mission statement is simple: refuse to compromise. From its 2013 inauguration through to this summer’s completely sold out edition, the Somerset event has stuck to its core principles, steadfastly building a community in the process.
Returning later this month, remains the UK’s premiere exhibition for alt, math core, progressive metal, and other experimental music. Not ones to be hemmed in, fans are invited to challenge themselves, with the curators blending genres, styles, and aesthetics in the process.
Taking place on Fernhill Farm near Bristol, this year’s edition is the biggest yet, and it’s long since sold out. Ahead of the festival swinging into gear, CLASH picked out six acts you simply can’t miss at this year’s ArcTanGent.
Drawing from metal, rock, and even shades of pop, Chelsea Wolfe has conjured her own realm. New album ‘The Dark’ is her ninth to date, and it finds this prolific artist expanding her vision still further. Out on August 21st, Chelsea Wolfe’s ArcTanGent set will act as a celebration, a dark incantation from a unique artist.
What can be said about grindcore godheads Napalm Death that hasn’t been said a million times before? One of the most crucial names in heavy music, their crushingly intense sound has spawned countless imitators, but nothing beats experiencing this at the source. Recently playing a Tiny Desk, it’s clear a whole new generation are thrilling at their astonishing sound.
Chat Pile make music that matters. Hailing from Oklahoma City, they’ve had to build their own networks the hard way, and this means nothing about the band is disposable. Incoming album ‘Who Loves The Sun’ tackles AI, genocide, climate change, and all other facets of our modern dystopia, while also offering a route out. Live, they’re a ballistic missile of noise rock mayhem, with their caustic sludge oozing out of the speakers. Not one to miss.
Philadelphia’s NOTHING as the hinge between shoegaze and heavier forms of music, blending the visceral thrill of noise rock and the blissed out cathedrals of sound offered by shoegaze. The long-standing group are a pounding, transcendent live experience, and latest album ‘A Short History Of Decay’ is sublime.
Rugby’s sludge metal crew Conjurer are toasting a milestone this summer – it’s 10 years on from their ear-bursting debut EP. As thrilling as the first time you caught them, the band are practically friends of the family at ArcTanGent – a reminder of extreme music’s ability to foster and preserve communities.
Led by the redoubtable Les Claypool, Primus have been through some changes in the past few years. An empty drum stool saw 6200 people apply, with John Hoffman gaining the all-important nod of approval. An excellent live group, Primus are true one-offs – rock mavericks who play by their own rules, their steadfast adherence to their own aesthetic is perfect for ArcTanGent.
ArcTanGent runs between August 19th – 22nd.