Customer Reviews

La Masquerade Infernale

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Arcturus' first album "Aspera Hiems Symphonia" was a collaboration of "superstars" from the Norwegian Black Metal scene like Garm (Ulver,Borknagar) , Hellhammer (Mayhem,Thorns,Kovenant,Winds) , Samoth (Emperor,Zyklon B) and others . "Aspera Hiems Symphonia" was an album of cold symphonic black metal similar to bands like Emperor or Limbonic Art with a few clean vocals by Garm. While "Aspera Hiems Symphonia" was a very good album for the time's standards no one could expect that the band who released that album could write such a masterpiece like "La Masquerade Infernale". "La Masquerade Infernale" has little to nothing at all to do with metal music. The basis of the music played here is classical music and opera while the symphonic elements of their previous album are still there. The music is consisted of symphonic keyboards, mostly soft guitars and Garm's alternating but ever so colorful voice. The whole album also seems to inspire a theatrical sense to its music. Garm's performance is amazing especially on tracks like "Alone" and "Painting My Horror" where he reminds me of a madman singing. I must also comment on the magnificent instrumental "Ad Astra", a superb example of how neoclassical and metal music can co-exist, with Sverd showing his colleagues how keyboards should be played. I will not waste any more words on this masterpiece since the only thing they do is reduce its greatness. I will just add that if you plan on buying one music CD in your life...well then...buy this one!!!

what a strange and amazing band Arcturus is! i first heard the song "Wintry Grey" on a compilation and it stood out from all the other songs so much that i went out the next day and bought "Aspera Hiems Symfonia." which is a unique, albeit raw black metal album.but as many fans of Arcturus know, the weirdness found on that album is only the tip of the iceburg for this band. things get much much stranger...maybe a little *too* strange sometimes...which leads up to "La Masquerade Infernale." to those out there who have never heard this album and are about to listen to it for the first time, i recommend that before pushing "play"...take a deep breath. now sit down and forget every single pre-conceived notion you may have about metal or much of music in general. now...push play. now that you've pushed that button now take a minute and hit the rewind button until your cd counter will read -1:26. that's how weird this album is...you have to rewind it before the beginning of the first song to start the album. (or is just a matter of the hidden bonus track being at the beginning of the cd rather than at the end?) i don't know. in fact...most of the time i listen to this cd, i have no idea what is going on. it's all a dizzying display of carnival sounds, proggy keyboards, a few industrial-styled beats, spacey melodies, trip hop, and the singer singing like he's in a stage play...and all of this hapenning sometimes all at once in the songs! if you can get a handle on it all and keep up with all the musical ideas that are popping up all over the place, then you can enjoy it for the twisted masterpiece that it is. but be warned...it may take a few listens. there is not really any trace of black metal here on this album. which is neither a good thing or a bad thing...but it is interesting considering that the last Arcturus album contained so much high-pitched shrieking and heavy dark guitars. the closest track to something like that on here would be "Throne of Tragedy" or "Painting My Horror." but this band does their own thing and this album is pretty much the pinnacle of their extreme experimental period. in other words...this is their weirdest album yet. Arcturus' next offical album after "La Masquerade..." is "The Sham Mirrors" which is much more of a subdued affair. but this is the one for those with a taste for the very outrageous and undefineable metal...well....not quite metal...but something great.

This work is based on the premise of satan as the trickster (you could also supply any similar god from any mythos, ie. Loki from Asatru, etc.). The music is an incredible blend of black metal, trip hop, carnivale with progressive stylings (that is progressive in the since of prog rock and not the electronic d.j. variant). This is definitely not for the hard core true black metal fans since these musical themes are rather subdued and few and far between. The music is quite melodic, but the cacophonous vocals will probably make most prog metal fans cringe. However, no collection should be without this unique metal album that will compliment anyone's extreme metal collection with some near brilliant musical and lyrical writing as well as the virtuoso performances including Garm's vocals.

Not too many bands can create such a powerful record that completely shatters any preconceptions like Arcturus. Their previous album was hailed as an amazing black metal album. With "La Masquerade Infernale", the fans were expecting something along the similar vein of Aspeira....ohhh were they wrong. This is music for a carnival in Satan's playground. If you are open minded about metal music, and enjoy a challenging listen, this is the record for you. It goes from insane carnival esque ("The Chaos Path") to Edgar allan Poe ("Alone")

Listen with open ears and an open mind

Where am I? Is this an acid trip? Or am I in some sort of hallucinatory meditation? No, this is Arcturus, unleashing their yet another masterful, brilliant masterpiece, La Masquerade Infernale, upon the mediocre world of music. Arcturus are not just musicians-they are the demented genius masters of imagination and creativity. With this album, they seductively invite the listener to a journey into a world of dementia, deceit, cynical circus of diabolical madness, and the grotesque, infernal masquerade they create with the magic and sheer brilliance of their music. Through the use of ludicrous yet dazzling vocals of Garm and Simen Hestnaes (currently of Dimmu Borgir), and the cynical and intricate music, Arcturus is able to transcend space and time, and fully immerse the listener in its psychopathic world of diabolical buffoonery and star madness. Disguised as demented clowns, the characters of this grotesque world are bards delivering Satanic fables with poetic splendor. Arcturus delivers all that with the truly Fellini-esque dramaticism and the devilish Poeticism of Edgar Allan Poe.

