ArcTanGent 2024, in its tenth edition, once again brought the weird, wonderful, and noisy to the usually peaceful Somerset countryside. After a bit of post-pandemic refresh, the festival remains true to its roots, bringing together a mixture of up-and-coming, experimental, and venerable artists for the four-day event.
This year’s ‘Pre-show’ Wednesday attracted a few more big names, and the field started to fill out as I arrived at lunchtime. Unfortunately, I missed the much-talked-about Host Body due to traffic, so my first set was Sheffield’s Hidden Mothers. Playing their second ATG with a slightly altered line-up, the band sounded huge and genuinely seemed to relish the live atmosphere, drawing a big and energetic crowd.
Hidden Mothers. Photo: Joe Singh
Later, the now seemingly ATG-only band Curse These Metal Hands drew a good crowd, with many sporting obligatory ‘I Can’t Believe It’s Not Baroness’ t-shirts, and delivered a fun set. Dialling it up a notch, Denmark’s LLNN, returning from 2023, played a dark and very heavy set. Opening with the brooding ‘The Horror’ (from their 2024 split with Sugar Horse), they also performed tracks from their 2021 album Unmaker and a few new ones. At one point, guitarist/vocalist Christian Bonnesen was left alone on stage for a menacing new piece accompanied only by a synth/noise backing track – a great set and a solid way to prepare everyone for the days ahead.
Curse These Metal Hands. Photo: Joe Singh
Kent-based ATG regulars Bossk were next up for the first of two shows over the festival, playing an eclectic set that included covers of ‘Tet Twat Asi’ (Earthtone9, with guest Karl Middleton), ‘Joan of Arc’ (Melvins), and ‘Mentor’ (Torche), before finishing up with ‘Menhir’ from their 2021 record Migration. Wrapping up the main acts for the day was the first of two sets by Northern Ireland stalwarts And So I Watch You From Afar, with a fan-voted setlist. It was a great chance to hear some older tracks from their back catalogue, finishing with fantastic versions of ‘Set Guitars to Kill’ and ‘Big Things Do Remarkable’.
Bossk. Photo: Carl Battams
Easing into Day Two, itoldyouiwouldeatyou played their usual upbeat indie/pop/experimental set, making the long wait for coffee much more bearable. Injecting a few decibels into proceedings, Manchester-based post-metal band Pleiades opened up the Yokhai stage. Though they’ve only been around a short while, they’ve found their groove and played to an almost full tent. Over on the Arc Stage, Norwegian mathy/prog outfit Avkrvst delivered an atmospheric and very Norwegian set – definitely a young band to keep an eye on.
Next up were Nottingham’s Underdark, a band that’s been around for a while but whose 2023 album Managed Decline has brought them a wider audience. They blend multiple heavy genres with a strong blackened hue, and Abi’s searing vocals and infectious energy led to a ferocious and fantastic set. Continuing the dark and heavy theme, London’s Urne brought their blend of classic British metal with sludge and doom influences. They played a precise and very noisy set, marking themselves as another band to bookmark.
Underdark. Photo: Carl Battams
On a recommendation, I caught wild and chaotic duo Squid Pisser, who brought hardcore/mathy/noisy/chaos to the stage. Taking things down several notches in tempo, Liverpool’s caveman-doomsters Conan gave the PA a serious workout. They are doom’s master craftsmen and always put on a good show –‘Volt Thrower’ was a special highlight.
Any ATG veteran knows that rain is inevitable, and 2024 was no different. As the skies darkened and the rain fell, Nordic folk-metal band Kalandra took the stage. Their sound is a mix of traditional Nordic folk with elements of metal, and Katrine Stenbekk’s vocals are nothing short of magical – ethereal and raw, hitting a certain emotion that compels you to close your eyes and embrace it. The guitars and drums ranged from minimal to a thundering crescendo. Their cover of Wardruna’s magical ‘Helvegen,’ with Jogeir Daae Mæland playing guitar with a bow, was stunning. ‘Brave New World’ and the newer track ‘Bardaginn’ ended the show – a highlight of not only ATG but the year so far.
Kalandra. Photo: Joe Singh
Belgian post-metal maestros Amenra are a band that had somehow evaded me live, until now. They opened with the brooding ‘Boden’ (Mass V, 2012), with the stage bathed in smoke and bright white light. They followed with ‘Plus Près De Toi’ (Mass VI, 2017), where the quiet passages provided brief respite before the stage lit up in blinding white light to coincide with the crescendo. ‘De Evenmens’ (De Doorn, 2021) came next, with black-and white visuals adding another layer to the experience. It’s easy to forget that most of these tracks are around eight minutes long. The familiar guitar part and clean vocal line of ‘A Solitary Reign’ (Mass VI, 2017) punctuated the night sky, with the stage again bathed in bright light. They closed with the epic ‘Diaken’ (Mass IV, 2017), a fantastic set that was worth the wait, though it was a shame they weren’t on the [larger] Arc stage, as people were spilling out of the tent and it was hard to see the visuals.
