ArcTanGent Festival 2024: The Review – Friday

Next up are locals Sans Froid whose delicate come jaunty math-rock stylings brighten the afternoon. Vocalist/pianist Aisling Whiting leading the charge into the afternoon sunshine with her fantastical, knockout vocals grabbing the attention of those in attendance. Each element of the band at times seemingly going off in its own direction yet forming together flawlessly. ‘Planket’ is a highlight, ebbing and flowing into a powerful crescendo. Another favourite has to be ‘What’s That Sound?’ which soothes the soul, the sound of joy that is well needed with a few tired heads halfway into the festival.

Back in the PX3, Fange’s take on industrialist HM2-riddled metal isn’t the kind of music that really translates well to stages this kind. It’s just the kind of music tailored to the gritty and grotty confines of basements and bunkers. That doesn’t stop them from bringing it right to the faces of the people or ArcTanGent though. Sounding akin to it Author & Punisher if they were part of the Church of Ra collective and sans live drums in favour of backing electronics, Fange’s approach to industrial noise is simply bleak and oppressive, especially with frontman Matthias Jungbluth prowling the stage in hot pants hotter than the midday sun now beating down. Granted, their reliance on backing tracks, technical issues and warm weather does break the immersion and lessen the impact, but still, if they sound this intimidating in a breezy stage like this, then god knows how intimidating their usual shows sound.

This is LA “dream metal” troupe Iress’ first ever UK tour, and they revel in the sizeable turnout. Gorgeous, doomy shoegaze is capped by Michelle Malley’s soulful voice, washing over the tent from the very first chord. They conjure swathes of sound that build with the inevitability of a tidal wave approaching the shore; there’s a beauty to the crushing weight of their sound as it rises and falls from moment to moment. It feels odd to experience them in the midday sun given the musical gloom, but it feels like there’s an undercurrent of hope that shines through. It’s a strong first showing from them, who as Malley admits built their entire tour around this show, with songs from latest album Sleep Now, In Reverse sounding monolithic in the tent’s confines.

Following Iress’ bleak albeit beautiful set, it’s time for crushing post metal. Finally making it to Fernhill Farm after cancelling last year, Year Of No Light waste no time on pointless pleasantries as they lurch straight into the kind of apocalyptic noise that puts the fear of god in you. Even with the sun now at it’s zenith, the French titans sound ashen and unforgiven, their famed two drum kit set up driving home the likes of ‘Altheia’ with the kind of intensity comparable to that of Russian Circles. It’s not the sound of the summer in the slightest, but it’s clear that no one within this cavernous tent is opposed to some harsh midday post metal punishment.

Photo Credit:

Carl Battams

“Come on ArcTanGent!” vocalist/saxophonist Will Gardner exclaims over on the PX3. Formerly fronting Black Peaks, Will has a reputation for bringing the energy on stage and with his new project Every Hell this is dialled up to eleven. Sounding as strong as ever vocally and with lyrical hooks that are already catching on, their four already released tracks go down a storm. Singalongs already occurring to ‘Freaking Out’ and ‘The Watcher’ alongside new tracks that will undoubtedly be a hit with fans as heads bob along. But do not expect version two of any previous endeavours; this should be appreciated within its own world. With nods to the likes of Every Time I Die through guitarist Toby Stewart’s heavy riffs with saxophone added to the textural mix when played through some inventive pedal setup from Will, backed by a tight rhythm section in Andrew Gosden and Mark Roberts, this is fun times wrapped up in an excellent package.

Over in the Elephant, the intensity ratchets up a notch. Despite being labelled as a post-punk project by some, Benefits are anything but Idles and their peers. Driven by spoken word poetry – which is more breathlessly bellowed than actually spoken – the trio’s set takes from as in impassioned condemnation of the ever-growing rot within our nation’s foundation, our callous government as well as the ongoing genocide in Palestine delivered via concussive beats, crackling droning, punishing percussion and enough strobe lights to outshine the sun outside. Should anyone come into this tent seeking shelter from either the baking heat or intensity of other bands then their in for a rough time; Benefits are an inescapable, in-your-face but crucially required presence.

If you’re the kind of music obsessed nerd that attends ArcTanGent every year then Three Trapped Tigers are practically your Oasis; it would, of course, be a travesty if the trio had called it quits without one final visit to Fernhill Farm. Ending their over 15 years together with one final party at this festival, Three Trapped Tigers deliver a non-stop barrage of off-kilter instrumental hits, launching math, jazz, EDM and post-rock into the audience with impossibly tight musical chemistry and a winking grin. Drummer Adam Betts, also performing at the festival under the name Colossal Squid steals the show, keeping the band’s pace lightning fast even in more ambient moments with effortlessly technical beats. Closing out their final festival set with the closer from their debut album Reset, Three Trapped Tigers bring an ecstatic energy to ArcTanGent in a set that will surely be remembered as one of their best while proving that weird music still has a strong place in the UK’s underground. Regardless if you’re familiar with this band or not, you need to see this band on their final run of dates this autumn.

Blackened screamo fury is the order of the day over at PX3 for Glassing, who deliver a bruising and cathartic set to a tent spilling out the sides. Colliding huge post metal riffs with agonised howls and blast beats, the Texans build an excoriating wall of sound, occasionally breaking the tension with moments of serene post rock only to drag the crowd back into the deep. Their penchant for post rock extends to the ebb and flow of their set as a whole, contrasting dirge-like moments with pounding catharsis and soft passages against crushing post metal. A stellar showing from the Texans that will hopefully see them grace our shores again sooner rather than later.

