Explosions In The Sky

Live Review: ArcTanGent Festival 2024 – Gallery And Recap

The hills of Compton Martin, Somerset were once again alive with the sound of music and a very loud and vast array of eclectic music at that. From new to old artists performing anything from Progressive Metal to shoegaze to post-rock to drone sludge. This was all thanks to the best 10th-anniversary party a music fan could ask for, ArcTanGent Festival 2024, and what an anniversary it was for the over 10,000 people who attended.

As I neared Fernhill farm, where the festival takes place, it was hard not to notice the hard work of the festival organisers with how well the festival was signposted with gate colours and directions, along with the friendliness of the staff and volunteers. I was lucky enough to attend the 3 main days of the festival, as well as the Wednesday, which had a limited ticket release due to only one of the five stages being open, the Yohkai stage. 

As I entered the main arena on Wednesday, I was just in time to catch the Belgian trio Psychonaut take to the stage with their classic rock-influenced progressive metal. Shortly following was the mighty supergroup formed of members from Pijn and Conjurer who make up Curse These Metal Hands. This set was a memorable one as it started with a drum solo and is also the first time I have personally seen a banjo used at ATG. They were then followed by a beautiful wall of sludgy goodness that came in the form of LLNN who put on an extremely energetic performance. Next up were Bossk who completely filled the tent from side to side and showed the crowd another memorable performance with flawless execution, and a guest appearance from Earthtone9 vocalist Karl Middleton who performed the Earthtone9 classic ‘Tat Twam Asi’ – which of course put the crowd into a frenzy.

The Wednesday night headliners who exploded onto the stage with a set made up of songs entirely chosen by fans were the Irish math-rock giants And So I Watch You From Afar. You could tell from the crowd’s energy and the fact that it was spilling out of the tent how much this band means to so many people from all walks of life and from all over the world.

Thursday is the first day where the festival really begins to feel filled up with like-minded music fans. All five stages are open and the sun is shining (for at least a few hours). The first band I caught were itoldyouiwouldeatyou who opened up the main stage with their good time sounds of alternative math rock, followed by the instrumental drone band A-Sun Amissa who opened the Elephant stage. They performed a 28-minute song named ‘Drone Oracle’ that was written specifically for their ATG performance. Truly an interesting band to check out. 

The next few bands I checked out were all recommended to me, but the downside at a festival with this calibre of a lineup is the difficulty of fitting everything in. I power walked between the Arc stage for the Norwegian prog-metallers AVKRVST who are a relatively new band formed in 2021, so to be on the main stage at ATG is a clear sign that these guys have gained a phenomenal fanbase in such a short time. It was then a small wander over to the Bixler stage to catch unpeople and boy oh boy did these guys wake up the early afternoon crowd with an insane amount of energy. Then over to the Yohkai stage, with just a brief stop for a coffee along the way, for the shoegazey, alternative rock/metal sounds of Blanket. Next, emerging onto the main stage, donning a huge LED-covered fly mask and walking like a mannequin was Julie Christmas, it was truly something I was not expecting. An absolutely outstanding show with incredible playing from the band and of course the added theatrics. Up next were a band that I didn’t know too much about, the atmospheric post-metal band Amenra. For the vast majority of the show, vocalist Colin H. Van Eeckhout was faced the opposite way from the audience which really added to the incredibly dark performance. As the well-established typical ATG rain had settled, it was now time for the day’s headliner and my personal favourite band, post-rock, instrumental pioneers Explosions In The Sky. An hour and a half of epic crescendos and beautiful silences, enough to make the most hardened of metal heads shed a tear. They played classics such as ‘Your Hand in Mine’, ‘The Birth and Death of the Day’, and more recent works from the album ‘End’.

