Arcturus
Formed: 1987
From:
Oslo,
Norway
Last Known Status: Active
Latest Arcturus News
Below is our complete Arcturus news coverage, including columns and articles pertaining to the band. Some articles listed may be indirectly related, such as side projects of the band members, etc.
Note: We began associating news directly with bands in late 2003. Therefore, earlier band news may not be listed on this page.
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70000 Tons Confirms First Third Of 2025 Lineup
There are your standard Heavy Metal festivals – and then there’s 70000 Tons Of Metal.
Envision this: Lounging on a Caribbean island, soaking up the sun on a pristine white beach. Later on, you feel the warm wind blowing in your face, now sitting in a hot tub on a giant luxurious cruise ship, in front of The Pool Deck Stage, The World’s Biggest Open Air Structure to Ever Sail the Open Seas. Surrounded by Metal fans from all across the globe (known as the United Nations of Heavy Metal at Sea), you headbang to your favorite band. Sounds perfect? Well, it is. Get ready for 70000 Tons Of Metal 2025!
The thirteenth edition of 70000 Tons Of Metal will take place from January 30th to February 3rd, departing from Miami, Florida – Cruise Capital of the World – to Ocho Rios, Jamaica and back aboard the Independence of the Seas.
This unique festival will once more see 60 Heavy Metal bands from various subgenres taking the four stages on board, with 3000 metalheads from around the world in attendance. Every band will play twice during the trip, ramping the total amount of shows played up to 120! 70000 Tons Of Metal has revealed 20 of the 60 bands for the 2025 lineup: More...
Arcturus To Tour Europe With Iotunn
Iotunn is very glad to announce they will be supporting legendary Arcturus on their upcoming European tour in January and February of 2022!
Iotunn comments: "We are proud and excited to be a part of this extensive Arcturus anniversary tour! It will bring us across much of Scandinavia, the European mainland and the UK which has been something we all wished to do. Finally, we can share our album 'Access All Worlds' with people around the continent where it is meant to be shared - live on stage!
Arcturus has created groundbreaking music over the years that has inspired all of us in IOTUNN deeply. To be able to share this journey with them as they go on their biggest European tour yet is really something special! We all hope to give the attendances around Europe a one-of-a-kind experience when we seek to make every night as monstrous a journey possible. See you out there Europe!" More...
Arcturus Releases "Shipwrecked In Oslo" Digitally
The Norwegian progressive metal innovators from Arcturus have seen the digital release of their 2006 live DVD "Shipwrecked in Oslo."
Originally filmed at Rockefeller Music Hall in Norway during the Sonic Solstice Festival in September 2005, the "Shipwrecked in Oslo" lineup of Arcturus features Mayhem drummer Hellhammer, Tore More Skitliv, and Knut Magne Valle, Sverd, and Skoll from Ulver.
The live show includes a set list of tracks that span the band's storied career as one of the most original, daring, and forward-thinking entities in progressive metal. "Shipwrecked in Oslo" is now available worldwide via Bandcamp, ITunes, Amazon Music, and Spotify.
1. Ad Absurdum
2. Nightmare Heaven
3. Shipwrecked Frontier Pioneer
4. Alone
5. Deception Genesis
6. The Chaos Path
7. Tore Guitar Solo
8. Deamonpainter
9. Nocturnal Vision Revisited
10. Painting My Horror
11. Steinar Keyboard Solo
12. Hufsa
13. Master of Disguise
14. White Noise Monster
15. Reflections
16. Raudt og svart More...
Season Of Mist Streaming 20 Year Compilation
Season of Mist turned twenty this year, and now you can stream a two decade anniversary compilation below or pick up the comp through various digital services over here. This wide-ranging release includes some names you might have heard from the metal scene in a loooong time, like Oxiplegatz.
The label comments: "It is no secret that the music industry has changed tremendously during the past two decades, but thanks to your loyal support, we are still able to continue releasing great music to this very day. We would like to once again extend our gratitude and thankfulness to all those who believe in our artists. Stream our '20 Years of Season of Mist' compilation here and check out the discount campaign on our official e-shop!" More...
Get With The Metal: Graspop & Hellfest Live Stream
The annual Graspop Festival (from Belgium) and Hellfest (from France) are in full stream this week and throughout the weekend. Both have live streams available.
As for Graspop, you can check out two channels of live metal at this location.
