Erna described the sound of his upcoming solo album as being very Native American tribal rhythms, stating "It's gonna be very Native American tribal rhythms mixed with these Middle Eastern bluesy kind of vocals. This is a project to get a different kind of music out of me that I feel is inside me. .. and not for any expectations about how big the hit may be or if it's gonna make it on the radio." In further describing the album's sound, Sully Erna posted a message on the band official forums, stating: Erna goes on to explain that the album was recorded with instruments such as hand drums, cellos, flutes and piano, making it very different from his signature sound with Godsmack. The album features Lisa Guyer who had performed backing vocals for the song "Hollow" on Godsmack's previous album, classically trained cellist Irina Chirkova, and percussionist Niall Gregory of Dead Can Dance. Title According to Sully Erna, the album was named after one of the songs on the album, entitled "Avalon", because it encompasses the album as a whole, stating: Promotion In order to promote his solo album, Sully Erna has taken a different approach to getting his new music heard, stating "What we’re doing right now is just speaking with a lot of different film companies to see what movies are coming out this year and next year and trying to attach some of the songs to that." On September 25, Sully Erna told the Artisan News Service in a video interview that he was approached to record "Sinner's Prayer" for 2010's Sylvester Stallone film The Expendables, which will also feature Jason Statham, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke and Randy Couture. A few months later, however, Erna stated that the song won't be featured in that movie because Stallone changed the scene the song was attached to. Singles "Sinner's Prayer" featuring singer Lisa Guyer is the lead single from the album. Universal Records sent the song to U.S. radio on August 3, 2010. The song became available as a digital download on August 3, 2010. A music video of the song featuring Sully Erna's solo band members performing the song was released on September 15, 2010. Release Avalon was released on September 14, 2010 through Universal Records. Critical reception Upon its release, Avalon received generally positive reviews from music critics. James Christopher Monger of AllMusic gave the album