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Rating: Let's say it right away. . . the new Arcturus album is yet another masterpiece of their career, an album that can only be "gifted" by a band that counts musical geniuses like Jan Axel Blomberg, Knut Magne Valle, and Steinar Johnsen among its members. Despite their historic singer Krystoffer Rygg deciding to focus on his solo band (the Ulver) and other side-projects, the band managed to find a valid replacement. . . and what a replacement: a certain Simen Hestnaes whose voice manages to envelop this "Sideshow Symphonies" like a glove fits the human hand. However, despite Hestnaes's vocal talents, I don't think it's so easy to replace the charisma and individuality of Rygg (as many fans assert); even though when Arcturus announced that the new singer would be Oyvind Hageland from the Spiral Architect, I was stunned. . . Spiral Architect is one of the most interesting bands in the recent music scene. It would have surely been a unique experience to hear Hageland's voice on such a progressive release like Sideshow Symphonies. But that remained a dream never realized; Hageland, due to unforeseen urgent commitments, had to relocate permanently to Sweden, making his stay in the band impossible. And so Arcturus set out in search of a new singer. . .
And indeed, we come to the entry of Hestnaes in the group, known for his work with Borknagar and Dimmu Borgir, but long-time Arcturus fans will surely remember him for his appearance on "La Masquerade Infernale" where Hestnaes sings as the main voice in one track and as a backup singer in two others. Initially, I was skeptical about the choice of Hestnaes, but it took me little to change my mind. . . in fact, right from the opening bars of the first track, "Hibernation Sickness Complete", it is possible to enjoy the deep vocal movements of Hestnaes; and from here on I began to convince myself that no other singer could have done better than him. Hestnaes's voice is entirely different from Rygg's, and it seems that this Sideshow Symphonies was created starting from his voice, allowing him to range between subdued whispers and sharp tones and to highlight the most dramatic passages of the album thanks to the high expressiveness of his magnificent voice. His vocal timbre is precisely what makes the songs very dark, giving them a greater ability to convey emotions such as anguish and terror.
I would like to say that this "Sideshow Symphonies" is darker and more ambient than "The Sham Mirrors". . . however, it is certainly not as experimental and adventurous as their previous work; but this does not prevent this work from being considered one of the best "encounters" between avant-garde and prog-metal. The credit for this lies in the great performance on keyboards, piano, and synths by Steinar Johnsen and the fabulous drumming of the rock-solid Jan Axel Blomberg. I can confidently state that Blomberg is the best Norwegian drummer alongside Asgeir Mickelson of Spiral Architect. That said. . . Blomberg's drumming on Sideshow Symphonies is certainly less revolutionary and freer than that present on "The Sham Mirrors", yet it is undoubtedly the most present instrument in this work after the ubiquitous Johnsen's keyboards. Despite Blomberg's drumming being less revolutionary. . . I can't help but notice the intensity of his rhythms throughout the album; especially in "Shipwrecked Frontier Pioneer" and "Demonpainter", he manages to fit impressive fills in a rapid double bass drum. The two tracks in question also benefit from the splendid tones played by Johnsen's keyboard and Hestnaes's dark voice completed with evil laughs. Additionally, I highlight the presence of some female back-vocals and underline the interplay between guitar and synth solos that form truly noteworthy symphonic passages.
Unfortunately, this great performance by the Arcturus is not accompanied by exemplary mixing. Some songs are recorded at a higher volume than the previous/next one. . . and in general, I feel compelled to judge this production as far inferior to that of the band's previous works: what a pity. Regarding guitar and bass, I notice how the band decided to reduce their power (and consequently their presence) to generate a more sober atmosphere by using some particular strings, inserting female voices, and atonal guitar parts that would respectively underline the keyboard and drum passages.
Considering Hestnaes's theatrical laughs present in many tracks and the way they have been mixed together creating really well-done backgrounds, "Sideshow Symphonies" also has another visual aspect. In "Evacuation Code Deciphered", Hestnaes gives the lyrics an almost spoken tone, making the musical base almost suitable for a film soundtrack. The depressive synth sounds, the distant voices that seem to come straight out of a horror film, and the exceptional female vocal parts are truly something brilliant. . . considering they then evolve into hypnotic synth solos and aggressive lyrics sung by Hestnaes. "Nocturnal Vision Revisited" is able to create an eerie mood with delicate piano notes that literally fall onto a base of riffs played by a very heavy and dissonant guitar.
Progressive elements can be traced in the electronic "Moonshine Delirium" where the singer's delicate whisper can give us remarkable jolts and the guitars of Tore More and Valle join together to create an elaborate instrumental section. There is also a kind of "harmonic battle" between the two guitars in "White Noise Monster" accompanied by an excellent tremolo and filled with dense lines of synths and as usual, very intricate drumming. Hestnaes in this track manages to diversify his voice greatly thanks to the use of accents I call heavy and it can even be heard in another language (Norwegian?) in the track "Hufsa". One last consideration on. . . "Reflections", a truly atypical instrumental track for the prog-metal genre. Dominated by a sad guitar and sweet piano lines. Remarkable is the drum solo present in this track.
