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Arcturus (band)

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Arcturus
Arcturus in 2016
Arcturus in 2016
Background information
OriginNorway
Genres
Years active1991–2007, 2011–present
LabelsCentury Media, Music for Nations, Candlelight, The End, Jester, Season of Mist
MembersSteinar Sverd Johnsen
Jan Axel Blomberg
Hugh Mingay
Knut Magne Valle
ICS Vortex
Past members(see below)
Simen „ICS Vortex“ Hestnæs at Party.San 2016
Steinar „Sverd“ Johnsen 2016
Knut Magne Valle 2016
Hugh Mingay 2016

Arcturus is a Norwegian avant-garde metal band formed in 1991. Their name, which translates to "Bear Guardian," references the Behenian fixed star Arcturus.

History

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The band has released five official full-length albums. Arcturus has continuously experimented throughout their career, drawing influences and incorporating elements from a wide range of musical styles, including black metal and classical music, while maintaining their roots as a metal outfit.

Early days

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The original line-up changed when bassist/vocalist Marius Vold (formerly of Thorns) left the band for personal reasons. The band soon earned the label of a black metal supergroup, consisting of Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg on vocals, Carl August Tidemann on guitar, Skoll on bass, and the two other original members, Hellhammer on drums and Steinar Sverd Johnsen as the main composer/keyboard player. In 1994, Samoth played guitar on the EP Constellation and released it on his record label, Nocturnal Art.

Post-Garm era

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After three full-length albums, Rygg departed from the band. He was replaced by Øyvind Hægeland from the band Spiral Architect. Øyvind performed live with the band but did not appear on any recordings. On 5 January 2005, the band announced that Øyvind had moved too far away for his continued involvement to be practical, and they parted ways. He was succeeded by Simen "ICS Vortex" Hestnæs, who had previously provided vocals on three Arcturus tracks: "Master of Disguise," "The Chaos Path," and "Painting My Horror" on La Masquerade Infernale. Following Carl August Tidemann's departure, Knut Magne Valle joined the band. In 2003, Tore Moren joined on second guitar for live performances and eventually became an official member of the band. Knut and Tore then shared lead guitar duties, with Knut using a 7-string guitar and Tore employing a standard 6-string guitar.

Breakup

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On 16 April 2007, it was announced that the band would be disbanding, with further details revealed in an official statement released on the band's website on 17 April.[2] The official statement, written by all the band members, confirmed rumors that had circulated after their Melbourne concert—the final show of their Australian tour—during which ICS Vortex introduced the performance with the words, "Welcome to the last Arcturus show — ever." The statement further explained that the decision to disband had been made "some time ago," and that due to ongoing "things" in their careers and lives, the members could no longer "find the time to continue working with this band." The statement concluded with a tribute to the band's fans: "We are humble and grateful to all the people that have supported and loved us over the years."[3]

Reunion

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Rumors circulated online that Arcturus might reform with Garm as the vocalist. Hellhammer confirmed that an Arcturus reunion was inevitable and that Garm had expressed interest in participating.[4] However, Garm later indicated on his personal Facebook page that he was not interested.

Furthermore, ICS Vortex mentioned plans to resurrect "a band or three" in a blog post shortly after his removal from Dimmu Borgir.[5]

ICS Vortex confirmed an Arcturus reunion show at the ProgPower USA 2011 Festival. In addition, Vortex stated, "Beloved freaks! ProgPower USA 2011 will host the first Arcturus concert in 5 years. This is our first performance in the United States, and since we're all retarded, probably the last."[6][7] The planned show was later canceled due to "hibernation sickness" and "outdated parts."[8] Instead, Arcturus planned its first reunion show to be at Avant-Garde Night vol. 2 in Poland,[9] but this show was also canceled.

Arcturus finally performed their reunion show on 9 September 2011 at the KICK Nattklubb & Scene in Kristiansand, Norway. ICS Vortex confirmed that the band was working on a new album.[10] In 2012, they went on to perform at the Inferno Metal Festival,[11] Hellfest Summer Open Air, the O2 Academy in Islington, and the Eindhoven Metal Meeting. On 10 October 2014, Arcturus confirmed on Facebook that ICS Vortex had finished recording vocals for their as-yet-untitled album.[12]

After much speculation among fans online, on 26 February 2015, it was announced that Arcturus had signed a new recording contract with the German record label Prophecy Productions[13] and that they would finally release their new album Arcturian on 8 May. The label[14] commented: "Arcturus are legend. Unparalleled in creativity, musicianship and artistic approach since their foundation days, mastermind Steinar 'Sverd' Johnsen and his cosmic crew, consisting of past and present members of bands like Ulver, Mayhem, Dimmu Borgir, Borknagar, and Ved Buens Ende, have been dancing their very own tightrope between genius and madness ever since. With each of their releases being an interstellar journey of its own and always ahead of their time, Arcturus can justifiably be labeled as the epitome of avant-garde metal..."

On 27 March 2015, Arcturus released "The Arcturian Sign," the first single from Arcturian.[15] The album was released on 8 May of that year.

In December 2016, Sverd shared on the band's Facebook page that a new Arcturus track had been recorded; however, as of 2023, this track remains unreleased.[16]

Members

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Current members

Former members

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Vocals
  • Marius Vold (1991–1993)
  • Kristoffer Rygg (1993–2003)
  • Øyvind Hægeland (2003–2005)
Guitars
Bass guitars
  • Marius Vold (1991–1993)
  • Samoth (1993–1995)
  • Dag F. Gravem (2001–2002)

Timeline

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Discography

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Full-lengths

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Singles and EPs

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Compilations

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Lives

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References

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  1. ^ "Arcturus - La Masquerade Infernale - Nordic Metal". 27 January 2018. Archived from the original on 4 October 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Arcturus - Disbanded - Metal Storm". Metalstorm.ee. Archived from the original on 17 August 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  3. ^ [1] Archived 4 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Issue 11 March 2010". Sick Drummer Magazine. 11 March 2010. Archived from the original on 2 May 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
  5. ^ "I.C.S. Vortex Dimmu Borgir Statement - MySpace-blog | van Simen Hestnæs". Blogs.myspace.com. Archived from the original on 6 September 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
  6. ^ "ProgPower USA Festival XIII". Progpowerusa.com. Archived from the original on 14 January 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  7. ^ "Therion, Sanctuary, Arcturus Confirmed For Next Year'S Progpower Usa Xii Festival". Roadrunnerrecords.com. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  8. ^ "Arcturus - ProgPower USA Show Cancelled". Metal Storm. Archived from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  9. ^ "Avant-Garde Night 2 w Mega Club (Katowice) z dnia 10 XI 2011 – Last.fm". Lastfm.pl. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  10. ^ "ICS Vortex | Interview | Lords Of Metal metal E-zine - Issue 117: September 2011". Lordsofmetal.nl. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  11. ^ "INFERNO METAL FESTIVAL 2012". Facebook. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  12. ^ "Arcturus - Vocals done". Facebook. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  13. ^ "PROPHECY.DE | Arcturus - Arcturian". En.prophecy.de. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  14. ^ "Prophecy Productions". Prophecy.de. Archived from the original on 21 February 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  15. ^ "Arcturus unleash 1st single from "Arcturian"". Norskmetal.net. 27 March 2015. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  16. ^ "Arcturus". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
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