Metal Band Icon, Avatar Tears Through Grand Rapids, MI

On April 30th, 2026, Swedish heavy metal band Avatar brought their Don’t Go Into The Forest Tour to GLC Live at 20 Monroe in Grand Rapids, Michigan, bringing Frozen Soul and Fleshgod Apocalypse along for the ride.

Frozen Soul, a death metal band from Texas, brought the heavy with skull-crushing breakdowns, intense headbanging, and loud, piercing riffs. I hadn’t seen this band before, and they surprised me. They were just pure heavy, all killer and no filler. Led by vocalist Chad Green, they brought an energy that created chaos amongst the crowd, even instigating a wall of death in the middle of the crowd. The command they had on that stage was unreal. The lighting was dark, but it worked for the band. The blue lights used made a lot of sense to me because the band is called Frozen Soul; the light was very cold. And they are the nicest people. Samantha Mobley, their bassist, fist bumped me from the stage, and I met with Chad after their set. It was a great way to start an awesome show.

Secondly, we had Fleshgod Apocalypse take the stage. They are more symphonic metal, with their clear vocalist, Veronica Bordacchini, being a classically trained Italian opera singer, which brings a very interesting element into this band. They are heavy, for sure, but they have more mellow and quiet moments as well. Especially with their piano player adding another unique element to this metal band. At the beginning of their set, Veronica, bathed in white light, with a flag in her hand, opened the set, and it was really good. Her voice carried beautifully and mixed extremely well with the hard-hitting drums and loud, bombastic riffs. 

Now Avatar. They are amazing. I’ve been a fan of Avatar for almost 10 years, since I first saw them in 2017, and when I had the honor of photographing them and writing this review, I was thrilled. The band started their first song a bit mysteriously, with the vocalist wearing a cloak and carrying something resembling an old lantern, and that’s how they went about that first track. I’ve always admired how theatrical Avatar is, and I enjoy it for that. Face paint and sometimes even circus calliope music blend with the metal to create a very interesting, entertaining experience. Avatar is more than just a band. Sure, they create good, heavy, interesting music with brutal screams, loud booming drums, and chugging riffs with guitar solos that you can just get behind. But they also have the theatrical elements to their live shows that make them more unique than a lot of metal bands are nowadays. 

Overall, it was just a great show with great music and great bands performing on stage, doing what they love.