Among the many acts to check out: Arcturus, Heaven Shall Burn, Moonspell, Dark Funeral,
God Dethroned, Dropkick Murphys, Steak, Sacred Reich and much more.
As for Hellfest, there is a page with multiple live streams for each day and stage, which can be accessed over here.
Among the many acts to check out:
Today (06/17/2016) (all times in CET):
18h35 Inquisition
19h30 Sacred Reich
20h30 Korpiklaani
21h35 Overkill
22h40 Aura Noir
23h45 Testament
00h45 Abbath More...
Blastfest Offering Live Stream This Weekend
Last night saw the intimate launch of the third edition of Blastfest at Bergen Norway's infamous Garage, featuring excellent performances from each and every band including Chrome Division and Mistur.
Today the event moves on to a much larger venue, USF Verftet for the remainder of the festival which will host bands such as Gorgoroth, Ihsahn, Abbath and many more in 'A One Time Only Celebration Of The Norwegian Metal Scene'!
With such an amazing celebration, and yet so many people across the world not being able to attend, Blastfest are now coming to you via an online live stream! Although it's not the same as being in Bergen and experiencing the festival first hand, at least you can now experience a part of it.
Stream the festival live right here (direct link at this location):
Headline News
The Best And Worst Of Metal In 2015
We've almost got another year in the bag, so it's time to take a look back at all that went down throughout 2015 in the world of heavy metal.
This was an uneven year featuring both highs and lows, and metal didn't escape the drama frequent in other styles of music at all in the last 12 months. Echoing previous schisms in famous black metal bands, Immortal finally took its turn imploding and split into two, and this was probably the worst year in recent memory for U.S. metal tours.
On the flip side of that, a solid number of amazing albums saw release, and metal also catapulted to the top of the charts with some major releases that made people outside the underground take notice.
After two solid years dominated by reunions and reboots, it looks like that craze is finally winding down. This year most notably we saw the return of Faith No More with “Sol Invictus,” but on the more underground end industrial black metal outfit Diabolicum also came back with a first album in 14 years. Although not quite on the same scale of time, Arcturus finally returned with a new full-length after a decade's waiting.
While there are less surprise reunions announced for the coming year, there is one classic outfit hitting the road to take note of, as Black Sabbath's “final” tour - dubbed The End - runs through most of 2016 across the globe. While we wait to see what's in store in the coming year, first we'll look back at everything that went down throughout 2015.
The Good: The Best Of Metal In 2015
Both Slayer and Lamb Of God ended up topping the charts with their latest albums (with Lamb Of God even getting nominated for a Grammy). It's not often a metal album hits #2 in the world, but Slayer managed to do it. While not everyone loved the album, the exposure alone is good for the genre overall.
But how was the more underground metal? Simply put: pretty killer, if you knew were to look. There was a solid mix of great albums from long time bands like Amorphis, Cattle Decapitation, Enslaved, and Soilwork, as well as excellent material from newer and less prolific groups like Alkaloid, Tribulation, and Lychgate.
The tried and true classic outfits from Cradle Of Filth to Iron Maiden to My Dying Bride made appearances, and there were some seriously ambitious undertakings (Swallow The Sun released a TRIPLE album). A handful of bands that were already solid managed to really outdo themselves with stellar material this year though, including Subterannean Masquerade, Code, Shining, and Melechesh. More...
Blastfest 2016 Finalizes Lineup
It's been months in the making, but the schedule for Blastfest 2016 is complete. Now in its third year, the Bergen festival has not only put together yet another incredible lineup, but also one in which will be a one-time-only celebration of the Norwegian scene.
A 100% Norwegian lineup, which includes the likes of Abbath, Arcturus, Taake, 1349, Gorgoroth and even some rare appearances from the likes of Green Carnation. Blastfest 2016 will be a truly memorable occasion, with chief and owner Yngve Christiansen comments:
"2016 will be a very special festival edition with a lineup consisting solely of Norwegian bands. The bands represented at Blastfest are the legends, those from the beginning, the ones who made it evolve... the ones who disappeared... the ones who never stopped... the ones whom you should have heard more about... and the ones you will hear about. We have done our best to make a strong lineup representing Norway in the best possible way." More...
Blastfest Adds More Norwegian Bands
Norway's Blastfest made a special announcement a few months back that it will be celebrating its national metal scene by boasting a 100% Norwegian lineup featuring such as Abbath, Green Carnation, Ihsahn, Ancient and Gorgoroth.