Photo Credit:

Carl Battams

Nestling on the lineup between the aforementioned Three Trapped Tigers and symphonic black metal pioneer Ihsahn, Brighton based math-pop quartet Orchards may stand out as suspiciously normal at a festival like ArcTanGent. However, the band’s explosion of bubblegum pink energy is the perfect pick me up in the middle of all the chaotic noise. Frontwoman Lucy Evers is perhaps the closest this festival will ever come to having their own larger than life pop diva, delivering a delightful performance full of high kicks and sing-along choruses with an infectious smile bright enough to get even the grumpiest prog metal fan shaking their hips. Behind the upbeat, poppy fun Orchards experiment with mathy tapped guitar lines and off-kilter rhythms, staying weird enough for the ArcTanGent crowd while still acting as, to quote Evers’ hilarious stage banter, “a sorbet in the middle of your very miserable and black day”.

Speaking of misery, Norwegian prog maverick Ihsahn doesn’t make many visits to the UK, making today’s show even more special. On top of that, it’s a celebration of his latest self-titled double release, the songs from which sound even more grandiose than their recorded counterparts. Opening with the galloping The Promethean Spark, he’s on as fine form as ever as it’s immediately followed by the black metal majesty of Pilgrimage to Oblivion. Having charted his own course through both prog and black metal for decades at this point, the sheer level of quality speaks for itself; Ihsahn can’t make bad music, or write a bad setlist. From the opening run plucked from this year’s self-titled to an early Stridig from his black metal EP Telemark, it’s a strong showing with a mix that preserves almost all the intricacies of his music bar the odd moment. Even if this 50 minutes excludes some fan favourites, it includes more than enough brilliance blending the cinematic with the extreme and avant-garde to satisfy the huge crowd that’s gathered to welcome him.

Despite clashing with Animals As Leaders, there’s still a dedicated turnout for death pop outfit Blood Command as they bring the party to PX3. They waste no time either, with a furious opening salvo of ‘Ctrl + Alt + Delete’ and ‘Cult Drugs’, vocalist Nikki Brumen a livewire as ever as she incites the crowd to go ever harder. The pit that opens around a front pillar is their reward, a swirling mass of people having a blast while the band reel off hit after hit. Saturday City in particular sees its chorus hook go stratospheric, while Quitters Don’t Smoke reaffirms its place as one of their biggest and best songs that results in huge singalongs and an even bigger pit. There’s moments of vulnerability amidst the party anthems, Brumen frankly discussing her reservation about even performing after being groped at one of their previous summer shows, but it’s followed up by the band picking up the pace and delivering the swaggering Bear Witness that also results in some extremely rare-for-ATG two-stepping. It’s a boisterous, near-constant party that, bar a tech issue that forces them to skip a cover of Michael Caine by Brumen and Yngve Andersen’s side project Christian Meth (which they recover from admirably), doesn’t let up and will leave one hell of a comedown.

Photo Credit:

Derek Bremner

Immediately following in the Yohkai, while purists may be disappointed by how much ArcTanGent has shifted from a purely math and post rock festival to a celebration of any musical outcast odd enough to find a refuge here, Delta Sleep fly the flag for the festival’s deep commitment to math rock. Building up to the release of their highly anticipated fifth album Blue Garden, the four-piece take to the stage surrounded by orbs of purple light to deliver their unique brand of soft and intimate jazzy math with explosions of emo inspired energy. Performing both a selection of tracks from the new album including the driving yacht rock inspired new single ‘Figure In The Dark’ as well as hits like ‘The Detail’ with its iconic sing-along chorus and bouncy guitar riff, Delta Sleep prove themselves an integral part of this festival’s family, greeting fans with a hearty welcome back to the festival.

If the involvement of a saxophone in Every Hell isn’t unconventional enough, try having a banjo as a critical element to the New York trio Show Me The Body who continue to go from strength to strength in recent times. But this is no gimmick, this is true gritty post-hardcore. Justin Pratt constantly demanding attention in a packed Bixler stage. Searing through tracks mostly from Trouble The Water and Dog Whistle they deliver both the bark and the bite. Throwing in an unexpected but disgustingly dirty version of Beastie Boys ‘Sabotage’ is a delicious extra treat, even for those that seem unfamiliar with the band’s back catalogue.

It’s been five years since Meshuggah last headlined ArcTanGent, at its legendarily muddy 2019 instalment. Both festival and band grown since then, Meshuggah continuing to cement their supremacy in polyrhythmic bludgeoning. As expected by now, the light show is eye-popping from the start, following Tomas Haake’s machine-like precision behind the kit and the band naturally sound fantastic with a clear, viciously heavy mix. Djent might have grown out of Meshuggah’s mind-bending music, but it’s always missed the groove that the band pack into seemingly every nook and cranny of a song, from syncopated riffs to the multilayered drums that seem to play in several different time signatures at once, all without ever losing a steady, 4/4 groove no matter how complex the song might get. That complexity doesn’t lead to the most mobile performance, but that doesn’t seem to matter one jot to the tent, who lose themselves in the angular onslaught.

Riffs practically have their own gravitational pull, from the opening Broken Cog to raucously-received Born In Dissonance, while Jens Kidman delivers his immediately recognisable bark atop the churning. Meshuggah pull from across their legendary back catalogue throughout the 80-minute set, with obvious late highlight Bleed getting the loudest cheers but cuts from new album sit just as easily as those from Destroy Erase Improve given the band’s well established style. If there is any criticism to be levelled, it’s that this all feels a bit Meshuggah by numbers; the performance is as tight as you’d expect and it’s visually stunning, but there’s no stops pulled out to elevate this from another Meshuggah show. Even so, the standard of their usual is so high that it hardly matters – they’re legends for a reason and tonight serves to reaffirm why.