A Valentine's Day message from Avatar

Love is in the air, folks – it’s Valentine’s Day! The holiday invented by card companies to shift units between Christmas and Easter. Hooray! And while it has become commonplace to shower your loved one with flowers, chocolates and reasonably-priced champagne every February 14, not everyone is buying into the gimmick.

Avatar ringmaster Johannes Eckerström knows full well the history behind the most romantic day of the year and has a special message for Romeos and Juliets everywhere. It turns out the greatest gift of all comes from within, quite literally.

Of course if you’re a single and spending this year’s Valentine’s Day on the sofa wishing ill on all your friends, you can take solace in the fact that Johannes is a master at taking the piss and is probably on your side.

Avatar's Johannes: "I wanted to stab the desecrated body of Jesus Christ"

Luke Morton joined Metal Hammer as Online Editor in 2014, having previously worked as News Editor at popular (but now sadly defunct) alternative lifestyle magazine, Front. As well as helming the Metal Hammer website for the four years that followed, Luke also helped relaunch the Metal Hammer podcast in early 2018, producing, scripting and presenting the relaunched show during its early days. He also wrote regular features for the magazine, including a 2018 cover feature for his very favourite band in the world, Slipknot, discussing their turbulent 2008 album, All Hope Is Gone.