Reviews / ArcTanGent
Review: ArcTanGent 2024 – ‘Ten glorious years of loudness’
Now celebrating ten glorious years, Bristol’s ArcTanGent has firmly found its niche in the summer metal festival circuit, the weekend after Bloodstock. Indeed, there are many Bloodstock T-shirts being worn here. Although Bloodstock tends to be thought of as a ‘True Metal’ fest while ArcTanGent is all post-this and alt-that, there’s plenty of crossover between the two events. Last year’s big name at Bloodstock, Meshuggah, is this year’s main attraction at ArcTanGent.
A smaller punter gets ready to rock. Pic: Joe Singh
It’s first thing Thursday morning and we’re ready to rock down on the farm (yep, Fernhill is an actual working farm, with plenty of cute piglets queuing up to be photographed).
Experience has shown that the best way to ease into ArcTanGent is to sample some of the acts you’ve never heard of early in the day.
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Main stage openers itoldyouiwouldeatyou are not to this reviewer’s taste, so it’s off to the Yohkai stage for Pleiades, whose name suggests they might have something agreeably proggy to offer. I
n fact, it’s shouty, thrashy hardcore, but there’s something interesting going on with the guitars, which develops in a more progtastic direction as their set wears on. They seem genuinely delighted to be here too, which proves infectious.
Pleiades – photo: Jonathan Dadds
Back on the main stage, there’s a very pleasant surprise in the form of Norway’s unpronouncable ARKRVST (it’s ‘Awkrust’, apparently): young melodic prog-metallers who make excellent use of keyboards and sound a little like mid-period Porcupine Tree or a much louder Pineapple Thief. Terrific stuff.
AVKRVST. – photo: Joe Singh
Next up on the same stage are Healthyliving, who infuse their post-whatever with a pop edge but get quite ponderous in places. Fortunately, their singer Amaya Lopez Carromero is on excellent form throughout.
Healthyliving – photo: Jonathan Dadds
Japanese veterans Bo Ningen are back at ArcTanGent for the first time in nearly a decade and seem overjoyed to be promoted to the main stage.
At best, their lengthy, bass-heavy psychedelic workouts sound rather like a Japanese Hawkwind circa 1972, which almost makes up for having to miss the real Hawkwind in Bath to attend ArcTanGent.
Bo Ningen – photo: Derek Bremner
It’s over to the Bixler stage for the first appointment performance of the day.
“ArcTanGent, we’re going to play some fucking heavy metal!” announces Urne frontman Joe Nally, and the London trio proceed to make good on that promise.
This powerful, precise music requires a clear sound, so it’s a shame that the guitar is completely lost in the mix for the first couple of songs.
Urne. – photo: Carl Battams
Like fellow Brits DVNE and Green Lung, the highly impressive Urne are clawing their way out of metal’s second division by sheer force of will (“We’ve had to fight for everything we’ve got”), with a little help from such bigshot supporters as Gojira’s Joe Duplantier.
Most of the set is drawn from their deeply personal second album A Feast On Sorrow, which was unleashed a year ago – almost to the day – which means that everybody is now familiar with it.
Julie Christmas – photo: Derek Bremner
Back at the main stage, Julie Christmas (no relation to folkie Keith, so far as I know) is best known for her collaborations with Cult of Luna.
She delivers great shriek, has a strong line in hair-tossing, arm-waving and jumping up and down, is backed by a pleasingly heavy band and actually appears to be dressed like a Christmas tree (albeit a rather gothy one), but only a couple of her songs really stand out.
Gina Gleason and John Baizley of Baroness – photo: Carl Battams
The ArcTanGent schedulers generally get things right, but they seem to have made a big mistake in putting the best band of the day, Baroness, on at 5:30pm, rather than promoting them to headliner after Clown Core pulled out.
Naturally, they draw an enormous, wildly enthusiastic crowd and are absolutely on fire as they tear through a career-spanning set, with audience favourite A Horse Called Golgotha receiving a huge cheer of recognition.
Of course, the Americans have an unwanted link with this part of the world, having suffered a horrific tour bus crash outside Bath after playing a memorable show at the Fleece back in 2012. Frontman John Baizley, who now resembles an alt-Rob Halford with his shaved head and bushy beard, references this briefly.