The festival has now announced another wave of bands that will be appearing in February 2016, including Arcturus, Dødheimsgard, Nekromantheon, Viper Solfa, Endezzma, Nocturnal Breed, and Execration. The full (current) lineup is as follows:
Abbath | Ancient | Arcturus | Blood Tsunami | CVLT | Djevel | Dødheimsgard | Endezzma | Execration | Funeral | Gorgoroth | Green Carnation | Ihsahn | Inculter | In The Woods | Khold | Manes | Nekromantheon | Nocturnal Breed | One Tail, One Head | Red Harvest | Svarttjern | Tristania | Viper Solfa | Virus | Vulture Industries | Plus More TBA More...
Arcturus Streaming Official Album Trailer
Former Dimmu Borgir bassist ICS Vortex's new avant-garde metal band Arcturus is streaming the official album trailer for the album "Arcturian", which was released on May 26th via Prophecy Productions.
Check out now "Arcturian" below.
You can catch the band live in Italy on the following remaining tour dates: More...
Arcturus Streaming "Game Over"
Norwegian metal band Arcturus will release its first new studio album in a decade, "Arcturian," on May 26th via Prophecy Productions. In advance of the release of "Arcturian," today the track "Game Over" comes online and can be heard in the player below.
This is the fifth full-length studio album from Arcturus, with artwork designed by artist Costin Chioreanu (Triptykon, Darkthrone) in close collaboration with the group.
"'Arcturian' contains elements from Arcturus' entire history," states guitarist Knut Magne Valle. "We went back to real drums, real strings and 'first take', improvised guitar solos to give the album an authenticity and life that not many records tend to have these days. We worked hard to mix the old Arcturus sound into our newer material and, in doing so, we obtained a more homogeneous, mystic Arcturus sound picture."
The album's track listing is as follows:
1. The Arcturian Sign
2. Crashland
3. Angst
4. Warp
5. Game Over
6. Demon
7. Pale
8. The Journey
9. Archer
10. Bane More...
Arcturus Posts Album Sampler
The release of Arcturus' upcoming new album "Arcturian" is still some days ahead (May 8th), but now there's an "Arcturian" album player by which you can listen to excerpts of all the album tracks. Check it out below. The track listing for the album is:
1. The Arcturian Sign
2. Crashland
3. Angst
4. Warp
5. Game Over
6. Demon
7. Pale
8. The Journey
9. Archer
10. Bane More...
Arcturus Streams New Track "The Arcturian Sign"
Norway's Arcturus returns after a 10 year slumber with the new album "Arcturian," which is is set to drop on May 8th via Prophecy Productions. Today, the band is streaming the opening track "The Arcturian Sign," which can be heard in the player below.
The track list for the album is:
1. The Arcturian Sign
2. Crashland
3. Angst
4. Warp
5. Game Over
6. Demon
7. Pale
8. The Journey
9. Archer
10. Bane
Check out "The Arcturian Sign" here: More...
Arcturus Reveals New Album Details
Arcturus has signed with Prophecy Productions and will finally release new album "Arcturian" on May 8th. The label comments:
"Arcturus are legend. Unparalleled in creativity, musicianship and artistic approach since their foundation days, mastermind Steinar 'Sverd' Johnsen and his cosmic crew consisting of past and present members of bands like Ulver, Mayhem, Dimmu Borgir, Borknagar and Ved Buens Ende have been dancing their very own tightrope between genius and madness ever since. With each of their releases being an interstellar journey of its own, and always ahead of their time, Arcturus can justifiably be labelled as the epitome of avant-garde metal.
"Prophecy Productions feel honoured and are excited to welcome Arcturus to its artist roster and to accompany this milestone act on its upcoming enterprises. The first mutual work will be Arcturus' fifth full-length studio album, 'Arcturian,' which is scheduled for release on May 8th, 2015. Pre-order for all physical products (ltd. 2CD hardcover book, ltd. Gatefold LP, ltd. box sets, Digipak CD) is available now at this location."
ICS Vortex on behalf of Arcturus says: "A new chapter, and a new prophetic partner...We are star tripping psyched to be releasing 'Arcturian' soon!"
Arcturus line-up 2015:
Simen "ICS Vortex" Hestnæs - vocals
Steinar "Sverd" Johnsen - keyboards
Knut Magne Valle - guitar
Hugh "Skoll" Mingay - bass
Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg – drums More...
