Very Waltarish.

Perhaps too early to judge, but it might end up as my favourite Arcturus along with The Sham Mirrors.

For what I've heard so far, it seems to have less memorable songs, yet as a whole it's definitely better than the last one. It flows very well. I'm glad that they're back and trying to do something different. Even Vortex is great throughout.

I might need more repeated listens to know if this is on par to the Sham Mirrors.

So... Listened to it. Nothing much, I think

This is an lovely album! The music is very nice and interesting, production not so, but you get used to it after a while.... I prefer Garm vocals, but Simen is doing ok here... A solid 8 imo

I'm addicted to it. i've been listening to it a lot but i cant love it for some reason. it's like an abusive relationship.

EDIT: It's great. I love it now.

Another one of these bands I should have listened to but never did. Judging from the comments this should be a good place to start.

update: This reminds me of Solefald but I guess Arcturus came first. Awesome stuff.

Written by Karlabos on 03.05.2015 at 01:20

So... Listened to it. Nothing much, I think

With you on this one. This doesn't hold a candle to any of Arcturus's earlier albums, in my honest opinion. Most of my enjoyment simply comes from the fact that I liked Arcturus to begin with. But I'm probably going to listen to the earlier classic albums before this one any day of the week.

I'd say this is their best work to date. I always thought Sham Mirrors was overrated. I'm addicted to this album; couldn't say that about any of their classic stuff.

Sounds more like Borknagar...
Good album, but I expected a lot more from a band that used to be my absolute favorite one back in the years.

So? Is it good? Supergood? Best of all times? Tell me, please!
Yeah, listening to the preview there are a couple of songs (Angst) that sounded like Borknagar but the others seem to be pretty good... I don't know. Gotta buy it!

I think I can see the division here. This album seems MUCH more accessible and less truly "avant garde" than their previous stuff. Those looking for that seem disappointed. Others like me, who didn't really care for it, find this to be quite excellent.

The best Arcturus album! One of the best albums in 2015!

Huh, so they actually released something that's good that isn't The Sham Mirrors? That's a shock.

Written by Guest on 10.05.2015 at 15:14

Huh, so they actually released something that's good that isn't The Sham Mirrors? That's a shock.

Nah, don't listen to them. It's pretty average Arcturus.

Written by Diverge on 10.05.2015 at 18:48

Written by Guest on 10.05.2015 at 15:14

Huh, so they actually released something that's good that isn't The Sham Mirrors? That's a shock.

Nah, don't listen to them. It's pretty average Arcturus.

Average Arcturus is great though xD

^ This.

It surely is less original than Masquerade or Mirrors, but also way more enjoyable for me. I had never listened so much to an Arcturus album before!

Written by Diverge on 10.05.2015 at 18:48

Nah, don't listen to them. It's pretty average Arcturus.

You know I actually listened to it long before I posted that comment, right? My point stands; this is the only other good album by the band that isn't The Sham Mirrors.

Easily their most accessible album. Sadly, that comes paired with reduced creativity. Also, what's with the sloppy playing at the start of "Crashland"?

Written by Guest on 10.05.2015 at 21:44

Written by Diverge on 10.05.2015 at 18:48

Nah, don't listen to them. It's pretty average Arcturus.

You know I actually listened to it long before I posted that comment, right? My point stands; this is the only other good album by the band that isn't The Sham Mirrors.

I see your point. The question mark in your original post confused me and insinuated that you didn't listen to it when I read it. Never mind

And I seem to be in the minority here anyway. La Masquerade Infernale absolutely shits on this album, in my opinion, and I can't believe people are even considering this to be one of the better Arcturus albums, let alone their best.

Written by Diverge on 11.05.2015 at 06:15

La Masquerade Infernale absolutely shits on this album, in my opinion, and I can't believe people are even considering this to be one of the better Arcturus albums, let alone their best.

100% agreed.

La Masquerade is by far their best album, yet still I prefer their My Angel e.p., but that was musically totally diferent.
After La Masquerade... Sham MIrrors is good, Sideshow Symphonies is quite bad tbh, even worse than this and Arcturian is only average.

I'd say all three Garm albums easily shit all over this.

I love all Arcturus albums... especially on L.

It's not as good as their best, but still a very solid release. I was surprised how much I liked it. I keep returning to listen to it(like at this very moment), so who knows, maybe I'll grow to like it even more.

Am I the only one here who doesn't really like the vocals? Although I usually like Vortex's vocals, here they sound so weak... I'd love for this to have a more powerful vocal performance, probably something similar to Vulture Industries' last. And this aside, it's still not the second coming of christ... It's decent and has some good moments, but I'd probably place it on par if not slightly below Sideshow Symphonies. I get the hype for a new Arcturus album, but in this case it totally overrates the actual product.

Written by flightoficarus on 29.04.2015 at 20:13

Written by Guest on 29.04.2015 at 17:19

Written by Alex F on 29.04.2015 at 17:17

Written by Zap on 29.04.2015 at 09:47

I don't see the fuss, I guess when it's better than Sideshow Symphonies, people get way more excited than they should.

The fuss for me personally is that I simply don't enjoy Arcturus (aside from The Sham Mirrors which still only gets a 7 from me) and then this album just fucking clicked instantly. I've gone through it three times so far and it has only gotten better with further exposure, and personally I would call it Arcturus' finest album. I really doubt anyone shares my opinion, but at any rate, that's the "fuss" for me.

+1

+2

+3

Tried La Masquerade Infernale several times when Fredd suggested it to me as one of the best Avant-garde black metal releases and as one of his favs, it never clicked. Whereas this one, I loved it instantly and its thoroughly enjoyable.

There's no point in comparing it to the old Arcturus albums, the sound seems quite different on this one. I personally loved it. Not a challenging listen or anything, but enjoyable as fuck, and it keeps its dignity.

Written by PocketMetal on 14.05.2015 at 10:50

There's no point in comparing it to the old Arcturus albums, the sound seems quite different on this one. I personally loved it. Not a challenging listen or anything, but enjoyable as fuck, and it keeps its dignity.

Agreed. Well said.

ITT: people with shit taste.

Best arcturus album of the decade.

Written by Guest on 20.05.2015 at 15:34

Best arcturus album of the decade.

I'll disregard that annoying "in this thread" comment.

Well, decade=a period of 10 years. So the only two permissible albums for "the decade" are Sideshow Symphonies and Arcturian. In essence, you're simply saying you like it better than Sideshow Symphonies, a sentiment that most people tend to agree with.