[img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/30797816/Arcturus/logo.png[/img]
[B]Arcturus[/B](Translates: "Bear Guardian", named after the Behenian fixed star) is an Avant Garde Metal band from Norway, incorporating elements from atmospheric black metal, progressive metal and classical music, with lyrical themes about poetry, astronomy, madness and philosophy.
[table="width: 1200"]
[tr]
[td][img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/30797816/Arcturus/history.png[/img]
[b]Mortem:[/b] Originally being founded in 1987 as a death metal band under the name Mortem by guitarist [U]Sverd (Steinar Sverd Johnsen)[/U], drummer [U]Hellhammer (Jan Axel Blomberg)[/U] and vocalist/bassist [U]Marius Vold[/U].
This lineup had released only one EP named [I]Slow Death[/I], in 1989.
[b]Formation and My Angel:[/b] In 1990 the three members decided to form Arcturus with Sverd taking keyboard duties along with the guitars, and in 1991 released their first material as a Single release, named [I]My Angel[/I], which had only two tracks on it. Although the band was formed as a symphonic black metal album, the two songs still had elements of death metal prominent in the music of Mortem.
It was the only Arcturus release to feature bass and vocals by Marius Vold who parted ways with the band the same year.
Apparently there also was a second guitarist [U]Krister[/U] during that time, but nothing is known about him and was only mentioned once by Sverd in an interview.
[b]Constellation:[/b] In 1993 the band welcomed 2 new members, [U]Samoth (Thomas Thormodsæter Haugen)[/U] who took all guitars and bass guitar duties (Thus leaving Sverd to concentrate fully on the keyboard work), and [U]Garm (Kristoffer Rygg)[/U] who took the vocal duties.
With this lineup the band released it's first EP named [I]Constellation[/I] in either 1993 or 1994. This album had a sound much closer in style to Arcturus later releases, featuring clean sung vocals along with the traditional black metal growled vocals and a very large incorporation of synthesizer tracks. The album was limited to only 500 copies, and featured 4 songs some of which were later rerecorded, as well as having the whole EP remastered and rereleased in a compilation album.
In 1995 guitarist and bassist Samoth left the band due to his impending imprisonment, and was replaced by [U]Skoll (Hugh Stephen James Mingay)[/U] on bass, and [U]Carl August Tidemann[/U] on guitar.
[b]Aspera Hiems Symfonia:[/b] With the same lineup the band released their first full length album, named Aspera Hiems Symfonia (From Latin : "Harsh Winter's Symphony") in either 1995 or 1996
The album featured four rerecorded versions of previously released songs along with four new songs.
While still being a black metal album with production somewhat characteristic of black metal releases of that time, the album was much different from other prominent black metal acts of the time, with heavily synthesizer driven music, and lyrics dealing with nature, winter, astronomy and Viking culture and mythology.
It was also the only full length album to be considered as black metal, with the band later shifting to more experimental music.
[b]La Masquerade Infernale:[/b] With guitarist Carl Tidemann leaving in 1996 after the band's first full length release, the band introduced [U]Knut Magne Valle[/U] taking guitar duties as well as engineering many of the band's following records.
In 1997 the band released it's second full length release - [I]La Masquerade Infernale[/I] (French: The Infernal Masquerade).
The album was a massive turn from the band's previous symphonic black metal style, featuring no growled vocals, instead having Garm singing in various clean styles ranging from low sung vocals to "bizarrely" high vocals, multiple recorded vocal tracks per song and sampled vocals, and music being driven much less by guitars and much more by the keyboard, a style which would remain in all of Arcturus' future releases.
The album featured 6 guest instrumentalists playing Cornet, Viola, Violion, Double Bass, Cello and Flute, most of it being featured on the second track "Ad Astra". In addition it had lead guitar parts played on two tracks by the freshly departed guitarist Carl Tidemann, and singer ICS Vortex (Simen Hestnæs) providing backing high pitched vocals on two tracks, and lead vocals on the song "The Chaos Path".
This album is considered by many fans as the band's best album as well as a milestone album in Avant Garde Metal music.
In an interview, Sverd said that this was the album to which he had ever actually written down the notes, doing so for the guest musicians featured on the various tracks.
