FESTIVAL REVIEW: ArcTanGent 2019 – Thursday

ArcTanGent is a fantastic and weird weekend festival. Having been running for less than a decade the sister festival to 2000trees has grown leaps and bounds every single year. The headliners have gotten bigger, the prestige of the festival has gotten deeper, and the reputation as a music lovers festival has simply grown thanks to its weird, wonderful, and often times unique collection of bands. This year is no different, with some of the hottest acts on the planet descending onto Fernhill Farm, and we had the chance to attend!

Given the way ArcTanGent organises it’s line up, and given the fact we had just gotten back from Bloodstock the weekend before, we decided to test ourselves. With a few exceptions, we studied the line up and found a collection of bands that would give us no down time. Just back to back bands, ending with a headline act before we retreated back home to avoid the atrocious weather. This is the first part of our ArcTanGent Festival review, so get stuck in!

MAMMOTH WEED WIZARD BASTARD – Bixler Stage

Thick, sludgy grooves are what the doctor ordered and MAMMOTH WEED WIZARD BASTARD are here to supply. Their crunchy tone sounds slow, but eventually blossom and begin to crush the Bixler Stage, and even with the stodgy build up there is a lot to like here. The mix, whilst working excellently for the band serves only to drown out the vocals from everything, relegating them to the background where they begin to become distraction more than addition to the group sound. It’s a shame, as even though the group have some of the biggest grooves of the weekend, poor sound and bit of awkwardness on stage really prevents them from spreading their burly wings and really delivering their full, mammoth potential, if you’ll excuse the pun.

Rating: 5/10

BOSSK – Arc Stage

BOSSK start off slowly. Really very, very slowly. This is of course their modus operandi, but even for BOSSK things are glacial here. The build-up eventually becomes worth it when the payoff everyone is waiting for arrives, crushing the entire Arc Stage audience in a tidal wave of sound, but these moments are unfortunately jarred by returning to their primordial roots too frequently. When BOSSK get the bit between their teeth there is magic to be had, but this set feels like the band constantly looking for their footing with each passing song. Still, this isn’t a bad set, and the band are still extraordinary at building emotive atmospheres that eventually swell and crush, but there does seem to be a lack of urgency from time to time.

Rating: 6/10

CONJURER – PX3 Stage

It must become quite tiresome, hearing about how fucking brilliant CONJURER are, but there is little sense in dodging abject truth. At their set at Download, CONJURER played like they had something to prove, here the band show a relaxed approach to their demolition live set. The group still sound crushing, and the pacing is something that must go heralded, as the group weave doom, death metal, and even the odd bit of hardcore in their 45-minute set and avoid any unnecessary speed bumps. There is equal measures of crowd interaction from each member, with guitarist Brady Deeprose showing his more aggressive side throughout the set, and the general energy from a band as colossal as this is usually unheard of. The set flows naturally and has some older cuts if you can call them that, as Behold The Swine lays out the crowd in a wash of progressive doomy goodness. If CONJURER can continue to add songs of equal calibre into their live set, then there is genuinely nowhere this band cannot go.

Rating: 9/10

MØL – Bixler Stage

Last year MØL were the guests on their very own well-earned hype train. With their fantastic Jord album the group played a collection of underground UK fests including the previous ArcTanGent Festival. Now returning, the Danes seem prepared to fully reaffirm why they are such an exciting modern act. Coming out the gates with cuts from their last record, the band sound a bit maimed given the lack or a second guitar through the front of house. This doesn’t stop the band from shovelling energy into the crowd, with the band demanding attention from every onlooker, and eventually leading vocalist Kim Sternkopf diving into the crowd with microphone stand In tow, marching his way through the packed Bixler Stage. As the set continues the sound issues become history and the band are able to officially get their teeth into the crowd, and with a closing Bruma that sounds utterly enveloping, MØL simply continue their campaign with another feather in their already very cluttered hat.