John Baizley of Baroness – photo: Carl Battams
The great joy of Baroness’s music is that although it’s generally classified as alt-whatever, the classic rock influences are plain to hear, especially in the harmony guitar work by Baizley and new-ish recruit Gina Gleason, who takes many of the lead lines.
While a time travelling heavy rock enthusiast from half a century ago would probably struggle with black metal, they’d find plenty to enjoy here. A vast circle pit erupts for set closer Take My Bones Away and waves of crowd-surfers pass overhead on the way to being intercepted by friendly security. Band of the day? You betcha.
Katrine Stenbekk of Kalandra – photo: Joe Singh
Those busy bees at ArcTanGent HQ worked overtime to classify every band at the festival by genre, so no one seeking mathcore need be confronted by post-black metal. B
ut a handful of acts defeated them. One of these was Kalandra, probably because there was no category for folk-metal. Disappointingly, there’s very little of this at the festival.
Having made a great impression opening for Leprous at SWX last year, Kalandra pull a big crowd to the Bixler stage. It’s fair to say that they sound like nothing else at ArcTanGent, opening, as before, with a horn solo.
Katrine Stenbekk’s striking vocals are the focal point here, with one guitarist playing bowed guitar, Jimmy Page style, while the other appears to have made off with one of Ritchie Blackmore’s old hats.
This is beautiful, gentle music, and Kalandra keep the set intentionally more upbeat than usual for ArcTanGent, showcasing great new single Are You Ready? Alas, they’re missing out Bristol on their upcoming UK tour.
Spritualized are the late replacement for Clown Core on the main stage. If memory serves, this lot’s brand of indie psychedelia was huge with the NME (remember that?) in the late nineties, but it’s unclear how many of this audience have heard of them as they draw a conspicuously smaller crowd than Baroness.
The lights are very pretty, but Spiritualized seem to have just the one song. When you think it’s finished, it starts up again.
Author & Punisher – photo: Derek Bremner
I flee to the PX3 stage to check out Author & Punisher, who seem quite intriguing. They’re one-man-band founded by an artist and engineer, though there are actually two of them on stage.
Their brand of drone metal is certainly aurally punishing, though also rather monotonous, so it’s off to the Yokhai stage to wait for Amenra.
Amenra – photo: Joe Singh
These crazy Belgians have spawned a mini-industry of like-minded acts. It’s certainly all about the atmospherics with Amenra, projections and powerful lighting augmenting the chiming guitars, haunting quiet passages and outbursts of heavy riffing with multiple vocal styles (literally from a whisper to a scream).
The best way to appreciate this stuff is simply to surrender to it, like the bloke in front of me who wound up beating himself about the head with his own fists. I think he enjoyed it.
Explosions in the Sky – photo: Joe Singh
Over on the main stage, post-rock instrumentalists Explosions in the Sky sound like one of those bands who’ve alighted upon their formula and stuck with it. It’s all quite tuneful and not unenjoyable, but doesn’t exactly scream ‘Festival Headliner!’ at you.
Cahill/Costello – photo: Jonathan Dadds
Friday morning. The sun is beating down and it’s time to ease ourselves in gently with Scottish duo Cahill/Costello (guitar, drums) on the Elephant in the Bar Room stage.
These guys are certainly guilty of playing jazz, but fortunately there’s rather more to their sonic palette than that. They use tape loops to build up soundscapes that are occasionally reminiscent of Nordic Giants.
Zetra – photo: Derek Bremner
Over on the main stage we find another duo: synthy goth-metal twosome Zetra. One plays synth, the other guitars, and they both sing. Everything else, including the drums, seems to be on tape.
The synth-pop influence is certainly to the fore but as so often with these duos you’re left wondering just how much of their music is actually being played live.
Iress – photo: Jonathan Dadds
Doomgazers Iress have flown all the way from Los Angeles just to play a half-hour post-lunchtime slot on ArcTanGent’s Bixler stage.
Their music is built around the strong voice of Michelle Malley (“the Adele of doom,” apparently) and it’s certainly quite hypnotic, but the tempo is unchanging throughout. Still, the audience seem delighted to see them, which must be gratifying given the long slog to get here.
Year of No Light – photo: Carl Battams
There’s more in this vein on the main stage where the Frenchmen of Year of No Light deliver a powerful set of well-paced instrumental prog-doom (uh, sorry, ‘post-rock’). They must be unique in the genre by having a keyboard player who doubles as a second drummer.