"Sideshow Symphonies" is an excellent album and I highly recommend it. . . Arcturus is a truly talented band capable of blending technical skills, great lyrics, and musical taste. The only flaw is the poor mixing and not very competent production. . . which however does not detract from the final value of the album.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Hibernation Sickness Complete (05:02)
Probing a voiceless void
Pearching for a closure
Poisoned tentacles from the past
Are tumbling fumbling closet
Mood set
On full scale regret
Peaking an all time low
Distorted pattersn no sight with this lantern
But a bleak recollection of something undone
A banished vanished presence
Of the unspeakable secretive kind
The uttermost shame is its essence
The septic transforms the shellshocked and blind
A nightmare released a terrible disease
Lurking behind a thin wall of sleep
The jail-bars of a stigmatized keep
Across the crumbling layers
A tricky haze of control
Beyond matter the untouchable scatter
The cracks are beginning to show
Small gaps out of time with riddles entwined
Looking over my shoulder for some kind of cover
All I can find to bring peace of mind
Is that this bloodstained route
Will carry the strangest of fruits
Not to turn away tainted
But look into the deep and weep
Hibernation sickness complete
02 Shipwrecked Frontier Pioneer (08:32)
Mechanical shutdown due to reactorcore meltdown
And outdated parts collapsed and discharged
Autopilot on emergency power from
Random fuel devoured
Red alert sirens sighing
Rusty pipelines dying
Empty hull shatter into cold dark matter
Unknownspacepioneer the end draws near
What once was acrobatically flying
Is now burnt out and dying
Now that I am shipwrecked
A piece of shit falling
Through space and time
Moaning oh why oh why did not I
Just stop in time
Knowing the answer I am dirty as a cancer
Once a virus like me is set free
Old grim flashes his grin
And violently introduces
A shortcut for loosers
Drop all illusions as I pop the next fuse in confusion
Transvesting the mind evolving past mankind
Unknownspaceadorer toxicwasteexplorer
Lost in free will time stand still
Full front on
Drifting here in the outer rim
As a piece of spacejunk
No valuables within
A scraphead of sin
Too much acid in these batteries
Leaking out its filthy grease
Disband all current settings to standard default
Fall and arise you diamond of lies
You know what is wise
Fire or ice
That's when I find
Hyperspace-central-divine
A pitstopmaintenance hall for the mind
Satanic protectors of my kind
I shop some new parts
Re plugged and charged
I head towards the stars
Knowing that this trip
Will be my last slip
05 Evacuation Code Deciphered (06:16)
Change channel I am bored again
Take five and restart the game
I suggest a different approach
Remake the world with a devilish touch
Evolution is too slow ghost
Relax and sit back I am your new host
Fantastic elastic all things can be spastic
No room for bore press enter and store
We live in small shells put that on a shelf
E.S.P. for all big and small
Saga-lore mature splendor
Ragamuffin saga-puffin all you can snort
Electric eyes for sparkling flies
Will be much more fun for the rejects and dumb
So what do you change
In your realm of decadence
King or queen or something snotty between
Worlds shatter to darkness without matter
No matter no matter we stole
Too far from home
Rid your shoulders of this stone
Which direction is up
What way to the top
It seems we are lost
This is no place to linger
Let your throat embrace your finger
Evacuate this tomb
There is always an exit
For aliens infected
Our race
Seems we crashed on the way
Two dried up bugs trapped in the same web
Slimy slugs on a busy rainy highway
You and I are not lost without words
We can live again without rebirth
Two old drunks sharing the same cup
A pair of fools sailing where no wind blows
A band of burglars stealing traces from their lost shoes
06 Moonshine Delirium (07:10)
Third night in flight
My body says no but my mind says go
Moonshine delirium what is that lurking behind the curtain
There at an instant then gone with a flash
Defeating all resistance something there I can not grasp
There is no tomorrow gone beyond sorrow under a sheltering mask
Hail to you thousand faced all trapped in the haze
Dandies bandits tramps and champs
Beloved freaks and cheeky sneaks
Homeless heroes without dineros
Vampire-fools and exotic ghouls
Mongoshitfacedtabletwisters salut!
And open chure
07 White Noise Monster (03:55)
Crowded mind working overtime in a shrinking stinking home a
Presence arrives just out of sight
Hides in the maze collects all mistakes
White noise withering weeds of deeds
Worshipping with filth in the temple of guilt
Filing its womb with pleasure and doom
Monstrous urban paranoia sweeping over my mine-field mind
Trigging random horrors cause and effect is a bittersweet sect
And I am priest of loons and carrier of wounds a battle fatigued
Random seed
Placed on this earth and fucked up from birth
Who gives a flying shit anyway
In a room without view I cold-sweat and drew
My theories of everything and anything would do
Reading the mind of mankind's deamon
Pushing the line forward all the time
A deep-space satellite on light-speed depressed
Torn and obsessed by a lifetime of jests
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