Gig review: Arctangent Festival, days three and four

by BRENDAN DELAVERE

DAY three of Arctangent and here comes that English summer rain. To be fair, it could’ve been worse. It’s not Splendour in the Grass or Wacken mud but it’s still enough to be annoying. Thankfully all the stages were in tents.

First up after that morning campsite coffee is stoner rock soldiers Witchsorrow. Clouded in smoke, I assume mostly from smoke machines, the trio pumped out a solid wall of riffage way too early in the day to be legal. Down the main stage and with strong emphasis that they were not Baroness, was Curse These Metal Hands. Looking identical in matching CTMH merch shirts, we copped a set of at least 60 percent stolen riffs, with 100 percent energy and 10 percent band practice, so they tell us. With double drums at one point, the packed midday crowd was loving every second.

Aussies Caligula’s Horse took the stage, peddling that Aussie brand of prog rock that fits in perfectly between the Karnivool and Cog sound. Once again asking for the biggest “G’day Mate” the tent could muster, “Get fucked” laughs front man Jim Grey as the crowd chorused. “Marigold”, “Rust” and the older stuff really hit a chord with punters.

’68 started out strong for about 30 seconds, before Josh Scogin broke a guitar string and left drummer Nikko Yamada to fill the silence. Roaring back with new strings, the avant-garde two piece threw aside all inhibitions, with their noise punk sound crossing barriers, definitely a band to see when they hit Australia with The Bronx.

On the up and up, quartet Holy Fawn sit somewhere between post rock and post hardcore, with soft, expansive melodies and heavy bursts of sporadic noise. It’s a beautiful amalgamation of ambiance and rock. Song after song, there were completely blissful moments intertwined with hard hitting rhythms.

Petbrick, the latest project from Sepultura confounder Iggor Cavalera and a jilted noise duo featuring Wayne Adams of Death Pedals/Big Lad fame, blasted out the ears of anyone at Bixler stage. It was sporadic bass, blast beats, mammoth bass drops, anti-fascist noise with all the bleeps and bloops to make your head twist, a ride from start to finish.

After that mind melt, this reviewer needed time to recoup. A pint and a baked potato did the trick, as well as a nice little relax to And So I Watch You From Afar – not the longest named act of the weekend but beautiful nonetheless. This was meandering, ambient, atmospheric post-indie rock. The crowd was transfixed, letting the music wash over it, myself included. Main stage was the place to be, to escape the drab rainy weather outside.

The perfect soundtrack to the depressing weather falling outside the stage tent, Bell Witch droned the heaviest drone. Performing just one song, and unfortunately not even the entirety, “The Clandestine Gate”, this was a lesson in how less is more. The duo are masters in the depressive nature of drone.

Speaking of masters of the genre, Swans took over the main stage. Not a word was uttered as the stage full of multi instrumentalists took us on a droning journey inside the head of maestro Michael Gira. Dark, apocalyptic, immense, this version of Swans is the strongest we’ve seen of Gira, opening with a single chord that evolved into a repeating, constantly building, culminating in a skyscraper of a song. “The Beggar” and “Cloud of Unknowing/Birthing” rounding out the rest of the set. Magical.

Being under a tent you kinda forget that it’s lashing down outside, until you have to walk to the other side of the festival grounds to catch Sikth destroy Yokhai stage. Playing the second of only two shows slated for this year, the dual vocal attack of Mikee Goodman and recently returned Justin Hill screamed bloody murder, the crowd loving every second of the seminal UK mathcore crew. Focusing entirely on the early years, “Pussyfoot”, “Flogging the Horses”, and “Philistine Philosophies” spit pure fire. And with Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood of Periphery fame joining on bass for the final few numbers just for that extra kick.

If you haven’t heard of Heilung, then you need to remedy that. The traditional Viking history performance is a one of a kind and an experience that needs to be seen to be believed. Headliner at previously covered Rockstadt Fest, the 20-odd musicians that encompass the troupe had all transfixed for the entirety of the show. From the opening ceremony through to the tribal bellowing of closer “Hamrer Hippyer”, and subsequent closing ceremony, they took us on a journey through history, old Germanic and Danish, deafening roars, inhuman throat singing and drumming to put the fear of Odin in your heart. Poetry in motion. The only thing missing for myself was a pouch of mushrooms. Do yourself a favour and check this band. Now.

Walking away from that headline slot, can any other performance compare? Maybe not. Did I have to walk through the mud to the tent site, yes. Damn.

Saturday, the final day of Arctangent, and the rain had finally stopped. Thankfully, as my tent was starting to resemble a swimming pool. Also thankfully, the Norwegian band Spurv, our campsite neighbours, were kind enough to donate me a much dryer tent as they had to take off for their next gig.