Arcturus Finishes New Album
It's official: Arcturus has wrapped up work on a new album. This forthcoming release follows the band's last studio album "Sideshow Symphonies" from 2005 and the live album "Shipwrecked in Oslo" from 2013.
Stay tuned for more details as the title, track listing, and artwork are revealed in due course. The band is also currently lining up 2015 live appearances. More...
First Bands and Dates Announced For MDF 2015
The first round of band confirmations have been made for Maryland Deathfest 2015. The thirteenth edition of the festival will take place in Baltimore, Maryland from May 21-24, 2015.
The bands confirmed so far are as follows:
Aeternus (Norway) - exclusive US appearance
Arcturus (Norway) - exclusive US appearance
Aura Noir (Norway) - exclusive US appearance
Bulldozer (Italy) - exclusive US appearance
Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult (Germany)
Demoncy
Dragged into Sunlight (UK)
D.R.I.
Einherjer (Norway) - exclusive US appearance
Funebrarum
Goatsnake
Impetuous Ritual (Australia) - exclusive US appearance
Lock Up - exclusive US appearance
Lycanthropy (Czech Republic)
Master
Melt-Banana (Japan)
Metal Church
Noisear
Neurosis
Portal (Australia) - exclusive US appearance
Serpentine Path
Skepticism (Finland) - exclusive US appearance
Splatterhouse
Suffering Mind (Poland)
Triptykon (Switzerland) - exclusive US appearance
Tsjuder (Norway) - exclusive US appearance
Twilight of the Gods - exclusive US appearance
Ufomammut (Italy)
Vallenfyre (UK) - exclusive US appearance
Vulcano (Brazil) - exclusive US appearance
Winter
Wolfbrigade (Sweden) - exclusive US appearance
Dates that each band performs and running times will not be set until closer to the festival dates.
The organizers are satisfied with the venue situation this year and have decided to use the same set up next year. This means that Maryland Deathfest 2015 will use the Edison Lot (located at 545 N. High St) for the two main stages, Rams Head (located at 20 Market Place) will be used each night and will host death/black metal bands, and Soundstage (located at 124 Market Pl) will be used each day/night for grind/hardcore/punk bands. On Thursday, only Rams Head will be used.
Arcturus Announces "Shipwrecked In Oslo" 2XLP
Norwegian outfit Arcturus will be re-issuing the band's first ever live release "Shipwrecked in Oslo" as an ultra-limited edition 2XLP on June 3rd.
This new edition is coming via Blood Music and will be limited to 60 copies for North America and 90 copies for the rest of the world. Check out the artwork below, and get full details at the Arcturus Facebook profile. More...
More Bands Added To The Eindhoven Metal Meeting
The Eindhoven Metal Meeting will be taking place this December 12th - 14th, with full details available at the festival's website here.
Several new bands have now been announced, including Napalm Death, Carpathian Forest, Gothminister, Aborym, and the Monolith Deathcult. Check out the announcement clip below.
Report
Tuska Open Air Metal Festival 2012, Day 1
We were greeted with the first hints of summer upon arriving at Suvilahti for day one of Tuska Open air metal festival. Ahead was three full days of metal, with a lineup that would please even the trickiest of metal fans. With program guide in hand, with the most interesting acts already chosen; Day one began.
Starting the festival was Finnish thrash metallers Profane Omen. They were a perfect choice to start the weekend, and although the start time was quite early for many, Profane Omen infused the crown that arrived with enough energy to shake off even the most persistent drowsiness. Jules didn’t allow for lethargic audience members with his typical stage antics of headbanging and giving each and every song his all. They played a healthy mix of old songs and new and thus began Tuska 2012.
One thing that was quite difficult was managing take in all the festival had to offer. Having a nasty case of strep all weekend, I was lucky to be able to keep up the pit hopping and running from stage to stage to see as many acts as possible. Starting a mere 15 minutes after Profane Omen was Alcest. More...
Report
Arcturus Invades Helsinki
Ever since ICS Vortex (Simen Hestnaes) parted ways with Dimmu Borgir the buzz in the air was of an Arcturus reunion. When it was finally made a reality, the only thing left for fans to do was to patiently wait for the band to land in their town. For Helsinki that chance came last Saturday! The show had been reported as sold out well before the actual date, and 900 lucky people were able to witness the reunion tour from the vantage point of one of Helsinki’s most renowned venues, and my personal favorite place to shoot: Nosturi. Check out the shots here! More...