Arcturus' unprecedented music has significantly evolved since their full-length debut masterpiece, Aspera Hiems Symfonia, was unleashed upon the world. Black metal in its essence is gone from La Masquerade, leaving very little significant traces of the style. This time around, music orients itself around strictly Avant-Garde Metal, that Arcturus themselves pioneered, and is engulfed by vaudeville-influenced melodies, that at times are reminiscent of some demented circus music with the diabolical tinge, with some additions of electronica and trip-hop. The band is completely comfortable with being extremely progressive in their music, and freely changes time signatures and throws in obscure instrumental passages in most unexpected places. Garm's black metal rasp is long lost on this record, and he delivers all lyrics with a peculiar baritone bark, complimented by Simen's occasional falsetto wail. Both storytellers perform with extreme versatility and, at times, experimental surreal absurdness. Dual vocals serve as character conflict, and, at times, as the bifurcation within a character.

It is hard to distinguish the bold points of the album, for everything about the album is exceptional. Vocals seem to be some of the most elaborate I've ever encountered. Garm and Simen do a magnificent job on vocals by taking on various personas and adding artistry to them. Garm seems to be the vocalist of all ranges -- his vocals on Aspera range from rasp to clean, his take on La Masquerade involves baritone, and on the newest Arcturus feature, The Sham Mirrors, he delves into his high register and takes leaps into light falsetto. His influence on all musical projects he was involved in is indescribable-every time, he emerges as a totally new vocalist and a new persona in general. Drumming by Jan Axel Von Blomberg (a.k.a. Hellhammer) is also worth mentioning, for he adds an important dimension to the album with his extremely skillful and "melodic" drumming. Each song on the album is equally dazzling and unprecedented, but the tracks that make a huge difference are Ad Astra, Chaos Path, Alone, and Painting My Horror. Ad Astra is one of the most original and charming instrumentals to date, which involves violins, violas, cellos, and other instruments complimenting a guitar-synth lead. The whole track serves as a duality/conflict between guitar and violin solo. Chaos Path features Simen's ludicrous lead vocal with an almost circus theme, Alone is a successful adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's poem, while Painting My Horror is a vocal showcase of dementia of human mind and the bifurcation into a split personality.

Overall, La Masquerade Infernale draws a line between genius and mediocrity in the world of music, sets a standard for Avant-Garde Metal style, and simply steals the spot for the most original, elaborate, and sophisticated work of the decade. With this work, Arcturus incarnated themselves as the creative monarchs of the European underground and present themselves as the successors of Pink Floyd in the modern world of music.

This album is beyond anything, even the band's previous album. Amazingly, this Norwegian semi-supergroup may be pioneering an entirely new sound, something unusual in these days when nearly everything's been done before. The only things I can compare this album to are Ulver (for which Arcturus vocalist Garm also sings) and American avant-garde weirdos Mr. Bungle. The band shares it's cold, dark atmosphere and symphonic aspirations with black metal, but otherwise doesn't resemble rock at all. It's sort of like opera composed on heroin. A variety of instruments are thrown in the mix, and each song is its own, although the entire album is integrated conceptually. The lyrics are as intriguing and intelligent as the music, and are sung in a clear, strong manner, utilizing unconventional yet compelling melodies. It's a crime that this album is so obscure and unavailable in the U.S., but it's definitely worth the 20-30 bucks you have to pay for it. A masterpiece.

This CD is AWESOME. Crazy, chaotic, and evil. Once you grasp Arcturus it totally changes your paradigm on the metal scene.
Easily 5 out of 5 stars.

This album is a masterpiece. I didn't quite grasp where the music was going on my first listen, but subsequent listens have been pleasurably rewarding. The music is probably best describe as avant-garde art metal. The music and the theme behind it is very pompous, but this is utilised in an expert way to make it beautifully artistic. The record features the prominent Hellhammer and Garm, who both deliver excellent musicianmanship. After listening to this record you'll either get it or you won't, but if you do you will be able appreciate how masterful this record really is.

What's different about the star Arcturus is the fact that it is not moving in the same direction as the other stars. Can you sense a bit of irony in that statement when put in contrast with the band? "La Masquerade Infernale", in short, is an absolute masterpiece and deserves many repeated listens. There is nothing else I can compare it to. Ambient beauty at its best. This band features the talents of Garm Wolf(ex-frontman for Borknagar and singer for Ulver), Knut M. Valle, Hellhammer(mayhem and numerous other bands), and a couple others. On a couple of tracks, Simen Hestnaes(AKA ICS Vortex. Who is the current singer for Borknagar) lends his amazing voice. He sings backup on tracks 1 and 7, and he sings lead on track 3(THE CHAOS PATH! Great Track! ) Garm and Simen are probably some of the few vocalists whom you can actually "hear" their stage presence. Just when you think their are just another avantegarde band, they even throw in a strings section! In all my 15 years on this small, blue-green, floating rock called Earth, this has to be one of the most brilliant albums that has ever graced the insides of my protable compact disc player. Also check out Mr.Bungle, Lycia, and Therion. Thank you.

It's the fourth time I have listened to this album and it get's better every time. I would not dare describe it as "Black Metal", but it is metal, in a very refined form. There's a bluring, a contact with so many different styles, and yet, it all remains full of energy and technical mastery. Way better than Hellhammer's Mayhem in the musical context, more variety than in any of Garm's Ulver albums, yet very accesible and with the same patos. I think it could be called a classic, much in the context of works by Celtic Frost and Therion. Buy it and enjoy it in awe. If you don't like, maybe there's something wrong with your stereo, or even worse, your brain.