Rating: 8/10

ZEAL & ARDOR – Arc Stage

ZEAL & ARDOR come out to a rapturous applause, and what follows affirms their well-deserved praise. For anyone who wasn’t able to fully ‘get’ the band on record, it is live where ZEAL & ARDOR come into their own. The impact every song possesses is immense, and the performance is paced as such so that every crescendo increases in intensity, and every song ramps things up yet another notch. The triple vocal sound creates a tangible atmosphere and the descending musical barrage that jumps from percussive rhythms to cacophonous black metal influenced noise simply add to the generally unsettling atmosphere that fills the Arc Stage tent. ZEAL & ARDOR feel like returning heroes here, and everyone present is captivated by what is likely going to be one of the go home sets of the weekend.

Rating: 9/10

RAKETKANON – Bixler Stage

Coming out the gates like a grey hound on cocaine, RAKETKANON immediately seek to make an impact. Their glitchy and intense musical assault is a varied one, and the sound is punchy enough to ensure every groove and breakdown they hop from hits with sufficient oomph. The set is rapid, and has the sort of schizophrenic energy bands at ArcTanGent have become renown for, as the vocalist swims his way atop the crowd whilst delivering his synthesised vocals. The vocals are definitely the weakest part of this set, as they remain so altered and low in the mix the impact just isn’t felt, but given the fact the vocalist is anything but static this isn’t as big a problem as it could be.

Rating: 7/10

CARPENTER BRUT – Arc Stage

Comfortably one of the most out of place bands on the entire line up, which is an achievement for a festival like this, CARPENTER BRUT refuse to let their weirdness be an issue. The dark synth wave metal cocktail of a band possesses a light show that in itself is incredible, and when soundtracked by the sometimes cheesy but always epic band, it becomes a true spectacle. The band sound great, with the guitar chugs sounding thick beneath the main synth sounds that dominate the mix. The drums keep the beating heart of the set at a high energy and the crowd react in kind by dancing for the entire hour. With really cool 80s horror movie visuals on the big screen, CARPENTER BRUT create a party atmosphere unlike no other, and it is a welcome bit of levity. This is just one of the best current live acts delivering the set of the day, what else do you need to know?

Rating: 9/10

DAUGHTERS – Yohkai Stage

DAUGHTERS make horrible sounding music and work it like you wouldn’t believe. The dissonant, discordant music is an assault, and a difficult one to stand through if you are unfamiliar, but DAUGHTERS are able to imbue so much dark and twisted passion in their live show that it makes the performance one well worth experiencing. As the set descends into the near psychopathic, the vocalist constantly transfers himself from stage to crowd, eventually resulting in whipping himself with his belt by the end of the show. It is captivating and undeniably an experience one all true self-proclaimed fans of music should take, but whether it’s a truly enjoyable one is questionable. The crowd are into it, but like a truly harrowing horror movie, this is best as a one and done for most.

Rating: 7/10

COHEED & CAMBRIA – Arc Stage

There is a definite air of anticipation as the eager crowd awaits COHEED & CAMBRIA to the stage. They give themselves quite the entrance, with sustained chords rumbling out before the band arrive to dive headfirst into their complex, story driven musical narrative. For those in the know, every song is met with massive applause and every word sang straight back to COHEED, as impressive graphics of war and the like play in the background. COHEED & CAMBRIA are clearly ecstatic to be atop this bill, and play with a real headliner energy, as they use full breadth of the stage to sing and play to every eager fan. There is a momentous feeling, and it comes every time the pocket of the intense fans spread throughout the crowd. This is a set filled with a lot of positivity delivered in the unique narrative of COHEED & CAMBRIA, and it is a fantastic closer for the first day of truly unique festival.

Rating: 8/10

And that rounds off our coverage of the first day of action at this year’s ArcTanGent! Stay posted to Distorted Sound as we bring you our review roundup of Friday and Saturday’s action soon!