[b]Reconstellation and Disguised Masters:[/b] In 1999 the band released two compilation albums, the first one [i]Reconstellation[/i] was a a compilation of previous songs included on the original Constellation EP.
The second compilation album was [i]Disguised Masters[/i] which included two new songs - "Deception Genesis" and "White Tie Black Noise", along with various overhaul remixes of the band's previous releases, those included techno reconstructions of songs and even a rap remix.
This release was generally made for fans already familiar with Arcturus' music rather than new coming fans seeing as it does not represent the band's style at all.
[b]The Sham Mirrors and Aspera Hiems Symfonia/Constellation/My Angel:[/b] In 2002, the band released it's third full length album [i]The Sham Mirrors[/i].
While retaining the band's general experimental keyboard driven style, it was less influenced by classical work, and instead featured a more modern and "space like" sound, featuring elements from ambient music, Electronica and even Trip-Hop in addition to the usual elements of black metal.
The lyrics also departed from the "Satanic" themes featured on the previous album, and revolved around various abstract themes, and science fiction subjects.
The album featured guest work by Jazz musician Mathias Eick playing Ubu's Horn on 3 tracks on the album, growled lead vocals by Ihsahn (Vegard Sverre Tveitan) on the song "Radical Cut" and "low frequentation" by the band's bassist Skoll on the same song. (Having left the band in 2000 and only rejoining after the release of this album, had not participated fully in the recording of this album, and the bass was recorded by [u]Dag F. Gravem[/u]).
In an interview singer Garm explained that originally he was asked by Sverd to do the growled vocals on the track Radical Cut in a style similar to Emperor's (band) style, but ultimately it was decided that instead they would ask the actual singer of Emperor, Ihsahn, to perform the vocals.
It was the last album to include Garm doing the vocal duties, since he left the band in 2003, being briefly replaced by [u]Øyvind Hægeland[/u] between 2003-2005, but having moved too far away it was impractical for him and the band to continue this cooperation and they parted ways.
In 2002 the band also released a compilation of their early material, named [i]Aspera Hiems Symfonia/Constellation/My Angel[/i] it featured the remixed and remastered versions of songs from the mentioned albums. The reissue fixed some production issues that occurred in the original songs, such as restoration of low frequencies lost during the original production process.
[b]Sideshow Symphonies and Shipwrecked In Oslo:[/b] In 2005 the band welcomed [U]I.C.S Vortex (Simen Hestæs)[/U] to take on the vocal duties (Who had previously done guest vocal parts on La Masquerade Infernale) and a second guitarist: [u]Tore Moren[/u].
Under this lineup the band released it's 4th full length album [i]Sideshow Symphonies[/i]. The album was once again a shift in the band's style, featuring a more "cold" and "dreamy" aesthetic to the music, as well as more prominent vocals and quieter guitars.
The album's artwork features a modification of the artwork found on the Pioneer 10 space probe, most likely a reference to the album's 2nd song "Shipwrecked Frontier Pioneer", explaining further the song's lyrics.
The album featured guest vocals by female singer Silje Wergeland on the songs "Shipwrecked Frontier Pioneer" and "Evacuation Code Deciphered".
The album seemed to suffer from some production issues such as a noticeable decrease in volume on it's second track. While the label was rumored to release a reissue where the problem is fixed, it never happened.
In 2006 the band released it's first, and so far only, DVD named [i]Shipwrecked In Oslo[/i] (Named after the song "Shipwrecked Frontier Pioneer").
The DVD was shot during the 2005 Sonic Solstice Festival in the Rockfeller Music Hall in Oslo, Norway.
The DVD features 15 songs from all of the band's releases since 1996, mostly focusing on their post black metal era.
[b]Breakup:[/b]
In 2007 the band announced it's breakup explaining that because of ongoing things in the careers and lives of the band's musicians they could no longer find the time to work on this band.
Initially singer ICS Vortex introduced the band's show in Melbourne (The last in their Australian tour) with the words "Welcome to the last Arcturus show - ever", and later officially confirming it in April of 2007 on their website in a statement written by all of the band's members.
