ArcTanGent 2024 Retrospective - Wednesday/Thursday
Words: Chris Taylor and Matt Noble
Photos: Carl Battams / Joe Singh / Jonathan Dadds / Derek Bremner
Arctangent's Wednesday night warmup is in full swing and those early arrivals are treated to the reliably excellent Cobra the Impaler. With members from legendary bands such as Megadeth, Aborted, Soilwork and more, it’s an absolute treat to see such talent in a setting as intimate as this. Off the back of the release of their exceptional new album ‘Karma Collision’, the band fill their criminally short set with an onslaught of Mastodon-esque riffing and huge vocals. Keeping things short and to the point, Cobra the Impaler left with the audience wanting more, and with now two excellent albums and proving they can deliver the goods live, it’s very likely we will get plenty more from this band. Here's hoping we get it soon and with a longer set to really blow peoples’ minds.
Kulk play early on the Thursday morning on the Bixler stage, giving their sizable audience a hell of an awakening with their repetitive, droning, sludgy riff worship. With tortured vocals and squealing feedback and power from a single guitar, they make more noise than a two piece has any right to. Creating claustrophobic walls of sound and an atmosphere bordering on the unsettling, it's an impressive start to proceedings. Plenty can be seen with freshly bought Kulk merch afterwards, and it's clear the impression left was a potent one.
Gloom Index play early in the Elephant stage to perform a hauntingly atmospheric set. Using a guitar, bass, synths, a sea of effects pedals and a single floor tom they juxtapose unnerving loops and a sense of creepiness with ethereal male and female vocals that complement each other well. It's wildly experimental, as many acts here are, with distortion, feedback, layering and noise creating a something truly unique.
Hundred Year Old Man draw a massive crowd at midday in the PX3 tent. Their rich post metal offers a serious festival highlight very early on as they command the atmosphere in the tent, delivering an impassioned and genuine performance. It's soul crushingly heavy but full of emotion, colour and contrast. Their lighter moments really illuminate how hard the heavier sections go in a way that few bands can seriously content with. It's hypnotic, thick and hard to draw your eyes from throughout a set that feels too short.
Chaos. Squid Pisser is pure chaos. Musically and visually. But then again when your guitarist has worked with Gwar would you expect any less? It’s not unusual for a set at Arctangent to have someone in a band perform amongst the crowd, but Squid Pissser set the record for how quickly they resort to that. Before the first song has concluded Tommy Meehan is doing vocals within the crowd causing mischief. With a set a little over thirty minutes, it's an ample opportunity to play through most of their back catalogue. Time is short, and so are their songs and they keep coming at a rapid fire pace. Though it is admittedly a nightmare to ascertain exactly what song is happening (I’m pretty sure ‘Virus Assholes’ was in there), Squid Pisser achieved what all noise/grindcore bands set out to achieve. Cause chaos and leave a good portion of the audience wondering, “what on earth was that?!”
Liverpool doom lords Conan mark their first Arctangent appearance with a career spanning set on the Yohkai Stage. Bowel-shakingly low frequencies rumble the tent's foundations as they churn out numbers such as 'Prosper on the Path' and 'Hawk as Weapon' to a lively crowd, banging their heads and even starting a pit to 'Satsumo' in appreciation. Sounding impressively heavy, it's one of their first shows with Fudge Tunnel's David Ryley as an official member, though his experience of filling in for Conan over the years is evident, as he comfortably covers the super-low register and holds his own with a powerful, bellowing backing vocal performance. Delightfully sludgy and dense, Conan are commanding tonight and could surely demand a higher slot next time around.
There is a lot of love for Julie Christmas at Arctangent. Her brand of pained, emotional post-metal almost defines the style of music that frequents this particular festival. Sure enough, when she takes to the main stage the crowd is in the palm of her hand. The set consists of plenty of tracks from the new album, ‘Ridiculous and Full of Blood’. A stunning album so it’s great to hear it properly showcased here. With it only a year since Julie Christmas returned to live music, her appearance here feels special, like it’s been a long time coming and the crowd, alongside her, are relishing every moment of it. As the band’s summer tour concludes here at Arctangent, there is a celebratory feel to the performance, while we all hope and pray it isn’t another long gap before Julie Christmas returns to the UK. Future headliner for sure.
Prog titans Baroness take on the main stage around teatime. Opening with modern classic 'Last Word', they deliver a pitch perfect and highly musical set of their best and most beloved songs from each of their albums. It's their first time on these shores touring the new album, but they tend towards the tried and tested fan favourites, and are rewarded by the crowd singing along to the leads in 'Isak' or a highly energetic response to 'Take My Bones Away' as a set closer. The band are on pristine form and few do it as well as they do. Outstanding stuff.
Celebrating 15 years since the release of their first album, Red Fang deafen the Yohkai Stage with a truly fun fifty minutes of noisy stoner rock, encouraging beers up and plenty of movement. Fan favourites like 'Hank Is Dead' and 'Wires' offer lots for fans of The Riff, creating a party atmosphere and a sense of excitement as the sun begins to set. A rowdy 'Prehistoric Dog' brings proceedings to a close, and a familiar ringing in everyone's ears
Now for something a tad more relaxing, the Norwegian/Swedish four piece Kalandra brought their exceptionally moving and beautifully ethereal music to the Bixler stage. Their blend of folk with the occasional distorted guitar created a mystical soundscape that one could get completely lost in. Add to that Katrine Stenbekk’s stunning vocals that sound like a voice echoing down a misty mountain. It was a deeply immersive performance that made the audience feel fully connected with the band. While many Arctangent sets are all about the noise and chaos, Kalandra were melancholy and serene which had the whole tent’s wrapped attention. It nearly brought a tear to my eye.
Amenra's hypnotic post metal creates an unsettlingly mysterious atmosphere as second stage headliners. Controlling volume and mood masterfully, their quiet moments bring the tent down to a whisper before unleashing an aural assault when the moment fits. Wringing emotion out of every note, they marry up powerful melodic undercurrents with ugly dissonances - particularly 'Am Kreuz' towards the end. Shrouded in smoke and avoiding talking or messing about between songs, they're an enigmatic force to be reckoned with. The end of the set sees all the sound sucked out of the tent in a strangely cathartic manner, and a simple written message shows on the screen to boldly signal the final moment.
Photo credits: Carl Battams / Joe Singh / Jonathan Dadds / Derek Bremner
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