Sure it’s not the Allman Brothers, the Grateful Dead or even Genesis with Phil Collins and Chester Thompson, but the technique certainly succeeds in giving their music extra power and the crowd respond accordingly.
Except, that is, the fella on the floor in front of us who appears to be fast asleep. Quite an achievement, that.
Three Trapped Tigers drummer Adam Betts – shortly to be touring with David Gilmour – photo: Jonathan Dadds
They’re followed by fellow instrumentalists Three Trapped Tigers who prove to be a very welcome surprise, despite apologising for not writing any new material for five years.
These Londoners are probably billed as ‘experimental rock’, but sound splendidly proggy out here. It comes as no surprise to learn that drummer Adam Betts is about to start touring as part of David Gilmour’s band.
Night Verses – photo: Carl Battams
The Yokhai stage is massively oversubscribed for Night Verses, who arrive with quite a reputation after touring in support of Tool.
These Californians bring a certain very American slickness that’s been absent from the rest of the day’s bill, relentlessly plugging their merch. But musically their brand of powerful instrumental alt-metal fits in perfectly.
Ihsahn – photo: Joe Singh
As a member of Norway’s Emperor, Ihsahn (Vegard Sverre Tveitan to his family) was one of the creators of the symphonic black metal genre that the likes of Dimmu Borgir took to the bank.
He’s been on a lengthy musical journey since then and has found a whole new audience as a prog act. “This is a progressive festival, right?” he asks, having turned up on site just a hour before his performance. Sure is, pal. Prog us up.
There’s still a fair bit of black metal in the mix as performed by his well drilled band, with plenty of music from his self-titled current album (including current single The Distance Between Us), which is released in separate rock and orchestral editions.
Some of the pre-recorded orchestral music is also played from tape, since he presumably couldn’t afford to haul an actual orchestra to Compton Martin.
The younger members of Sigh rock out – photo: Joe Singh
Veteran Tokyo black metallers Sigh have taken over the Bixler stage with their full theatrical show, featuring flaming swords, goblets of ‘blood’, burning books, copious face paint and even a pair of costumed and face-painted nippers romping around the stage as though they’ve escaped from Don’t Look Now.
Musically, Sigh have embraced a more prog-metal sound of late, but today’s mix is rather muddy, which makes it difficult to appreciate Nozomu Wakai’s guitar playing, though Bring Back the Dead still sounds suitably monstrous.
Founder and male vocalist Mirai Kawashima whips out the woodwind every so often, while female vocalist Dr. Mikannibal (Mika Kano) contributes saxophone. It’s a cracking performance and a welcome outbreak of joyful theatricality amid the solemnity of some of those more ‘alternative’ ArcTanGent acts.
Tosin Abasi of Animals as Leaders – photo: Carl Battams
Tosin Abasi is an astonishingly creative and imaginative guitar player, but he and fellow Animals as Leaders guitarist Javier Reyes are hardly flamboyant performers. So their shows aren’t exactly like watching Steve Vai.
At least they’re augmented by some suitably mind-blowing projections to distract from the lack of action on the main stage. Instrumental prog-metal doesn’t get any more extraordinary than this, and the trio conclude, as usual, with the signature sounds of The Woven Web and CAFO.
But Tosin has a request: “I’d like to watch Meshuggah on shrooms,” he says. “Please can someone facilitate that experience for me?”
Meshuggah. – photo: Jonathan Dadds
Really? Meshuggah on drugs? You’d be risking permanent damage doing that.
It seems as though the entire site is here to watch the Swedish tech-metal titans’ headline show. That’s the sound of thousands of jaws dropping as people turn to one another and ask “How the fuck are they doing that?” as the band open with Broken Cog.
The Meshuggah live experience is a full-on visual and aural assault delivered with machine precision, even though everything, including the lights, is played by human beings. The question was how this would translate to a festival headlining slot.
Actually, it’s quite simple: it just gets bigger and louder. Some punters, who are clearly new to the band, learn very quickly that you simply can’t dance to this intense, polyrhythmic music.
One proud dad holds his tot aloft on his shoulders for much of the show. Now that’s parenting.
