Swedish heavy metal band Avatar have announced their new album Don’t Go in the Forest, due for release October 31 via the band’s own Black Waltz Records. Alongside the news, the band have shared a brand-new single and video, Tonight We Must Be Warriors.
📺 Watch the video:
Stream the track: avatarmetal.tunelink.to/dgitf
Speaking on the single, vocalist Johannes Eckerström reflects:
“It has become a necessity to me over the years to be able to answer one question: Why is this important? It can’t be just another album. We need to discover something, try something else. It has to come from the heart. What is being said matters. In days of isolation and despair, maybe we need to be reminded that we are not alone? We are one of many. Maybe we also need a reminder that the burden is on our shoulders? To get it done, we need to do the fighting ourselves. In our shared pain, we find solidarity.”
On the new album, Eckerström adds:
“The secret ingredient is that we still feel like we’re just getting started. Don’t Go in the Forest is filled to the brim with things we’ve never done before. The mind is wild and we have lost ourselves in the darkest woods, filled with memories and forbidden thoughts that must be spoken. It would have been impossible to make this album at any other time than now.“
Following their acclaimed 2023 release Dance Devil Dance — which gave them their first Billboard Mainstream Rock #1 with The Dirt I’m Buried In — Avatar are poised to conquer even more territory with a relentless touring schedule.
- 2025 U.S. Headline Tour: Kicks off November 5 in Phoenix, AZ and runs through December 7 in Dallas, TX. (Unfortunately no Florida dates)
- Mexico City Headline: October 31 at The Pepsi Center (their biggest show to date).
- 2026 European Headline Tour: February–March, including major stops in London, Paris, Berlin, and Madrid.
- Supporting Metallica (Summer 2026): Stadium dates across Germany, Hungary, Ireland, and the UK.
Formed as teenagers and forged through decades of evolution, Avatar, Johannes Eckerström (vocals), Jonas Jarlsby (guitar), Tim Öhrström (guitar), Henrik Sandelin (bass), and John Alfredsson (drums), have become one of the most unique and theatrical forces in modern heavy music. Known for their blend of crushing riffs, avant-garde vision, and must-see live performances, Avatar continue to push boundaries with each release.
With Don’t Go in the Forest, the band step deeper into their own mythology, a world of strange lights, forbidden paths, and the dark allure of the woods — reminding fans that sometimes the warnings we hear are the very challenges worth embracing.
Don’t Go in the Forest arrives October 31, 2025. Pre-save now. avatarmetal.tunelink.to/dgitf