Live review: Witch Club Satan / Alien Weaponry / Avatar

Witch Club Satan / Alien Weaponry / Avatar

Manchester Academy – February 2026

Words and pictures – Phil Ingham (IG @philshootsfromthepit)

The growing number of fans streaming into a busy Manchester Academy with clown-like facepaint and flamboyant outfits could only mean one thing – Swedish metallers AVATAR were in town!

Avatar is renowned for its light-up-the-stage theatrics, but the opening band WITCH CLUB SATAN presents a very different vibe. The stage filled with dry ice, and the lighting turned a deep red hue. Three corpse-painted women emerged, carrying incense sticks and wearing outfits that made me worried my photos wouldn’t survive the Insta filter.

The three-piece went into their first song, ‘Fresh Blood, Fresh Pussy’, which is probably the most ‘commercial’ song the band played, although for reasons both musically and lyrically this song won’t be appearing on a Radio 1 playlist any time soon (ever!).

Black metal isn’t a genre I’m particularly keen on, but the short set certainly held the crowd’s interest. Amongst the more typical black metal fare, there were also segments that, to my untrained ears, sounded like something far more feral and otherworldly. It was effective and at times genuinely creepy.

Halfway through the set, the outfits were ditched, and the women re-emerged wearing little but long, matted black hair. It was like a Japanese horror film come to life on stage.

The choice of opener didn’t feel like a natural fit with the headline act. That said, there was a fascination and appreciation from the early crowd, although perhaps the loudest cheers of the set were saved for calls of “No Mercy” for Netanyahu and Epstein from the band.

Next to the stage came Māori groove-metal band ALIEN WEAPONRY. The set began with the drummer Henry de Jong performing a haka from behind his kit. Pretty quickly he was joined by brother Lewis and bassist Türanga Morgan-Edmonds.

The blend of quality groove/thrash with the language and chanting of the Māori works incredibly well, and it isn’t long before the pits open and bodies begin to surf toward the stage. That blending of culture and heavy music puts them up with the likes of Bloodywood and The Hü. When people try to claim there is nothing interesting in metal anymore, they should be immediately referred to bands like this.

The five-song set is pure quality heavy metal. The production is excellent, with each instrument perfectly identifiable within the overall maelstrom of noise. Lewis de Jong’s vocals, ably backed by his brother and Morgan-Edwards, carry the lyrics with clarity and power.

The set is far too short at just 30 minutes, and this is a band I will absolutely be looking out for when next on tour.

After two very different but compelling support bands, the room was primed for the main event. AVATAR always brings the show, and the crowd was eager to witness the latest iteration.

The entrance to the stage was suitably impressive. The stage darkened, lit only by an illuminated logo at the back. The drum kit slowly split in half to allow the band, all in dark hooded robes, to drift onto the stage. They were led by frontman Johannes Eckerström, holding aloft a large lantern. Quite the spectacle. The band was straight into ‘Captain Goat’. A sea shanty seems an odd song choice for an opener, but it doesn’t stop the crowd from being fully invested.

It typified Avatar as a band. I’ve seen them defined as groove metal, melodic death metal and many other labels, but the truth is they are all of these and none of them. They are just the avatar.

Equally impressive when rocking out during the likes of ‘Silence in the Age of Apes’ and ‘Blod’ as they are when they slow it down with the likes of ‘Howling at the Waves’, during which Eckerström had a rare sedate moment playing the piano.

For pretty much the rest of the evening, Eckerström was his usual larger-than-life self. He dominates the stage. Part cartoon character, part clown, and part ringmaster for a circus of chaos. You can also add the conductor to that list, because he has the crowd entirely at his command for the duration.

He is far from the only star of the show, though. Jonus ‘Kungen’ Jarlsby gets his regal moment during ‘Legend of the King’ shredding royally from a throne at centre stage. John Alfredsson on drums gets the laugh of the evening while playing cymbals on a roadie’s hat – I suppose you had to be there! The whole band, along with dramatic lighting and excellent sound production, combines to make a glorious performance.

There was so much hair-whirlwinding during the set; I’m pretty sure the Academy had its own micro-climate by the end of the night. It felt like all the energy they couldn’t unleash in London the previous night – after the show was halted midway for safety reasons – came roaring out in Manchester instead.

Anthems like ‘In the Airwaves’ and ‘Tonight We Must Be Warriors’ provided plenty of sing-a-long opportunities. The setlist as a whole spanned seven albums, but as you might expect, the majority of songs came from the most recent album, 2025’s ‘Don’t Go in the Forest’. ”.

The two-hour show culminated in a blazing encore. The relatively new ‘Don’t Go in the Forest’ proved to be well worthy of sharing the climax with high-energy classics ‘Smells Like a Freak Show’ and ‘Hail the Apocalypse’. It ensured that fans left the academy sweaty and with a grin almost as large as the Avatar frontman’s.

From ritualist chaos to cultural fury to theatrical brilliance, it was an evening which proved exactly why live music is so damn fun.

Band members:

Johannes Eckerström (vocals)

Jonas “Kungen” Jarlsby (guitars)

Tim Öhrström (guitars)

Henrik Sandelin (bass)

John Alfredsson (drums)

Setlist