Swedish heavy metal band Avatar has released an acoustic version of the song “Tower”. It is from the fourth studio album “Hail The Apocalypse” /2014/. Avatar has no ownership of “Hail The Apocalypse” or any previous recordings and has not received royalties for them since 2015. The band is in the midst of a legal battle to regain the rights with their former record label, Fifth Island Music, previously Gain Records, a part of Sony Music Entertainment.

“This version of “Tower” became a special moment in a very special period of our lives,” said the vocalist Johanness Eckerström. “It feels natural to use it as a way to stop and look back for just a moment before we move forward with full force. It’s a thank you to everyone who stands by our side and makes the magic happen.”

The song is recorded, mixed, and mastered by Peter Junge. Strings are performed by Moritz Brümmer (cello) and Filip Sommer (viola). The record is made by Arno Jordan, Peter Junge, and Andrea Cichecki at Castle Studios, Röhrsdorf.

John Alfredsson (drums), Jonas “Kungen” Jarlsby (guitars), Johannes Eckerström (lead vocals, brass, piano, keyboards), Henrik Sandelin (bass, backing vocals) and Tim Öhrström (guitars, backing vocals) are planning to enter the studio in January 2025 to begin work on Avatar’s tenth studio album. Jay Ruston will be the producer. The album is expected to be released in 2025 via Avatar’s own label Black Waltz Records, which is distributed by Thirty Tigers.

Avatar will has a tour with Iron Maiden in the summer of 2025. Here are the dates:

03.7 — Belfort, France
05.7 — Madrid, Spain
06.7 — Lisbon, Portugal (SOLD OUT)
09.7 — Zurich, Switzerland (SOLD OUT)
11.7 — Gelsenkirchen, Germany
13.7 — Padova, Italy
15.7 — Bremen, Germany
17.7 — Vienna, Austria
19.7 — Paris, France (SOLD OUT)
20.7 — Paris, France
23.7 — Arnhem, Netherlands
25.7 — Frankfurt, Germany
26.7 — Stuttgart, Germany (SOLD OUT)
29.7 — Berlin, Germany (SOLD OUT)
30.7 — Berlin, Germany
02.8— Warsaw, Poland