Avatar Brings the Circus to New Jersey’s Starland Ballroom

On May 12th, 2024- Avatar brought the circus to fans in New Jersey’s one and only Starland Ballroom with performances including from Conquer Divide and Oxymorrons.

Once I arrived at the venue, all I saw on the line were people dressed up as clowns. When I say clowns, people went out of their way to fit the aesthetic of the band which was honestly hilarious but also fascinating at the same time. Since it was Mother’s day, I saw a bunch of families in the crowd celebrating this beautiful day together.

The first band to take the stage that evening is an all female group known as Conquer Divide. Conquer Divide is an American metalcore, hard rock band based in Michigan but some members come from Canada, and the United Kingdom. Members consist of vocalist Kiarely Castillo, guitarists Kristen Sturgis and Isabel Johnson, and lastly on drums Samantha Landa. As of lately their bassist Janel Duarte has just parted ways so as to fill in back up vocals and screams, they brought in Madison Moon to take over. To kick off the night, their introduction track before starting was “We Got The Moves'' by Electric Callboy, considering they recently just toured with them last Spring. It really did bring excitement and hype to the crowd. They kicked off their set with “Atonement” which was released from their album ‘Slow Burn’ in September of 2023.

The look on everybody’s faces when they first walked on stage in such excitement seeing a band composed of only females. I do want to give a lot of credit to Madison since it was her second tour on scream vocals with Conquer Divide and she made a bunch of jaws drop with the roars she had to deliver to the crowd. Her vocals compliment Castillo’s vocals so well. At numerous times during their set, Moon and Castillo harmonized together and it was so beautiful to hear. The whole set consisted of songs from their latest album, which includes hot singles such as, “Paralyzed”, “NEWHEAVEN”, “welcome2paradise” and many more. “Paralyzed” was such a fun song to be in the pit for as all the members told everybody to jump for the chorus of the song and what was disappointing was how they called for a pit for a breakdown and nobody really wanted to mosh for it. You just see me trying to make a mini mosh pit in which many in the crowd found hilarious, but I unfortunately failed. Overall, their performance was phenomenal and I had the pleasure of speaking with them at their merch table after their set. They were very kind and caring with their fans and so many people went to their merch table to congratulate them.

Conquer Divide: Facebook | Instagram | X | Youtube

During the intermission between sets, there was a screen that appeared in front of the stage that displayed other shows playing at the venue, and other advertisements. One thing that was hilarious was the constant showcasing of the iHop advertisement. Everybody there in the crowd cheered once iHop displayed on the screen and some chanted “F*ck you DENNYS”. I don’t understand the joke much but it was very hilarious hearing people cheering and screaming every time it went on the screen.

Next up on the lineup, coming from Queens, New York, Oxymorrons takes the stage on this chaotic lineup. Oxymorrons is an American rock rap band composed of members vocalists’ Demi "Deee" and brother Kami "KI'', drummer Matty Mayz and back up vocalist/guitarist Jafe Paulino. This has been my second time catching Oxymorrons live as the first time was when they did a pop up show in New Jersey with Bad Omens May of 2023.

Not going to lie, I was very thrown off once they walked on stage since both vocalists Demi and Kami were dressed up in costumes. One of them wore bunny ears and mismatching socks and the other wore fuzzy boots with a ski mask. It was hilarious but questionable at the same time. To start their set off, they begin with “Enemy” from their latest album ‘Melanin Punk’ which was released in October, 2023 via Mascot Records. I have not seen a crowd have such crazy energy for an opening band, including myself. It was honestly funny when the members were all running and jumping around on stage because the microphone wire kept hitting me in the face with all the movement happening. Majority of their set were songs from their latest album which includes singles such as “Melanin Punk”, “Graveyard Words”, “Moon Chasers”, “Insomnia”, and more. Overall, their performance was absolutely incredible and I was glad to be able to catch them perform again. If you haven’t heard or seen Oxymorrons live yet, I advise you to do so.

Oxymorrons: Facebook | Instagram | X | Youtube

The grand finale of the great metal circus was about to commence. The main act was Swedish heavy metal band Avatar. Avatar originated in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2001. Avatar is led by vocalist Johannes Eckerstrom and alongside him are guitarists Jonas Jarbly and Tim Öhrström, bassist Henrik Sandelin and drummer John Alfredsson. Avatar is known for their highly amusing production which involves more than just music. Avatar has cited bands such as Rammstein and In Flames as major influences. Avatar is fresh off supporting Ice Nine Kills and In This Moment on the Kiss Of Death tour this previous winter. Avatar made their mark on that tour as I saw plenty of Ice Nine Kills and In This Moment apparel worn by fans. Avatar in full production blew the whole crowd away.

The lights went out and church bells rang over the speakers and the band walked from the curtains backstage and everyone in the room chanted the band's name. Each member is wearing full circus attire, but Eckerstrom stands out the most in a red circus coat along with face paint, top hat and a circus cane. The band kicked off the set with “Dance Devil Dance” , the title track from their 2023 album. It was incredible to see every fan in the room singing along as it gave me chills. The venue was deafened by the voices of the crowd. Not long after they played “Chimp Mosh Pit” and that's when Eckerstrom reminded the crowd that this was a metal show and they should “open it up”. Fans listened, opened up the pit and went insane. But an Avatar show isn't just a metal show. It's a performance of all music and art. Avatar played “Puppet Show” from their hit 2014 album “Hail The Apocalypse”. Midway through the song Eckerstrom disappeared from the stage. Jarbly and Öhrström shredded away and kept the crowd entertained. Both members windmilled their freakishly long hair like a hurricane and before you know it the song was over and lights shined towards the sound board. Eckerstrom stood on top of it and made balloon animals and threw them out to the crowd. Out of nowhere he pulled out a trombone and serenaded the crowd. Avatar is a band with limitless talent and was born to perform.

Avatar’s set featured rainbow lights and in between songs were filled with plenty of jokes from all the band members. A man in a medieval style executioner outfit made a cameo on stage and rolled out a giant yellow present with a red bow. Without a doubt Eckerstrom was in the box and rose from the box with a handful of balloons. He even swallowed some helium to make his voice high pitched which the crowd thought was hilarious. Later in the set the executioner and Alfredsson had a dance off under the rainbow lights as the rest of the band stepped off the stage. Alfredsson won the dance off and had the privilege of shooting a confetti cannon into the crowd. Gold confetti sprayed the crowd and Alfredsson pointed the cannon at the executioner and he ran off the stage looking absolutely terrified. It was time for the encore and Eckerstrom told the crowd there was only time for two more songs. The crowd held up all their fingers and demanded the band play ten more songs, but Eckerstrom denied their request and the crowd booed him. Eckerstrom jokingly stood his ground and the crowd couldn't bargain their way into more songs. Avatar closed out their set with “Hail The Apocalypse” one of their most successful tracks with over 24 million streams on Spotify. The band told the crowd it was their last chance to go crazy and they did just that. Fans crowd surfed and moshed to the final breakdown and that is how the great metal circus came to an end.

Avatar delighted the Sayreville crowd with the most spectacular performance they will ever see. I for one was blown away by their incredible performance. Make sure to catch these clowns on their next tour on the Kiss of Death Part two on a co-headliner with In This Moment and Ice Nine Kills. Aside from Avatar making their appearance and bringing the metal circus across the United States, joining them will also be TX2. Make sure to grab your tickets while you can before they all sell out!