History Music / Arcturus

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: It's "Raudt og svart" on ''Constellation'' and "Rødt og svart" on later releases. (The title translates to "Red and Black"; "Raudt" is typically used in Nynorsk while "Rødt" is typically used in Bokmål.) Similarly, "Når kulda tar (frostnettenes prolog)" on ''Constellation'' became "Naar kulda tar (frostnettens prolog)" on later releases. (This translates roughly as "When the Cold Takes (Frost's Prologue)".)

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: After they abandoned the black metal, they stay mostly in the 6-9 range. ''Constellation'' and ''Aspera'' probably climb up to 10 at times, and "Radical Cut" may also hit 10.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: It's "Raudt og svart" on ''Constellation'' and "Rødt og svart" on later releases. (The title translates to "Red and Black".) Similarly, "Når kulda tar (frostnettenes prolog)" on ''Constellation'' became "Naar kulda tar (frostnettens prolog)" on later releases. (This translates roughly as "When the Cold Takes (Frost's Prologue)".)

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: It's "Raudt og svart" on some releases and "Rødt og svart" on others. (The title translates to "Red and Black".)

* NewSoundAlbum: Basically, all of them, although ''Arcturian'' does incorporate elements of the band's sound on earlier albums. The only arguable exception is ''Aspera hiems symfonia'', which continues the sound of ''Constellation'' (unsurprisingly, since most of the songs from the EP were re-recorded for the album).

* NewSoundAlbum: Basically, all of them, although ''Arcturian'' does incorporate elements of the band's sound on earlier albums. The only arguable exception is ''Aspera hiems symfonia'', which continues the sound of ''Constellation'' (unsurprisingly, since the songs from the EP were re-recorded for the album).

* CallBack: "Reflections", from ''Sideshow Symphonies'', shares some melodic elements with "Ad astra", from ''La Masquerade infernale''.

* EpicInstrumentalOpener: If there are lyrics, they don't always even enter until a few minutes into a song.

* {{Instrumentals}}: They have a few. "La Masquerade infernale" has a few spoken word vocals low in the mix but is otherwise instrumental. ''Disguised Masters'' features a string quartet-only mix of "Ad astra".

* SopranoAndGravel: After the band's first album, clean vocals are the rule rather than the exception, but on ''Sideshow Symphonies'' and ''Arcturian'' they are mixed with harsh vocals on occasion. ''The Sham Mirrors'' uses them only on "Radical Cut" (provided by SpecialGuest Music/{{Ihsahn}}) and ''La Masquerade infernale'' doesn't use them at all, though ICS Vortex' higher-pitched vocals are mixed with Garm's BadassBaritone on a few songs (most notably "The Chaos Path"). Meanwhile, ''Aspera hiems symfonia'' and ''Constellation'' have occasional clean vocals mixed in with the traditional black metal rasp.

* Kristofer Rygg (Garm) - vocals, 1993-2003 (see also Music/{{Ulver}})

Arcturus is an AvantGardeMetal band from Norway. The band is something of a {{Supergroup}} amongst Norway's black metal scene, having contained current or former members of bands such as Music/{{Mayhem}}, Music/{{Emperor}}, Music/TheKovenant, Music/{{Ulver}}, and Music/DimmuBorgir at various points of its existence. They started out as Symphonic BlackMetal, but after their first album the band abandoned that territory for much more unpredictable and experimental grounds. The first album, ''Aspera hiems symfonia'' ([[AltumVidetur Latin]] for ''Harsh Winter Symphony''), contains the expected {{Metal Scream}}s of black metal, but after that point, harsh vocals are rare or nonexistent on some of their releases and alternate with clean vocals on others.

* LoudnessWar: Averted on the original releases of ''Aspera'' and ''La Masquerade''. Unsurprisingly, when they were remastered, they were somewhat louder. "The Sham Mirrors" clips constantly in its louder parts (basically, whenever there are drums) but is dynamic in its quieter passages. ''Sideshow Symphonies'' and the main disc of ''Arcturian'' aren't too bad about this, but the bonus disc of ''Arcturian'' does fall into this quite a bit.

* SopranoAndGravel: After the band's first album, clean vocals are the rule rather than the exception, but on ''Sideshow Symphonies'' and ''Arcturian'' they are mixed with harsh vocals on occasion. "The Sham Mirrors" uses them only on "Radical Cut" (provided by SpecialGuest Music/{{Ihsahn}}) and ''La Masquerade infernale'' doesn't use them at all, though ICS Vortex' higher-pitched vocals are mixed with Garm's BadassBaritone on a few songs (most notably "The Chaos Path").

* LiteraryAllusionTitle: "Hufsa" is named after a character in Tove Jansson's children's book series ''Moomin'' (known in English as the Groke).

* AudioAdaptation: "Alone" takes its lyrics from the poem of the same name by Creator/EdgarAllanPoe. (Incidentally, fellow Norwegians Music/GreenCarnation used the same poem for an entirely different adaptation.)

* FadingIntoTheNextSong: "Star-Crossed" into "Radical Cut".

* AltumVidetur: As mentioned above, ''Aspera hiems symfonia'' means "Harsh Winter Symphony".

* {{Instrumentals}}: They have a few. "La Masquerade infernale" has a few spoken word vocals low in the mix but is otherwise instrumental.

* EpicRocking: The band's average song is probably around six minutes long, with their longest, "For to End Yet Again", being over ten.

The band's sound varies significantly from album to album, but throughout their existence, the band has been centred around keyboardist Steinar Sverd Johnsen, which makes them somewhat unusual among metal bands. Johnsen has been, alongside drummer Jan Axel Blomberg (Hellhammer), the only constant member of the band. They have released five albums, a fair number of demos and singles, and a remix album to date, with their third album, ''The Sham Mirrors'', attracting considerable praise among the ProgressiveMetal community. While they broke up in 2006, they recovened in 2011 and continue to tour and release new material. Their latest album is 2015's ''Arcturian'', which is something of a career summary for the band, as it incorporates aspects of the band's sound on all their previous releases.

The band's sound varies significantly from album to album, but throughout their existence, the band has been centred around keyboardist Steinar Sverd Johnsen, which makes them somewhat unusual among metal bands. Johnsen has been, alongside drummer Jan Axel Blomberg (Hellhammer), the only constant member of the band. They have released five albums, a fair number of demos and singles, and a remix album to date, with their third album, ''The Sham Mirrors'', attracting considerable praise among the ProgressiveMetal community. While they broke up in 2006, they recovened in 2013 and continue to tour and release new material. Their latest album is 2015's ''Arcturian'', which is something of a career summary for the band, as it incorporates aspects of the band's sound on all their previous releases.

* {{Instrumentals}}: They have a few. "La Masquerade infernale" has a few spoken word vocals low in the mix but is otehrwise instrumental.