Avatar brought their Heavy Metal circus to The Dome at The Toyota Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford on their Don’t Go In The Forest Tour ’26. Opening the show were Frozen Soul and Fleshgod Apocalypse. The venue has a theatre and a “dome” area, which is standing room only and can hold up to 2,000 people. Tonight, we were in the dome.
Avatar – Fleshgod Apocalypse – Frozen Soul
The Dome At Toyota Oakdale Theatre, Wallingford – 19 May 2026
Words And Photography: Jody Wilk
Frozen Soul
Hailing from Texas, Frozen Soul were first to hit the stage with a short 30-minute set that got the fans moshing and crowd surfing right from the start.
This five-piece band is comprised of Chad Green on vocals, who has the look of a wrestler and the voice of a demon, Samantha Mobley kept the bass dark and heavy with Michael Munday and Chris Bonnar on guitar. Matt Dennard held it all together on the drums.
With their most recent video, Chaos Will Reign, released just two weeks ago and having over 100,000 views, I was expecting a killer show, and that is what we got. Frozen Soul are touring in support of their No Place Of Warmth album, which was released on 8 May via Century Media Records.
They played eight songs from of this album, two from of Crypt of Ice, and one off from Glacial Domination. Check out their website for tour dates starting up again in August.
Fleshgod Apocalypse
Fleshgod Apocalypse hit the stage at 8 pm, bringing a unique blend of death growls and opera-like vocals mixed up in a cauldron. Add to that stellar drumbeats, piano and killer guitar riffs, and you get the unique sound that is Fleshgod Apocalypse.
This Symphonic Death Metal band hails from Italy, formed in 2007, and will keep you in a sensory overload from start to finish. Frontman Francesco Paoli took to the front and centre of the stage on bass and lead vocals with Veronica Bordacchini on a riser behind him, singing operatic and clean vocals.
Francesco Ferrini rocked out on the piano, another anomaly for a Death Metal band, and Fabio Bartoletti on guitar and Eugene Ryabchenko round out this unique band.
They played Ode to Art (de’ Sepolcri), Minotaur (The Wrath of Poseidon), Sugar, and about five other songs. But one thing is for sure, the crowd wanted more. They certainly need more than a 30-minute set next time around.
Avatar
Swedish heavy metal band Avatar brought their unique brand of music to the stage at 9:00 pm to a venue packed with people ready for the main act.
Fresh off the stage of Sonic Temple Festival two days earlier, Avatar hit the stage with a slow, dark and theatrical start. The band was rolled out onto the stage on a riser in almost complete darkness with only some faint blue lights and lots of smoke.
Johannes Eckerstrom, shrouded in a cloak, carrying a medieval lamp, was followed by the two halves of the drum kit being wheeled in behind them. The song was Captain Goat from their current album and tour namesake, Don’t Go In The Forest. We were not allowed to photograph the first song because of the almost non-existent lighting.
With their heads banging and hair flying, and in stark contrast to the previous song, Silence In The Age Of Apes had the mosh pit roaring and the crowd surfers flying to some great Heavy Metal music. The show was just beginning, and I think these guys got the award for the most synchronised windmill hair spins, if there is such a thing.
With Johannes donning makeup and an outfit like a medieval court jester, and drummer John Alfredsson’s dark eyeliner and demonic stare, Avatar do not set out to perform a heavy set of Metal mayhem, as they are out to give you a full night of entertainment.
With the album Don’t Go in the Forest having been released late last year, it was great to see that they played six songs from it throughout the night, mixed in with fan favourites.
The drum riser was configured so that it could be split down the centre and moved to the sides to change up the stage for different songs. The spotlight rigs behind the band were on wheels and would move around during some of the songs, adding to the circus-like atmosphere.
If you have never attended an Avatar show, you would not understand. One thing I did miss about this show was that they did not play Puppet Show, the song where Johannes goes out into the crowd and makes balloon animals and plays the trombone.
A few of my favourite songs of the night were The Dirt I’m Buried In, Colossus, and Legend Of The King, where they bring a throne adorned with lion’s heads on the arms to the front and center of the stage, and guitarist Jonas Jarlsby takes a seat wearing a crown and gold jacket to play for the fans.
They finished their regular set with Tonight We Must Be Warriors, before beginning the encore set of three songs, which ended with Hail The Apocalypse.
The Don’t Go In The Forest tour stop at The Toyota Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, Connecticut was a huge success right from the start. With the Death Metal of Frozen Soul, to the melding of symphonic and growling vocals of Fleshgod Apocalypse, to the Heavy Metal circus that is Avatar, the fans were left tired and sweaty from moshing and crowd surfing.
They will be sure to return next time Avatar are in town.