[b]Reunion:[/b]
Rumors about the band's reunion started circulating when the band's singer ICS Vortex was kicked out Dimmu Borgir, and said he's planning to "resurrect a band or three" and it was suggested Arcturus would be one of those bands, a rumor approved even further when drummer Hellhammer said an Arcturus reunion was inevitable, and past singer Garm stating in an interview he's interested in reassuming the lead vocal duties. (He later stated on his official Facebook page that he is not interested in the part after all).
Finally, in 2010 it was confirmed by ICS Vortex that a reunion is planned, citing 2011 as a lucky number.
An Arcturus reunion show was confirmed for the ProgPower USA 2011 festival, however it was later cancelled, citing the reasons for it as "Hibernation sickness" and "Outdated parts" (A reference the first and second songs from the album Sideshow Symphonies, respectively).
Another show which was supposed to be their first reunion show during the Avant-Garde Night vol. 2 festival in Poland, was rescheduled from 2011 to January of 2012.
Finally having played a number of shows near the end of 2011, ICS Vortex answered to a fan asked question on his Facebook page: "yes I can confirm once again that Arcturus is on".
In an interview to the web magazine Lords Of Metal, ICS Vortex has confirmed that the band is currently working on a new album.
[/td]
[td]
[img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/30797816/Arcturus/sidepic.png[/img]
[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
[HR][/HR]
[img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/30797816/Arcturus/Bandmembers.png[/img]
[h2]Current Lineup:[/h2]
- [B][U]ICS Vortex (Simen Hestnæs)[/U][/B] - Vocals (2005–2007, 2011-Present)
- [B][U]Tore Moren[/U][/B] - Guitar (2003–2007, 2011-Present)
- [B][U]Knut Magne Valle[/U][/B] - Guitar (1996–2007, 2011-Present)
- [B][U]Steinar Sverd Johnsen[/u][/b] - Keyboards (1990–2007, 2011-Present), Guitars (1990-1991)
- [B][U]Hellhammer (Jan Axel Blomberg)[/u][/b] - Drums and Percussion (1990-2007, 2011-Present)
- [b][u]Skoll (Hugh Stephen James Mingay)[/u][/b] - Bass Guitar (1995–2000, 2002–2007, 2011-Present)
[h2]Past Members:[/h2]
- [B][U]Marius Vold[/U][/B] - Vocals, Bass (1990-1991)
- [B][U]Garm (Kristoffer Rygg)[/U][/B] - Vocals (1993-2003)
- [b][u]Samoth(Tomas Thormodsæter Haugen)[/u][/b] - Guitars, Bass Guitar (1993-1995)
- [b][u]Carl August Tidemann[/u][/b] - Guitars (1996-1997)
- [B][U]Dag F. Gravem[/U][/B] - Bass Guitar (2002)
- [B][U]Øyvind Hægeland[/U][/B] - Vocals (2003-2005)
[HR][/HR]
[img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/30797816/Arcturus/Discography.png[/img]
[table="width: 800, class: outer_border"]
[tr]
[td][img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/30797816/Arcturus/Albums/myangel.jpg[/img][/td]
[td][h2]My Angel[/h2](1991, Single)
[B]Track Listing:[/B]
- My Angel - 5:55
- Morax - 6:27
[b]Personnel:[/b]
- Marius Vold - Vocals, Bass Guitar
- Steinar Sverd Johnsen - Keyboards, Guitars
- Hellhammer - Drums & Percussion
[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td][img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/30797816/Arcturus/Albums/constellation.jpg[/img][/td]
[td][h2]Constellation[/h2](1994, EP)
[b]Track Listing:[/b]
- Rodt Og Svart – 6:09
- Icebound Streams and Vapours Grey – 4:42
- Naar Kulda Tar (Frostnettenes Prolog) – 4:27
- Du Nordavind – 4:30
[b]Personnel:[/b]
- Garm - Vocals
- Steinar Sverd Johnsen - Keyboards
- Samoth - Guitars, Bass Guitar
- Hellhammer - Drums
[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td][img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/30797816/Arcturus/Albums/aspera.JPG[/img][/td]
[td][h2]Aspera Hiems Symfonia[/h2] (1995, Full Release)
