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The last album from Arcturus is here and expectations are great, as usually happens with this band. “The Sham Mirrors” was their best album and I wondered if Hellhammer, Garm & co. would be capable of make it, and record a CD that could surpass the great quality of that opus. Well, forget about it. “The Sham Mirrors” is still the most impressive album of all, invincible in my opinion. “Sideshow Symphonies” features a renewed band where the significant change has been the new vocalist, former Borknagar and Dimmu Borgir member Simen “Vortex”. Garm´s work hasn´t been improved, and the role of vocals as a whole can´t be labelled as bad, but the guy didn´t reach the note, really... His operistic style is far away from matching the intensity and feeling of his predecessor. Some vocal pitches are simply out of place, I really appreciate his will to do an original performance, nevertheless if that will doesn´t walk hand in hand with real skills and abilities, it´s useless. Something similar happens here, when Simen´s pretentious tunes ruin splendid moments in beautiful songs as “Hufsa”. Most of the times, though, he´s doing quite well. Going to the music itself, the album is technically good, we see Hellhammer demonstrating the massive touch of percussives and Sverd and his cosmic keyboard soundscapes, the band playing atmospheric metal with astral leanings the way everyone already knows. It´s not as inspired as the previous album, it gives the impression some parts are simply there to fill in; overall it´s rather prog music oriented and there aren´t fast passages, but a correct dose of quality in its notes that makes “Sideshow Symphonies” an album that deserves some listens and appreciation despite the absence of really ravishing moments.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Hibernation Sickness Complete |
| 2. Shipwrecked Frontier Pioneer |
| 3. Demon Painter |
| 4. Nocturnal Vision Revisited |
| 5. Evacuation Code Deciphered |
| 6. Moonshine Delirium |
| 7. White Noise Monster |
| 8. Reflections |
| 9. Hufsa |
: 50.32
| Buy other Arcturus albums |
