and unique here. It helps that Smith is not another Janis Joplin clone, but there is a sincerity to the music on ‘The Fire I Long For’ that many contemporary bands lack.

Recommended tracks: ‘Rubicon’, ‘Lay Me Down’, ‘Great Beyond’, ‘Stars They Move’