Arcturus (band)
| Arcturus | |
|---|---|
Arcturus in 2005
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Norway |
| Genres | Symphonic black metal, avant garde metal |
| Years active | 1991–2007, 2011–present |
| Labels | Century Media, Music for Nations, Candlelight, The End, Jester, Season of Mist |
| Associated acts | Age of Silence, Borknagar, Code, Dimmu Borgir, The Kovenant, Mayhem, Scariot, Spiral Architect, Ulver, Ved Buens Ende |
| Website | www |
| Members |
Steinar Sverd Johnsen Jan Axel Blomberg Hugh Mingay Knut Magne Valle ICS Vortex |
| Past members | (see below) |
Arcturus is a Norwegian heavy metal band formed in 1991. Their name, which means "Bear Guardian", references the Behenian fixed star Arcturus.
The band has released five official full-length albums. Arcturus has experimented throughout their career, extracting influences and incorporating elements from all over the musical spectrum including black metal and classical music, but the band was rooted as a metal outfit.
The original line-up was changed when bassist/vocalist Marius Vold (formerly of Thorns) was taken out of the band. The band soon became labeled a black metal supergroup, consisting of Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg on vocals, Carl August Tidemann on guitar, Skoll on bass and the two other original members, Hellhammer on drums and Steinar Sverd Johnsen as main composer/keyboard player. In 1994, Samoth played guitars on the EP Constellation and released it on his record label, Nocturnal Art.
After three full-length albums, Rygg left the band. He was replaced by Øyvind Hægeland from the band Spiral Architect. Øyvind performed live with the band, but did not appear on any recordings. On January 5, 2005, the band announced that Øyvind had moved too far away for his continued involvement to be practical and they had parted ways. He was replaced by Simen "ICS Vortex" Hestnæs, who had previously performed vocals on three Arcturus tracks ("Master of Disguise", "The Chaos Path" and "Painting My Horror") on La Masquerade Infernale. Upon Carl August Tidemann's leaving the band, Knut Magne Valle joined. In 2003, Tore Moren joined on second guitar for live performances and eventually found himself accepted as an official member of the band. Knut and Tore then shared lead duties on guitar, with Knut on 7-string guitar and Tore using a standard 6-string guitar.
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