[b]Track Listing:[/b]
- To Thou Who Dwellest In The Night - 6:46
- Wintry Grey - 4:34
- Whence & Wither Goest The Wind - 5:15
- Raudt Og Svart - 5:49
- The Bodkin & the Quietus (...To reach the Stars) - 4:36
- Du Nordavind - 4:00
- Fall Of Man - 6:06
- Naar Kulda Tar (Frostnettenes Prolog) - 4:21
[b]Personnel:[/b]
- Garm - Vocals
- Carl August Tidemann - Guitars
- Skoll - Bass Guitar
- Steinar Sverd Johnsen - Keyboards
- Hellhammer - Drums
[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td][img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/30797816/Arcturus/Albums/masq.jpg[/img][/td]
[td][h2]La Masquerade Infernale[/h2] (1997, Full Release)
[b]Track Listing:[/b]
- Master Of Disguise - 6:43
- Ad Astra - 7:36
- The Chaos Path - 5:34
- La Masquerade Infernale - 2:00
- Alone - 4:42
- The Throne Of Tragedy - 6:34
- Painting My Horror - 5:59
- Of Nails And Sinners - 6:03
[b]Personnel:[/b]
- Garm - Vocals, samples
- Steinar Sverd Johnsen - Keyboards
- Hellhammer - Drums
- Knut Magne Valle - Guitars
- Skoll - Bass Guitar
[B][SUB]Guest:[/SUB][/B]
- ICS Vortex - Lead & Backup vocals
- Carl August Tidemann - Lead Guitar
- Idun Felbrg - Cornet
- Erik Olivier Lancelot - Flute
- Svein Haugen - Double Bass
- Vegard Johnsen - Violin
- Dorthe Dreier - Viola
- Hans Josef Groh - Cello
[/td]
[/tr]
[tr][td][img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/30797816/Arcturus/Albums/recon.jpg[/img][/td]
[td][h2]Reconstellation[/h2](1999, Compilation)
[SUB]See Constellation[/SUB][/td]
[/tr]
[tr][td][img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/30797816/Arcturus/Albums/disguised.jpg[/img][/td]
[td][h2]Disguised Masters[/h2](1999, Compilation)
[b]Track Listing:[/b]
- White Tie Black Noise (Designed by When) - 0:49
- Deception Genesis - 6:35
- Du Nordavind (1998 Re-recording) - 3:54
- Alone (Intellecto / Valle Darktrip) – 5:20
- The Throne of Tragedy (Phantom FX Jungle Remix) – 6:49
- La Masquerade Infernale (Valle / Hellhammer Reconstruction) – 2:23
- Master of Disguise (Phantom FX Remix with Gangstafications by S.C.N.) – 4:25
- Painting My Horror (G. Wolf Levitation Mix)" – 5:37
- Ad Astra (The Magenta Experience) – 4:39
- Ad Astra (Ensemble Version) – 7:32[/td][/tr]
[tr][td][img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/30797816/Arcturus/Albums/trip.jpg[/img][/td]
[td][h2]Aspera Hiems Symfonia/Constellation/My Angel[/h2](2002, Compilation)
[b]Track Listing:[/b]
[b][sub]Disc One:[/sub][/b]
- To Thou Who Dwellest in the Night – 6:46
- Wintry Grey – 4:34
- Whence and Whither Goest the Wind – 5:14
- Raudt Og Svart – 5:48
- The Bodkin and The Quietus" – 4:34
- Du Nordavind – 3:59
- Fall of Man – 6:05
- Naar Kulda Tar – 4:21
[b][sub]Disc Two:[/sub][/b]
- The Deep Is the Skies" – 4:19
- Cosmojam" – 1:45
- Raudt Og Svart – 6:08
- Icebound Streams and Vapours Grey" – 4:44
- Naar Kulda Tar – 4:28
- Du Nordavind – 4:29
- My Angel – 5:56
- Morax – 6:28
[b]Personnel:[/b]
[b][sub]See respective albums.[/sub][/b]
[/td]
[/tr]
[tr][td][img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/30797816/Arcturus/Albums/sham.jpg[/img][/td]
[td][h2]The Sham Mirrors[/h2](2002, Full Release)
[b]Track Listing:[/b]
- Kinetic - 5:25
- Nightmare Heaven - 6:05
- Ad Absurdum - 6:48
- Collapse Generation - 4:13
- Star Crossed - 5:01
- Radical Cut - 5:08
- For To End Yet Again - 10:33
[b]Personnel:[/b]
- Garm - Vocals
- Knut Magne Valle - Guitars
- Dag F. Gravem - Bass Guitar
- Steinar Sverd Johnsen - Keyboards
- Hellhammer - Drums
[b][sub]Guest:[/sub][/b]
- Ihsahn - Growled Vocals on "Radical Cut"
- Skoll - Low Frequentation on "Radical Cut"
- Mathias Eick - Ubu's horn on tracks 3,4 and 6
[/td]
[/tr]
