THE CIRCUS LEAVES TOWN

Agilded throne rises up from Download’s main stage, bearing Avatar guitarist Jonas Jarlsby, AKA The King. The man at the centre of the band’s carnivalesque Avatar Country concept album, he surveys his subjects as he riffs, and a huge cheer goes up. It’s mad, it’s Avatar literally taken to the next level, and it’s warmly received by a festival crowd who are here to let loose. This Friday afternoon in June 2018 feels like a real moment for the Swedes, who have significantly increased their audience since playing the same stage two years earlier.

“The Avatar Country stage show was very pornographic in that it was very in-your-face, and didn’t leave much to the imagination,” singer Johannes Eckerström grins today, sitting on his sofa at home in Helsinki, with chihuahua Jacob curled up at his feet. “That stage show had implants!”

The cult of Avatar has been growing steadily. reached No.25 on the US Billboard Chart (up from 88 for previous album ), and fans forked out $188,000 to fund a movie based on its colourful concept (which even