New Land (song)

"New Land"
Single by Avatar
from the album Feathers & Flesh
Released6 March 2017 (2017-03-06)
Recorded2016
Length4:31
LabelEntertainment One
Songwriter(s)
  • John Alfredsson
  • Johannes Eckerström
  • Jonas Jarlsby
  • Tim Öhrström
  • Henrik Sandelin
[1]
Producer(s)
Avatar singles chronology
"Night Never Ending"
(2016) 		"New Land"
(2017) 		"A Statue of the King"
(2017)

"New Land" is a single by Swedish heavy metal band Avatar off their sixth studio album Feathers & Flesh. It peaked at number 20 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart in 2017.

Background and concept

The song "New Land" comes from Avatar's studio album Feathers & Flesh, a concept album.[2] The album's overarching concept is telling a fable-like story about an "owl who goes to war against the world to stop the sun from rising."[3] Frontman Johannes Eckerstrom described how the song's message fit in to the overall narrative of the concept album:

This is the first time we see weakness exposed in the Owl. The Eagle threatens to eat her eggs, so she flies away from the forest to hide them far, far away, and in the lyrics, she swears to protect them no matter what – but it’s an empty promise because you cannot always protect your children from the world. You don’t have to fear a terrorist attack every morning on your way to school, but whether it happens or not is something totally beyond your control.[4][3]

The band released a music video for the song on 6 March 2017.[5] Parting from the song's message in the concept album, the band is instead featured as exploring a fictional version of Trappist-1,[5] and encountering unfriendly inhabitants there.[6] Eckerstrom stated that the band agreed not to do any literal interpretations for any of the songs on the concept album, desiring to present the song's themes in a different light.[7]

Personnel

  • Johannes Eckerström - lead vocals
  • Jonas "Kungen" Jarlsby - guitars
  • Tim Öhrström - guitar
  • Henrik Sandelin - bass
  • John Alfredsson - drums

Charts

Chart (2017) Peak
position
US Mainstream Rock 20[8]

References

  1. ^ "ASCAP Songview repertory entry for this song". Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  2. ^ "Six Fast Facts About Avatar's 'Feathers and Flesh'". billboard.com. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  3. ^ a b "GRD Listeners Sound Off on New Avatar Song 'New Land' [VIDEO, POLL]". 97.9 WGRD. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  4. ^ "Inside the bonkers concept of Avatar's new album Feathers & Flesh". teamrock.com. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Avatar Premiere New Music Video, "New Land," Visit TRAPPIST-1 Solar System". revolvermag.com. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  6. ^ "Avatar Explore 'New Land' in Eye Catching Video". Loudwire. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  7. ^ "Avatar's Johannes Eckerstrom Shares Passion for 'New Land' Video + More". Loudwire. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  8. ^ "Avatar - Chart history - Billboard". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 15 May 2017.