Arcturus
Featuring (at various times) members from bands such as
Mayhem,
Ulver,
Emperor,
and
Dimmu Borgir,
it's no wonder that Arcturus was once tabbed a black metal
supergroup, though their recordings suggested they were far more
than that.
Aspera Hiems Symfonia, their 1996 debut full-length album,
is still regarded as a classic symphonic black metal album,
but it's the followup,
La Masquerade Infernale,
a truly unique, progressive, avant-garde art metal affair,
that defined what this band was all about.
Mixing carnivalesque narration-styled vocals and a host of odd
influences,
Masquerade set the bar for broadening the boundaries
of what used to be a rather limiting genre.
Their final two albums (not including the remix album
Disguised Masters), combined the experimentalism of
Masquerade with a more traditional symphonic black metal base,
yet these albums, too, showed that the band was quite willing
to take chances.
Given that most of the guys had other band commitments, it's not
too surprising that eventually it had to come to an end, the
members announcing in April 2007 that they had no more time to commit
to Arcturus.
Current Members
Simen Hestęs
vocals
(Borknagar, Dimmu Borgir, ICS Vortex)
Knut M. Valle
guitars
Tore Moren
guitars
(Jorn)
Skoll (Hugh Steven James Mingay)
bass
(Ulver, Ved Buens Ende)
Steinar Sverd Johnsen
keyboards
(The Kovenant)
Hellhammer (Jan Axel Von Blomberg)
drums
(Dimmu Borgir, Jorn, The Kovenant, Mayhem, Mezzerschmitt, Thorns, Troll, Winds)
|
Former Members/Guests
Garm (Kristoffer Rygg)
vocals
(Borknagar, Head Control System, Ulver)
Samoth (Tomas Haugen)
guitars
(Burzum, Emperor, Gorgoroth, Satyricon, Scum, The Wretched End, Zyklon, Zyklon-B)
Carl August Tidemann
guitars
(Winds)
Dag F. Gravem
bass
|
Discography
(EP) Constellation
1993
 |
- Rodt Og Svart
- Icebound Streams and Vapours Grey
- Naar Kulda Tar (Frostnettens Prolog)
- Du Nordavind
|
- Garm
- Samoth
- Steinar Sverd Johnsen
- Hellhammer
|
Aspera Hiems Symfonia
1996
Misanthropy
 |
- To Thou Who Dwellest In The Night
- Wintry Gray
- Whence & Whither Goest The Wind
- Raudt Og Svart
- The Bodkin & The Quietus (...To Search The Stars)
- Du Nordavind
- Fall Of Man
|
- Garm
- Carl August Tidemann
- Skoll
- Steinar Sverd Johnsen
- Hellhammer
|
Reviews: Chronicles Of Chaos
Metal Observer
La Masquerade Infernale
1997
Misanthropy
 |
- Master Of Disguise
- Ad Astra
- The Chaos Path
- La Masquerade Infernale
- Alone
- The Throne Of Tragedy
- Painting My Horror
- Of Nails And Sinners
|
- Garm
- Knut M. Valle
- Skoll
- Steinar Sverd Johnsen
- Hellhammer
|
Reviews: Chronicles Of Chaos
Metal Observer
Disguised Masters
1999
Jester
 |
- White Tie Black Noise
- Deception Genesis
- Du Nordavind
- Alone
- The Throne Of Tragedy
- La Masquerade Infernale
- Master Of Disguise
- Painting My Horror
- Ad Astra
- Ad Astra
|
- Garm
- Knut M. Valle
- Skoll
- Steinar Sverd Johnsen
- Hellhammer
|
Reviews: Metal Observer
The Sham Mirrors
2002
Ad Astra
 |
- Kinetic
- Nightmare Heaven
- Ad Absurdum
- Collapse Generation
- Star-Crossed
- Radical Cut
- For To End Yet Again
|
- Garm
- Knut M. Valle
- Dag F. Gravem
- Steinar Sverd Johnsen
- Hellhammer
|
2002 BNR Top Ten album
Reviews: Chronicles Of Chaos
Sea Of Tranquility
Lords Of Metal
Metal Observer
Sideshow Symphonies
2005
Season Of Mist
 |
- Hibernation Sickness Complete
- Shipwrecked Frontier Pioneer
- Demon Painter
- Nocturnal Vision Revisited
- Evacuation Code Deciphered
- Moonshine Delirium
- White Noise Monster
- Reflections
- Hufsa
|
- Simen Hestęs
- Knut M. Valle
- Tore Moren
- Skoll
- Steinar Sverd Johnsen
- Hellhammer
|
Reviews: Blabbermouth
Sea Of Tranquility
Metal Observer
Shipwrecked In Oslo
2006
Season Of Mist