What’s better first thing in the morning than a black coffee? And like my coffee, I like my metal black, so first band of the day goes to post black metal peddlers Copse. Atmospheric and emotive, with a touch of metalcore screams thrown in for good measure, start the day right. They also had the best merch of the weekend, “All Copse Are Bastards”.

Like Wallowing earlier in the week, the masked aficionados in blackened noise troupe Briqueville filled us with dread. Gold masks and black cloaks, the air of mystery and dense smoke fills the tent with buzzsaw guitars, eery chanting and inhumane screams, a cacophony of noise.

If you felt like having a bit of a cry, the main stage for GGGOLDDD was the place. There wasn’t a dry eye in the whole tent when Milena Eva graced us with the final notes of “On You”. The tent was dead silent, you could hear a pin drop during the highly emotive set.

With them having had to cancel their Australian tour due to COVID and rescheduling conflicts, I was stoked to catch Rolo Tomassi absolutely smash the massive main stage of Arctangent. “Drip”, “Labrynthine”, “Stage Knives”. It was Eva Spence head back, screaming bloody murder, with James Spence leaping from behind the decks to deliver bursts of death growls. Security had some fun catching crowd surfers, one of only a handful of bands to have such a rowdy crowd all weekend.

The other, and award for most rowdiest, goes to The Callous Daoboys, whose security didn’t stop catching people for the entirety of the set. Kudos to them. Sounding somewhere between The Dillinger Escape Plan, Botch and Pig Destroyer, the six piece utilized every inch of stage and the stupid tent pole in the middle of said stage, as front man Carson Pace swung out to scream in the faces of the front row. “The Absolute Barnstormer” lived up to its name and then some and “A Brief Article Regarding Time Loops” brought the set to a climactic sweaty finish.

Deafheaven‘s Sunbather. Easily one of the most talked about extreme metal records in the last decade. Played in full at Arctangent. Brutally beautiful, the band ran us through the entire record, front man George Clark slinking like a snake on stage, moving gracefully, with purpose, ready to strike. Joining the crowd on the barrier on more than one occasion, he screams in its face, the crowd scream back.
But the set wasn’t without its issues. Clark’s voice is lost in the wall of sound, punters constantly calling for the vocals to be turned up. They end with the sonically gorgeous “The Pecan Tree” and one of the best blackgaze albums on record is even more powerful live.

Another huge clash for the weekend came as Health went up against The Fall Of Troy and Abraham. Having not seen TFOT in 15 years, this reviewer went to catch the mind bending, math rock trio. “Laces Out Dan”, “I Just Got This Symphony Going”, and “Sledgehammer” … I still remember all the words and every little guitar noodle from this band. The smoke machines were in overdrive, as was Thomas Erak, switching between guitar, keys and screams, closing with the massive “F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X.”

Having seen French breakcore artist Igorrr a number of times, I knew what I was in for. Many of the crowd though, were witnessing the spectacle for the first time. One eager punter let out an excited gasp of “WOW” after every song, applauding as hard as his hands could clap. The dual vocals of JB Le Bail and Marthe Alexandre, looking resplendent in a flowing burgundy dress and chains, contrast with the brutal, black metal style against the heartrending baroque, mezzo-soprano notes. Closing with the break neck head banger “Apopathodiaphulatophobie/Robert”, the entire band had their own dance party centre stage and the crowd raged.

This was it, the final headline for the weekend. Four days of brain melting prog, noise, metal and artistic vision on the muddy fields of Fernhill, and what a weird one to end wit: the space wizard himself, Devin Townsend. We covered his entire catalogue, plus a couple of Strapping Young Lad songs for old time’s sake, “Aftermath” and “Love?”. Devin is a master at between-song banter, informing us of his new toy, a brand new Theremin. The crowd cheering every time his hand neared the instrument. There was a few new tracks from recent release, Lightwork, “Dimensions”, “Heartbreaker” and title track “Lightworker” – songs to learn for when he arrives in Australia next year. He closed with an encore of the aforementioned “Love?”

And if you thought that that was the end of Arctangent, then you’d be wrong. Filling in for a last minute cancellation Tokky Horror, The Ocean were back for a special silent disco set. Noise restrictions meant they couldn’t play loud, but 2000 lucky punters with headphones listened to a massive set from the collective. Front man Loic Rossetti leapt into the crowd, a sight to behold as the only sound available to those without headphones was Paul Seidel banging away on the kit. A completely different set to the day prior, but what a way to finish off the best little festival in England.

CHECK OUT DAYS 1 AND 2 of ARCTANGENT HERE.