On Friday The mud had dried out and the sky was clear. Friday felt like a very technical progressive metal kind of day. Starting off proceedings on the Arc stage was the haunting yet dreamy sound of i Häxa, shortly followed by the first of the technical prog-metal acts, Asymmetrical Universe. Definitely for fans of odd-time signatures, polyrhythms and generally being impressed. After the obligatory coffee break, I headed over to the PX3 stage to watch latecomers to the lineup, the fantastically energetic and talented El Moono. Not only did they all come across as genuinely nice people, they were clearly happy to be playing in front of a packed tent at 12:10 in the early afternoon and that happiness showed in their flawless showmanship. 

The next few bands made for another running from stage to stage situation. The Yohkai stage was my first stop, catching instrumental metal band BLACKSHAPE, before running over to the Arc stage to be completely blown away by The Omnific, a band consisting of one of the liveliest drummers I have ever seen, so lively in-fact that halfway through the set he took centre stage for a dance break and if that wasn’t enough the other two bass playing members, not only played bass but absolutely shred them. I managed to catch a few songs from alternative shoe/doom-gaze band Iress who filled the Bixler tent, not only with people but with some of the biggest choruses I heard all festival. 

The next few bands were all highlights of the festival for me, since I am a huge fan of them all. Fresh off of an arena world tour supporting none other than Tool, it was nice to see Night Versus grace the stage. Next up, the Arc stage had some of the most technical and proficient playing I have ever seen live from Javier, Matt, and Tosin of Animals as Leaders, who really do show that practice makes perfect with an absolutely phenomenal set. They were very quickly followed by the Australian guitar virtuoso and all-around nice guy and band Plini, who set the stage up with a light display that anyone would have been floored by, mixed with the impeccable playing from all four on stage. It really is something that everyone needs to experience. 

Speaking of things and bands that must be experienced live, the Friday headliners came in the form of the mighty progressive groove metaller Meshuggah. From constant jumping, circle pits and a steady stream of crowd surfers starting from the first song, these guys clearly know how to command an audience.They clearly wanted that packed-out crowd at the Arc stage to create beautiful chaos and that is exactly what happened.

On Saturday I started my day with the black robed and gold masked sludge, doom metal outfit BRIQUEVILLE. Definitely a different sight that most are not used to waking up to, but it was a perfect way to start the final day at ATG. Next up were a band recommended to me just that morning, so I headed over to the Yohkai stage for the Polish stoner, doom metal band Sunnata. Despite my unfamiliarity a lot of people who knew exactly what to expect had filled up the tent. I look forward to seeing them again. Next up, Bossk were playing again, this time on the Arc stage and, yet again they put on a jaw-dropping performance to match their Wednesday one. Veterans of ArcTanGent would have definitely seen this next band before and if not I urge people to check them out: hailing from Beverly, Massachusetts and, in my opinion, one of the best live bands around, Caspian who put on a stellar performance and even brought out their tour buddies And So I Watch You from Afar to join them on stage for a helping hand during the song ‘Sycamore’.

Now, the organisers are very consistent with booking the best headliners for this festival, and since this year was a very special year for the award-winning ArcTanGent, they pulled out all the stops to get the closer of the festival. The final headliner to say goodbye till next year was post-rock royalty, if not gods in many genres, the one and only Mogwai. From the moment the Glaswegian legends walked out onto the stage till the moment they left, they had every single person in the palm of their hands. Playing songs such as ‘Like Herod’, ‘Kids Will Be Skeletons’ and ‘Richie Sacramento’ they really were the perfect way to end the 10 year anniversary of such a unique festival.

Overall, ArcTanGent festival has been my personal favourite festival to attend for the last 10 years. Of course, it has its standard drawbacks that every festival has such as high stall prices and lots of queuing etc but that is to be expected at such an event and if those are the only problems then it’s safe to say that this is still the best small but growing festival, with the best bands and fans from all over, not just the UK, but the entire world. See you next year ATG!

Honourable mentions to a few other bands I saw but sadly haven’t mentioned: Baroness, URNE, Year Of No Light, Delta Sleep, Benefits, Silver Moth, and WuW.