As Carly Simon once sang, “Nobody does it better.” This is basically Arctangent’s standing in the UK metal festival calendar. Every year for a decade now, the four-day Bristol weekender has corralled the best experimental talent in heavy music, then propelled it in front of 10,000 people.
Arctangent’s 10th-birthday edition showcased the full range of artists it’s willing to promote, as the headliners spanned from post-rock darlings Explosions In The Sky and Mogwai to extremists Meshuggah. With the rest of the bill populated by reliably eclectic and progressive names, the event retained its position as a must-attend moment of the summer. Here are the 12 bands that best defined Arctangent’s aluminium anniversary.
