Arcturus - Sideshow Symphonies [2006]

Much more natural drum sound. The overall mix of the album seems to follow what was done on La Masquerade, but with the quality of The Sham Mirrors. I'm missing a bit of the heaviness from TSM, but I like the more experimental feel taken from LMI. There's some more focus on the vox. They've done away with the overly drawn-out sections. This is much more of a calm and beautiful album than TSM.

Rating: 8

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Arcturus - La Masquerade Infernale [1997]

Starts off strange with crazy vocals. Pretty damn creative and different. First track is way less heavy than the start of The Sham Mirrors. Whoa…. "Alone" completely took me by fucking surprise. Damn interesting album. The song writing is actually unique even for Arcturus and it doesn't feel gimmicky or old-hat. This album's songs are much less energetic and heavy than The Sham Mirrors. However, they are more artistic and creative. Also, the song writing is much more satisfying. None of the really-amazing-section-that's-only-played-once stuff. The production is adequate. Certainly not the best and it definitely reminds me of The Sham Mirrors. However, it's still a clear and well crafted recording. Especially high marks for creativity and awesome song writing even though heaviness and energy were sacrificed in the process.

Rating: 8.5

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Arcturus - Aspera Hiems Symfonia [1996]

Sounds much more like normal Black Metal than the other albums. Really don't like the fact that the vox are mostly unbalanced, coming out of the left speaker… I hate unbalanced shit. The rest of the production isn't bad at all. Actually, it's quite good, especially for the time period. It eventually settles into a sound more easily identified with Arcturus. However, it's not quite as polished as the later albums.

Rating: 7.5

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Arcturus - The Sham Mirrors [2002]

Starts off really strange but cool as hell. Very unique songwriting. Really cool blend of effects and keys. The vocals are beautiful, of course. Heavy production, especially the bass-drum, and it's still pretty clear. Really creates the feeling of being on a space journey. Second track is really cool, but the middle section feels a bit drawn out. Followed by possibly one of the best song sections ever, shit. Track 3's awesome, but I think that the haunting riff towards the end of the song is drawn out and I would've liked to hear more vox in the second half. Track 4 is pretty damn good. Track 4 starts off with this insanely cool piano part (probably borrowed from every piano concerto ever, though). Track 6 uses more Black Metal vox with blasting and evil! Some really fuckin' bitchin' riffs in this one and an awesome and smooth solo towards the end. Track 7 has an amazing chorus, best on the CD. Drops into this really long key-section and comes out of it with a fucking killer riff… very well-done. Ends on kind of an off-note. Overall, it's a really creative album executed very well. However, some of the songwriting doesn’t sit well with me. There could be more vocals in some of the songs instead of the extremely drawn-out key/effects sections. Plus, there are some truly amazing riffs that only get played once and leave me with a feeling of emptiness wishing for more than just that taste.

Rating: 9

http://www.myspace.com/arcturusnorway

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.