Avatarium - Avatarium (2013)

And here, ladies and gents, is my doom album of the year. When doom guitarist extraordinaire Leif Edling closed up shop on Candlemass last year, I was very disappointed, especially after the excellent "Psalms for the Dead" but much to my relief Edling formed a new project that put out something even better. "Avatarium" is a doom masterpiece that takes a strong influence from psychedelic rock and classic rock in general. Evident of this is vocalist Jennie-Ann Smith's epic, powerful performance that is, at times, very reminiscent of Dio. The riffs are amazing and are used brilliantly. The songs are very dynamic, memorable and flow extremely well. It's just an utterly epic, grandiose and beautiful album that is one of the most memorable doom releases in recent memory. I can't recommend this one enough.
9.5/10