Arcturus
Arcturus is a Norwegian avant-garde/progressive metal band formed in 1991. They have experimented throughout their career, drawing influences and incorporating elements from black metal and classical music, while maintaining their metal roots. The band wears "flamboyant" costumes. Kenny Schticky of MetalSucks described their style as "an acquired taste".
The band has released five official albums. They have shared band members with Mayhem, Ulver, Dimmu Borgir. AllMusic stated that "with their full-length debut, Arcturus proved that they are some of the best black metallers of the late '90s."
Bryan Reesman of AllMusic considered the band's album Aspera Hiems Symfonia one of the best metal releases of all time, describing it as "a graceful mixture of classical majesty and black-metal brooding and aggression." The following album, La Masquerade Infernale, abandoned death growls and shrieks for heavy metal singing that Marc van der Pol of AllMusic called "semi-operatic". The album includes instrumental tracks, jungle beats, and other sounds that have drawn comparisons to industrial music.
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