Amenra. Photo: Joe Singh
Kicking off a busy Friday, noisy London duo Modern Technology opened the Bixler stage, their thunderous bass and drums surely waking a few people up. With some time to spare, I caught a few tracks from Salt Lake City’s Blackshape before being drawn into the Elephant in the Bar Room by the vocals of local band Sans Froid, who played some mathy/proggy/noisy stuff. Back at the Bixler, LA’s Iress came highly recommended, and Michelle Malley’s strong yet ethereal vocals cut through thick and luscious guitars as they played tracks from their excellent new record Sleep Now, In Reverse. Another band to keep a close eye on.
Iress. Photo: Magda Campagne
Festival clashes are inevitable, and deciding between seminal French band Year of No Light and newcomers Every Hell was awkward; but the short walk made it possible to catch a bit of both. Year of No Light’s thick layers of noise seemed at odds with the bright blue skies and sunshine of the Somerset countryside, yet their set was highly accomplished, as expected from a band celebrating their twentieth anniversary. At the other end of the experience scale, Every Hell, a new band featuring two ex-Black Peaks members, and apparently the brainchild of Jamie Lenman, delivered a fun and energetic performance with Will Gardner handling both vocals and saxophone.
Year of No Light, Photo. Carl Battams
Over on Bixler, Manchester’s dark jazz-punk four-piece Maruja played a lively set. They sounded a bit like Black Country, New Road but darker and angrier. ‘Thunder’ was a stunning track composed of spoken word, angular noise, and shouted vocals – another band to keep tabs on. Next up were noisy Texas trio Glassing, a must-see for me. Their latest album From the Other Side of the Mirror (2024) has been on heavy rotation for the last few months. They opened with ‘Dire & Sulk’ and stormed through their set, lurching from violent noise to (relatively) minimalist sections. Vocalist/bassist Dustin Coffman’s searing vocals were set against chaotic but always controlled guitar work, while drummer Scott Gossman was an absolute force of nature. A fantastic set and a festival highlight.
Barely time to recover before a short dash over to catch Illinois’ Frail Body, who delivered a ferocious and chaotic post-hardcore set. Despite being only a three-piece, their sound was huge, with passages of quiet guitar loops starkly contrasting with the noisy sections. The packed tent loved it, and their most recent album Artificial Bouquet is a must-listen for 2024.
Sitting in the late afternoon sun, I caught Blood Command, whose danceable punk was lively and fun despite multiple line-up changes over the years. To round off the day, London electro-industrial auteurs Teeth of the Sea played a dark and sometimes disturbing set. At times they felt like a fever dream, at others upbeat and danceable.
Blood Command. Photo: Derek Bremner
By Day Four, most people are feeling a bit jaded, but caffeine and decibels provided by the ironically named Torpor did the job. Ferociously heavy and well-crafted, their set borrowed aspects from several heavy genres, with waves of doom interspersed with post-metal interludes. Keeping up the heavy, noisy theme, French quartet Love Sex Machine brought their brand of blackened, abrasive noise to the stage. Thick post-metal guitars and drums with pained vocals created interesting textures beneath the waves of noise.
Torpor. Photo: Joe Singh
Next up were new boys Vower, a new band featuring familiar faces like Josh Keown (ex-Palm Reader), Rabea Massaad (ex-Toska), Joe Gosney & Liam Kearley (ex-Black Peaks), and Rory McLean (Frog Leap). Despite being only a handful of shows in, they played an accomplished set with echoes of their previous work mixed with new and interesting songs. Over on PX3, Spanish five-piece, post-hardcore band Ànteros delivered a solid performance, complete with three guitarists. Two other bands that caught my ear but that I didn’t have time to see more of were South Wales’ FORT, and Bristol’s two-piece indie/grunge act Peach.
Ànteros. Photo: Carl Battams
ArcTanGent 2024 once again proved why it’s a beloved staple in the festival calendar, managing to blend the experimental with the established and offering a platform for a diverse array of artists – from the thunderous and chaotic to the ethereal and introspective. Despite the inevitable rain and the occasional clash of must-see acts, the spirit of discovery and the shared love for the eclectic made for an amazing experience in the Somerset countryside.
Vower. Photo: Derek Bremner