Meshuggah – photo: Jonathan Dadds
Meshuggah cherry pick classics from across their career for their fan-pleasing set, concluding with Bleed and Demiurge and leaving the audience completely stunned as they filter out to the car park and campsite. This will surely be remembered as one of the all-time-great ArcTanGent performances.
Meshuggah recovery necessitates a slightly late start on Saturday, when we find hypnotic blackgazey Belgian doomsters Briquiville on the main stage just after noon.
Hexvessel – photo: Derek Bremner
I’ve wanted to see Finland’s Hexvessel ever since hearing their folky All Tree album (a concept album about trees? I’m in . . .). They play none of that on the main stage today, concentrating instead on their haunting black metal side.
But this isn’t especially harsh music and the clean vocal harmonies are particularly impressive – also very refreshing on this bill. They conclude with A Cabin in Montana, the standout track from the recent Polar Veil album.
Bossk – photo: Derek Bremner
Next up are Kent’s increasingly popular Bossk, who cover a lot of musical territory, from the trippy to the crushingly heavy – often within the same song. They’re not afraid of a trombone solo or two either. The audience bellow of approval is almost as loud as the roar of singer Simon Wright.
The masked and costumed Imperial Triumphant – photo: Carl Battams
Up at the Yokhai stage, the mysterious costumed men of New York avant-gardists Imperial Triumphant are soundchecking without their masks.
To be fair they’ve never set out to hide their identities, but I can report that they’re just ordinary looking blokes, which seems like a bit of a swizz.
Their shtick is a blend of jazz and black metal, which proves intermittently effective as they scuttle around the stage, although it would come as no surprise to learn that their whole act is simply an elaborate art project.
And So I Watch You From Afar – photo: Derek Bremner
I catch some of Irish instrumental experimental rockers And So I Watch Your From Afar on the main stage. Their guitar melodies are certainly pretty – perhaps overly so – and they seem to go down well.
earthtone9 – photo: Joe Singh
It seems only fair to pitch up for Nottingham’s earthtone9 on the Bixler stage, as the festival is named after one of their albums.
These guys were in at the start of the whole alt-metal thing back in the 1990s, but completely passed me by.
Their set is delayed for technical reasons and it all seems a bit shambolic when they finally get going, with the backing vocals being all over the place. Cult reputations sustained decades ago are not necessarily sufficient to engage new audiences and some people drift away.
But the hardcore fans remain as things improve, although the band’s set appears to be cut short.
Electric Wizard – photo: Joe Singh
You know exactly what you’re going to get with Electric Wizard, though it’s perhaps a bit of a surprise to find them on the main stage at ArcTanGent just before the headliners.
Now featuring Bristol’s very own Haz Wheaton on bass, Jus Oborn’s veteran doomsters specialise in big, slow, fuzzy, Sabbathy riffs and a degenerate 70s vibe. Occasionally, this can get rather boring. But not today. Maybe it’s the discipline of cramming everything into an hour-long set, but the Wizard seem much more lively and propulsive than usual as they romp their way through Black Mass, Time to Die and Satanic Rites of Drugula, accompanied by vintage film clips mostly from 60s/70s horror flicks featuring many a jiggling topless lovely.
Set closer Funeralopolis even becomes a thrashy blur, as though they’re desperate to get to the end before the plug is pulled. Quite a revelation.
Mogwai – photo: Joe Singh
Mercury Prize-nominated Glaswegian headliners Mogwai pull a large, if hardly Meshuggah-sized crowd. These guys are the very epitome of what we’re supposed to call ‘post-rock’, with a grand, mostly instrumental sound that’s a little like library music with ideas above its station.
It’s pleasant enough and rather like a louder Sigur Ros for those who like that sort of thing. I don’t, so slink off after half-an-hour and shall refrain from further comment.
Final score. Band of the festival: Meshuggah, obviously. Runners-up: Baroness, Animals As Leaders, Sigh, Ihsahn, Kalandra, Hexvessel, Bo Ningen, ARKRVST and, perhaps surprisingly, Electric Wizard.
So how can ArcTanGent top or even equal this as it enters its second decade? A dream line-up might include Porcupine Tree and Dream Theater, though I’d be prepared to bet that right now they’re making a serious offer to the ascendant Sleep Token.
Main photo: Meshuggah by Joe Singh
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