Avatar Rocks The Steelhouse!

Story and Photos: Spencer Fleming

The Steelhouse turned dark on Saturday (4.25.26) as it played host to the ghastly lineup of Avatar, Godflesh Apocalypse, and Frozen Soul. Avatar is out in support of their latest album Don't Go Into The Forest which is aptly named as they have some scary tunes!

This was a special show for Stories From The Crowd. Since our inception in 2018 my Co-Founder Virginia has been quietly helping in the background, building the website, making sure I don't do anything to crash the website, helping with photo selections, and so much more. In addition to helping with Stories From The Crowd, Virginia has her own small business, Wonderland Omaha Face Painting. Virginia offers face paining for all kinds of events like schools, festivals, and even concerts! The Steelhouse reached out a few weeks ago to book Virginia to provide face paint to all the fans at the Avatar show so they can look like lead singer Johannes. For over four hours Virginia painted hundreds of fans with Avatar's signature red and black diamond-shaped designs. Even before the bands took the stage this had fans walking around with so much swagger!

Thanks to Dean Birkheimer (DB Photography) for capturing Virginia in action.

Speaking of bands, the first act on the bill was Frozen Soul from Texas. They gave Steelhouse a heaping dose of shredding guitars, guttural vocals, and wicked blast beats. Lead singer Chad towered over the crowd and threw out orders like a real pit commander! At one point he was calling for everyone to drop down and give him 20 pushups! That's a new one to me but I can dig it. The band had a good mix of business and light-hearted moments. Chad spoke about how concerts are here to help us escape some of the hard things we go through in this life and forget about our troubles for a while. While he encouraged the crowd to have fun, he touched on the seriousness of mental health. In a moment of vulnerability Chad spoke about losing his little brother and how it was one of the hardest things he's ever gone through. One of the band's last songs was dedicated to Chad's brother as they put out the call to "open this pit up!" The crowd assembled like soldiers on the front line and started whipping around in the circle, throwing spin kicks, and sending bodies over the rail. Frozen Soul has a new album coming out next month so keep an eye out!

Next up was the wicked Fleshgod Apocalypse! Just for the name alone I feel like the band should win some type of award. The band showed they're not just another cut and dry metal act. With costumes and pageantry Fleshgod melted the faces of everyone in the room! The set started with a traditional opera styling from singer Veronica Bordacchinni before the band joined in ripping the place to shreds. Fleshgod had such a cool vibe with pirate-esque clothes, mic stands draped in skulls and a giant organ. The whole room felt like we were on a giant ship sailing the high seas in search for adventure and murder! Mixing up a symphony of organ-driven metal Fleshgod had the crowd in awe for over 40 minutes. I saw a ton of Fleshgod gear roaming around so their presence was well established. If you get the chance you should definitely try to see them live. It was quite the show!

Last up was Avatar from Sweden. The Steelhouse instructed us that we would only shoot songs 2 and 3, not the first one. As the lights went out a foreboding drone of slow guitars rang out and some hooded figures floated up the front of the stage. Standing all in a row the leader swung a creepy lantern. Lyrics that sounded straight from Moby Dick sung over the guitars. "oooh oh Captain, bring us home". Most of the crowd zoned in and patiently waited for an explosion of light and guitars but some of the Avatar die-hards were singing along with every word. I had never heard the song so I was definitely in the first camp. I focused on the leader and his swinging lantern anticipating when we could go into the photo pit to capture all the action.

As the lights popped it was revealed that the band had several platforms on wheels that would move about the stage. This was a cool setup and something I hadn't really seen before. The drum kit was split between two platforms and lead singer Johannes would move between them and retreat back behind the drums, only to plunge forth towards the front of the stage. Avatar took fans on a wild journey through the forest of terror hitting songs from all stages of their career. Heavy hitters like "The Eagle Has Landed", "The Dirt I'm Buried In", and "Tonight We Must Be Warriors" had the crowd going crazy, waving back and forth and singing along.

It was quite the sight seeing so many fans with their faces painted and rocking the rail. This will go down as one of the coolest shows in Stories From The Crowd history!

Thanks for checking us out. If you're looking for face paint for your next even hit up Wonderland Omaha Face Painting or email Virginia at virginia@wonderlandomaha.com

Thanks to Avatar and Steelhouse for photo access.

Thanks for reading and we'll see you at the next one!