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.
Psychonaut (Wednesday, Yohkai)
Wednesday was Arctangent’s warm-up day, with only the second stage (Yohkai) open. That afternoon, space metal cosmonauts Psychonaut set the bar for the weekend to come astronomically high, their 45 minutes blending incredible guitar athletics with dense grooves and textured vocal harmonies. Highlights like Violate Consensus Reality sounded impossibly huge for a three-piece and affirmed the Belgians as one of progressive metal’s best-kept secrets.
And So I Watch You From Afar (Wednesday, Yohkai / Saturday, Arc)
Greedy North Irishmen And So I Watch You From Afar played two sets across the weekend. First, headlining Wednesday, they hosted a fan-voted greatest hits set, then they played new album Megafauna in full on the main stage (Arc) Saturday. Both performances were flurries of athletic and jaunty riffing, their melodies pulled directly from the folk rock of this quartet’s homeland.
Julie Christmas (Thursday, Arc)
Julie Christmas ended a 13-year hiatus with this year’s Ridiculous And Full Of Blood, and her Arctangent set made everyone even happier to get the noise/post-rock maverick back. Julie was a livewire with her distinct, punkish wails, while her songs ranged from the episodic pop of Supernatural to The Lighthouse’s sweeping post-metal. Guitarist/co-vocalist Johannes Persson’s bowel-crushing growls only made things even more impressive.
Kalandra (Thursday, Bixler)
Equal parts shamanic folk and progressive rock, Kalandra cast an alluring spell over the third stage (Bixler) Thursday. Vocalist Katrine Stenbekk unfurled gorgeous, drawn-out melodies comparable to Sylvaine and Myrkur, while the band behind her repeatedly found innovative ways to frame her voice. Whether they were offering pure folk beauty or some more hard-rocking riffs, the four-piece sounded both massive and immersive.
Amenra (Thursday, Yohkai)
Amenra sound like a panic attack in musical form, with vocalist Colin H. van Eeckhout agonisingly shrieking over ominous black and post-metal guitars. The mix of innovation and primal horror made the Belgians one of Thursday’s most-watched bands, the Yohkai tent overflowing to witness the tortured spectacle. Luckily, the massive video backdrop meant even those trapped at the back could see something.
Glassing (Friday, PX3)
Despite being tucked away on the fourth stage (PX3), Glassing laid a post-hardcore/extreme metal beatdown on Arctangent. The Texan trio hammered their tent with a flurry of powerhouse riffs, their arsenal spanning from mid-paced sludge to lightspeed black metal. Vocalist/bassist Dustin Coffman high-pitched snarls only amplified the nastiness, and before long the band’s comparatively small crowd were moshing and climbing the pillars.
Night Verses (Friday, Yohkai)
Like Amenra on Thursday, Night Verses had Yohkai overflowing when they turned up. That’s where the similarities between the two bands end, though. This Californian trio dazzled their masses with fast-paced and athletic post-rock, each member flaunting virtuoso talents on their instrument. However, it wasn’t just mindless showing off, and the tent was swallowed in the sound of whimsical, instrumental catchiness.
Animals As Leaders (Friday, Arc)
With their near-peerless chops and hefty djent sound, Animals As Leaders are everything your average, modern-prog-loving Arctangent attendee treasures. The Americans unsurprisingly crammed the Arc tent as a result, and only one thing dropped as hard as the jaws floored by Tosin Abasi’s et al.’s talents. It was everybody’s necks as they headbanged their way through Ectogenesis, The Woven Web and more.
Meshuggah (Friday, Arc)
Does this even need explaining? Meshuggah have been a legendarily incredible live force for years now, the precision of their tech-metal matched only by the light show. During their headline set, every polyrhythm and guitar chug was accompanied by a new formation of blinding spotlights. Plus, the audio was faultless and the setlist flaunted such fan-favourites as Bleed and Demiurge. No holes can be poked.
Vower (Saturday, Yohkai)
Vower, five shows deep into their career and with only four songs released, had no right being that good. The new alt-metal project of former Black Peaks, Palm Reader and Toska members crammed the Yohkai tent and showed the rest of the festival how to write some seriously tight anthems. With a singalong like Shroud’s already to their name, this lot will take over imminently.
Electric Wizard (Saturday, Arc)
A wildcard pick for Arctangent, Electric Wizard are less fascinated with pushing metal forward than they are with throwing it back to 1975. Nonetheless, Jus Oborn’s gaggle of stoners drew a huge, weed-stenched crowd to the Arc tent. The likes of Funeralopolis – with its hard guitars, looping structure and hypnotic video backdrop imagery – proved engrossing and brutal in equal measure. Risk, rewarded.
Slift (Saturday, Bixler)
Slift see your human genre boundaries and laugh at them. The space/prog/post-rock trio, hailing from another planet via Toulouse, were a spectacle impossible to look away from in the Bixler tent, tearing through myriad styles while marching around with endless energy. Their Doctor Who-ish video imagery and echoing, alien vocals reaffirmed them as one of the strangest yet best performers of the weekend.
