Band:	Arcturus
Album:	Arcturian
Style:	Avantgarde metal
Release date:	May 08, 2015
A review by:	corrupt

Disc I [Arcturian]
01. The Arcturian Sign
02. Crashland
03. Angst
04. Warp
05. Game Over
06. Demon
07. Pale
08. The Journey
09. Archer
10. Bane

Disc II [Rearcturianized - Limited Mediabook Edition]
01. Angst [Industrial Club Remix by Pride And Fall]
02. Archer [Sun Of The Sleepless Geisterbahn Remix]
03. Game Over [Germ Remix]
04. Warp [Wormhole Remix by Encephalon]
05. Angst [Nailbomb Remix by Fractured]
06. Arcturian Psychedelic Sign [by MøllarN]
07. Warp [Germ Remix]
08. Pale [Necro Deathmort Remix]

Imagine you are returning to a familiar place after a long period away. Since you've been gone a while you have been looking forward to returning for a long time. You have pictures in your head of what the place looked like. You know its people, its scents, and its colors during the seasons. You also have an idea of how the place might have developed. People might have left and new ones moved there. Buildings could have been razed to make room for new ones, streets refurbished, new colors all around. Yet you know, once you return, you will pick up that familiar scent, meet the old people, see the old colors and eventually feel at home just as you were.

The place we are returning to now is the music of Arcturus, who, after a seven-year-long hiatus, somewhat surprisingly announced new material in 2012 and then, finally, delivered Arcturian this year. The title alone sounds like a promise. It sounds like this is as "arcturian" as it is going to get; like this would be the very essence of Arcturus, its core ingredients simmered down to produce that familiar scent that we've been looking for so long. And that is exactly what this album is.

Arcturian is a bit on the heavy side compared to its predecessors, which is a warm welcome for fans of their early work, especially their debut. Vortex's quasi-operatic voice is omnipresent on these songs, just as expected. But there is a new, more aggressive element to it when it ventures into growls and shrieks ever so carefully to remind us of Aspera Hiems Symfonia without becoming an end in itself. The overall texture of the songs is enriched by slightly more ostensible drums and very cleanly separated instruments. Both Hellhammer and Møllarn deliver a flawless performance that combines new elements with familiar riffs and beats just as violin and keys do in their melodies. While the album has an overall faster feel to it than its predecessors due to lack of a true mid-tempo piece, all songs here have elements reminiscent of previous ones. Be it a certain melody, a synth intro, a guitar riff, or just Vortex's voice; they all oscillate between accustomed and new without sacrificing song structure to familiarity. The same applies to its lyrics; Vortex continues old stories in certain songs, picks up old themes or creates new ones in others. Slower parts are now used only to accentuate songs and provide some breathing room every now and then, contributing to the slightly heavier and faster sound.

The band claim they just let themselves go in the studio and this is the outcome and I believe every word of it. Arcturian feels like they held back way longer than necessary to produce something truly great: an album that both summarizes their previous work and raises anticipation for more. Its components are carefully interweaved so as to always provide a happy place for the listener while experimenting with a new influence. The outcome sounds undeniably "arcturian" and its clean production delivers the same ambience that has been Arcturus' trademark since La Masquerade Infernale.

Going back to my initial metaphor, this really does feel like coming home. All the colors and the scents are here after all. On this album you will meet old friends and make new ones while discovering everything that is new in a place that you have been away from far too long. Set whatever reservation you may have aside. There may be bands out there, losing their style come time and age, but not this one. There is not much more to say about Arcturian than that it is a true Arcturus album. If this is what the band's future holds, I'm already looking forward to the next one.