The Fillmore, Minneapolis, MN
Nov 17, 2025
Photos by Brett Zisler
Review by Nick
AVATAR brought their “In The Airwaves” Tour to the Fillmore in Minneapolis, MN on Monday, November 17 for what turned out to be a fantastic turnout of Minnesota Metalheads who got there early and stayed until the very end. AVATAR brought us out to sea as the music in between bands quietly interjected the sound of waves along the 1930’s era big band/jazz songs that played during change over. The lights started to go down closer to start time and the sounds of the waves got louder. The lights dropped and Avatar rolled out standing in formation like they were the front of a ship coming in to port.
The stage reminded you of an old time theater with red curtains as the backdrop and on both sides of the stage. Everything on stage was on rollers so the crew could move pieces in and out without stopping the performance itself. I personally loved that the drum riser split in two so they could bring pieces in and out from behind the curtain which was especially important when The King arrived in his throne!
Everything you want and love about Avatar was proudly on display in Monday’s performance. There’s no vocalist that can command a stage, sometimes without saying a word, quite like Johannes Eckerstrom. It’s hard to find a band that each member themselves have their own commanding larger than life presence. Drummer John Alfredsson just has to give the audience a look and everyone in the building is ready to go on the journey with him. We even got a point where all 5 members stood at the front of the stage with John having a small drum kit for “Colossus” and “Howling at the Waves”. The King himself steals the show when he appears for “Glory to Our King” and “Legend of the King” while blessing us with some of his finest royal shredding.
AVATAR did a fantastic job of spreading out the new songs throughout the set with “In The Airwaves” and “Death and Glitz” fitting in quite nicely along side favorites “Silence in the Age of Apes” and “Let It Burn” before closing out the main set with “Tonight We Must Be Warriors” before coming back out to clobber the crowd with “Dance Devil Dance”, “Smells Like a Freak Show” and “Hail the Apocalypse” before the curtain call.
AVATAR prove time and time again that they can headline the biggest stages you can throw at them. They bring the show and hit after hit after hit. The sky is the limit with what this band can pull off given the opportunity. With this show being all ages, it was awesome to see many families coming out to the freak show for what shall be the first of many visits to Avatar Country.
ALIEN WEAPONRY is back in town with a new album to support “Te Ra” and wasted no time with their 30 minute set getting straight to the point bringing heavy riffage for Sepultura fans. “Taniwha” was the standout of the set complete with extra vocals piped in from Randy Blythe before closing out with a crowd pleaser “Kai Tangata”.
Kicking off the night in spectacular fashion was Las Vegas’ SPIRITWORLD. Not only the best dressed band I’ve seen all year but also now the best opening band I’ve seen all year. Vocalist Stu Folsom wields the microphone like a madman with a whip stomping around the stage. The band was primed to kick a and make new fans right out the gate as they focused on their more neck snapping rippers for their short 30 min set. The band themselves are top notch, they play tight and they play hard. “Waiting on the Reaper” and set closer “U L C E R” were standouts in the set. Keep an eye out for Spiritworld, if all is right in the world, they’ll be headlining their own tours soon.
SEE MORE OF BRETT's PICTURES FROM AVATAR, ALIEN WEAPONRY and SPIRITWORLD HERE!
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