Arcturus – “La Masquerade Infernale”

Rating 5/10

This once mysterious band is one of the nowadays mainstream trend many bands take part of in Norway: Symphonic, ultra-melodyc classic-musicaloid so-called Black Metal. Borknagar, Old Man’s Child, Dimmu Borgir… and now Arcturus. They are so melodyc and well-sounding that it is NOT Black Metal anymore. Nothin bad, though, cos all songs are very well composed, hard-worked and perfectly played and arranged. This is their second full-length CD (after 7” “My Angel”, mini LP “Constellation” and last CD “Aspera Hiems Symphonia”) and it bores me a bit cos it is extremely melodyc, symphonic and with loads of operistic parts (in fact, they are self-labelled as “Vanguardist opera”) that definetely bore me; surely Opera is an Italian or a German thing, but no way Norwegian!!! I expected a lot from this album for I was aware that many outstanding blacky musicians such as Hellhammer, Sverd, Samoth, Garm, Skull, Knut had been in this band, but, though this is definetely not a bad album, better things have come from Norway.