[tr][td][img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/30797816/Arcturus/Albums/sideshow.jpg[/img][/td]
[td][h2]Sideshow Symphonies[/h2](2005, Full Release)
[b]Track Listing:[/b]
- Hibernation Sickness Complete - 5:02
- Shipwrecked Frontier Pioneer - 8:32
- Deamonpainter - 5:33
- Nocturnal Vision Revisited - 5:16
- Evacuation Code Deciphered - 6:16
- Moonshine Delirium - 7:10
- White Noise Monster - 3:55
- Reflections (Instrumental) - 3:40
- Hufsa - 5:07
[b]Personnel:[/b]
- ICS Vortex - Vocals
- Knut Magne Valle - Guitars
- Tore Moren - Guitars
- Skoll - Bass Guitar
- Steinar Sverd Johnsen - Keyboards
- Hellhammer - Drums
[b][sub]Guest:[/sub][/b]
- Silje Wergeland - Backing Vocals on tracks 2 & 5
[/td][/tr]
[tr][td][img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/30797816/Arcturus/Albums/shipwrecked.jpg[/img][/td]
[td][h2]Shipwrecked In Oslo[/h2](2006, DVD)
[b]Track Listing:[/b]
- Introduction
- Ad Absurdum
- Nightmare Heaven
- Shipwrecked Frontier Pioneer
- Alone
- Deception Genesis
- The Chaos Path
- Tore Guitar Solo
- Deamon Painter
- Nocturnal Vision Revisited
- Painting My Horror
- Steinar Keyboard Solo
- Hufsa
- Master Of Disguise
- Knut Guitar Solo
- White Noise Monster
- Reflections
- Raudt Og Svart
[b]Personnel:[/b]
[b][sub]See Sideshow Symphonies.[/sub][/b]
[/td][/tr]
[/table]
[img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/30797816/Arcturus/Media.png[/img]
[h2]Shipwrecked Frontier Pioneer[/h2]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bleAGvf4BI[/media]
[h2]Master Of Disguise[/h2]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTQmWHGNGZM&feature=related[/media]
[h2]The Chaos Path[/h2]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HpVdE5JwYM&feature=related[/media]
[h2]Kinetic[/h2]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXD24JDpGGQ[/media]
[h2]Du Nordavind[/h2]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QLe99aC7t0[/media]
Enjoy!
I've been meaning to give Arcturus a spin for a good while now.
What would you recommend to be their album that has the best blend of "experimental" and "good," with the least amount of "black metal," in it (I am personally not a fan of black metal, so I'd like to keep that as low as possible when trying them out)?
And maybe two or three specific tracks you'd recommend, keeping those same guidelines in mind?
I'd say this one has really "experimental" stuff:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6gxudiH05c[/media]
This is also an interesting one:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq3Zg1MvMao[/media]
As far as an entire album goes by that criteria, I think you should start with La Masquerade Infernale
I've only heard La Masquerade Infernale. Good album. Very good album.
This looks interesting at the very least.
[QUOTE=STeel;34157623]I'd say this one has really "experimental" stuff:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6gxudiH05c[/media]
This is also an interesting one:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq3Zg1MvMao[/media]
As far as an entire album goes by that criteria, I think you should start with La Masquerade Infernale[/QUOTE]
Thanks mate. I'll check all that out.
Five seconds into the first song, and I already liked it. The vocals are kinda ehh, but I'm certain it won't take long to get used to them.
[editline]fish[/editline]
Yeah, by the end of the song (and after that awesome spacey interlude), I have come to love the vocals. And I just read that most all of [i]The Sham Mirrors[/i] uses those vocals, so I think I am going to delve more into that album. Gonna have to listen to the other song when I get home, for sure.
Okay, yeah. I think I like Arcturus. Time to listen to La Masquerade.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.