# Arcturus (band)

Arcturus is a Norwegian avant-garde/progressive metal band formed in 1991. They have continuously experimented throughout their career, drawing influences and incorporating elements from a wide range of musical styles, including black metal and classical music, while maintaining their roots as a metal outfit. The band has released five official full-length albums. Their name, which translates to "Bear Guardian", references the Behenian fixed star Arcturus.

## History
### Early days

The original line-up changed when bassist/vocalist Marius Vold (formerly of Thorns) left the band for personal reasons. The band soon earned the label of a black metal supergroup, consisting of Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg on vocals, Carl August Tidemann on guitar, Skoll on bass, and the two other original members, Hellhammer on drums and Steinar Sverd Johnsen as the main composer/keyboard player. In 1994, Samoth played guitar on the EP Constellation and released it on his record label, Nocturnal Art.

### Post-Garm era

After three full-length albums, Rygg departed from the band. He was replaced by Øyvind Hægeland from the band Spiral Architect. Øyvind performed live with the band but did not appear on any recordings. On 5 January 2005, the band announced that Øyvind had moved too far away for his continued involvement to be practical, and they parted ways. He was succeeded by Simen "ICS Vortex" Hestnæs, who had previously provided vocals on three Arcturus tracks: "Master of Disguise", "The Chaos Path", and "Painting My Horror" on La Masquerade Infernale. Following Carl August Tidemann's departure, Knut Magne Valle joined the band. In 2003, Tore Moren joined on second guitar for live performances and eventually became an official member of the band. Knut and Tore then shared lead guitar duties, with Knut using a 7-string guitar and Tore employing a standard 6-string guitar.

### Breakup

On 16 April 2007, it was announced that the band would be disbanding, with further details revealed in an official statement released on the band's website on 17 April. The official statement, written by all the band members, confirmed rumors that had circulated after their Melbourne concert—the final show of their Australian tour—during which ICS Vortex introduced the performance with the words, "Welcome to the last Arcturus show — ever." The statement further explained that the decision to disband had been made "some time ago," and that due to ongoing "things" in their careers and lives, the members could no longer "find the time to continue working with this band." The statement concluded with a tribute to the band's fans: "We are humble and grateful to all the people that have supported and loved us over the years."

### Reunion

Rumors circulated online that Arcturus might reform with Garm as the vocalist. Hellhammer confirmed that an Arcturus reunion was inevitable and that Garm had expressed interest in participating. However, Garm later indicated on his personal Facebook page that he was not interested.
Furthermore, ICS Vortex mentioned plans to resurrect "a band or three" in a blog post shortly after his removal from Dimmu Borgir.
ICS Vortex confirmed an Arcturus reunion show at the ProgPower USA 2011 Festival. In addition, Vortex stated, "Beloved freaks! ProgPower USA 2011 will host the first Arcturus concert in 5 years. This is our first performance in the United States, and since we're all retarded, probably the last." The planned show was later canceled due to "hibernation sickness" and "outdated parts." Instead, Arcturus planned its first reunion show to be at Avant-Garde Night vol. 2 in Poland, but this show was also canceled.
Arcturus finally performed their reunion show on 9 September 2011 at the KICK Nattklubb & Scene in Kristiansand, Norway. ICS Vortex confirmed that the band was working on a new album. In 2012, they went on to perform at the Inferno Metal Festival, Hellfest Summer Open Air, the O2 Academy in Islington, and the Eindhoven Metal Meeting. On 10 October 2014, Arcturus confirmed on Facebook that ICS Vortex had finished recording vocals for their as-yet-untitled album.
After much speculation among fans online, on 26 February 2015, it was announced that Arcturus had signed a new recording contract with the German record label Prophecy Productions and that they would finally release their new album Arcturian on 8 May. The label commented: "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 labeled as the epitome of avant-garde metal..."
On 27 March 2015, Arcturus released "The Arcturian Sign," the first single from Arcturian. The album was released on 8 May of that year.

## Members
### Current members

* Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg – drums (1991–2007, 2011–present)
* Steinar Sverd Johnsen – keyboards (1991–2007, 2011–present), guitars (1991–1993)
* Hugh "Skoll" Mingay – bass (1995–2000, 2002–2007, 2011–present)
* Knut Magne Valle – guitars (1995–2007, 2011–present)
* ICS Vortex – vocals (2005–2007, 2011–present)
* Sebastian Grouchot – violin (live) (2015–present)

### Former members
#### Vocals

* Marius Vold (1991–1993)
* Kristoffer Rygg (1993–2003)
* Øyvind Hægeland (2003–2005)

#### Guitars

* Samoth (1993–1995)
* Carl August Tidemann (1996–1997)
* Tore Moren (2003–2007)

#### Bass guitars

* Marius Vold (1991–1993)
* Samoth (1993–1995)
* Dag F. Gravem (2001–2002)

### Timeline
## Discography
### Studio albums

* Aspera Hiems Symfonia (1996)
* La Masquerade Infernale (1997)
* The Sham Mirrors (2002)
* Sideshow Symphonies (2005)
* Arcturian (2015)

### Singles and EPs

* My Angel (Single) (1991)
* Constellation (EP) (1994)

### Compilations

* Disguised Masters (1999)
* Aspera Hiems Symfonia/Constellation/My Angel (2002)

### Lives

* Shipwrecked in Oslo (2006)