Returning for it’s 10th year, ArcTanGent continues to defy the turbulent music festival scene, growing bigger and better into what has turned out to be one hell of a birthday bash.

by Jaimie & Day Rutherford | Aug 23, 2024

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With it’s phenomenal growth you would expect a festival of this size and this year’s line up to have lost it’s grassroots ethos, but that certainly isn’t the case for ArcTanGent. 

Instantly after arriving on site you’re struck with how friendly fellow attendees are and how welcoming the festival itself is, with safety and acceptance demonstrated clearly over the 4 days. 

Starting our ArcTanGent journey on the Wednesday, we were treated to an impressive warm up for the coming days. Notably, Sheffield based Hidden Mothers provided a belter of a set, bringing on guest vocalist Edward Gibbs (Devil Sold his Soul) for their song Violent Sun. Despite the short stage time our appetites were suitably whet for the musical goodness we were about to experience. 

Din of Celestial Birds packed out the Yohkai tent, proving that even on the early Wednesday slot they know how to draw a crowd. Creating a buzz amongst fans both on and off stage, not only with their set but also by hiding tiny crocheted “Din of Celestial Birbs”, lovingly handmade by guitarist Thomas Hazlehurst’s wife, around the site. With there only being 10 of them, we stood no chance of finding one with so many fans on the hunt.

Voted by fans to end the day were And So I Watch You From Afar, the first of two sets from the Belfast based post-rock band with the latter being on the Saturday. This gave an excellent chance to showcase some of their back catalogue as well as being able to treat Saturday’s crowd to their new album Megafauna in it’s entirety. This was easily the best warm up day to a festival I’ve ever attended.

Thursday started with getting the lay of the land and walking around the site, while small in scale it doesn’t lack everything you’ve come to know from a festival site, there are numerous food vendors serving everything from the now infamous bunny chow to sausage rolls.

Also onsite were ArcTanGent’s charity stalls Metal For Good, Safe Gigs For Women and Head Above The Waves all of which were fully supported over the entirety of the weekend.

After a mooch around the site it was time for Unpeople the former Press To Meco four piece are making waves with stand in Bassist (Em Lodge Deliare The Liar) it would be safe to say that even the technical issues at the start of their set isn’t going to slow things down any time soon as they play through their blistering set showcasing just why they are ones to watch for 2025.

Over on Bixler London based Urne take to the stage for their first ATG appearance with a hard hitting set of “sludge metal” / “metalcore” tearing up the stage with heavy riffs and powerful vocals, the audience in full head banging unity.

Julie Christmas was next up on the Arc main stage, bounding in with an outfit that wouldn’t be out of place on Bjork a fiberoptic full face covering mask and dress, the music avant garde and a backing band that means business. It was a fascinating set from the off set.

Back over on the Arc main stage it is time for Baroness who after Clown Core pulled out should have been made headliner (in my opinion) packed out the main stage with the audience spilling out into the early evening chill of Fern Hill Farm.

While it is hard to pigeon hole just what sound/genre best fits Baroness their set is full of huge sounding riffs, the odd hooky chorus which has the whole tent singing along and high energy which is equally as matched by the crowd surfers coming over the barrier. This would have been the perfect round off to the night.

And then the rain came, in spectacular fashion although this did not dampen proceedings, everyone it seemed rushed to the merch tent to buy up[ any and all remaining ATG windbreakers, jumpers anything to keep warm.

Wrapping up the night was Explosions In The Sky a band in truth I knew very little about but the post rock instrumentalists ethereal sound is a nice palate cleanser after two days of rip roaring riffs and leaves you slightly subdued, asking the question… why didn’t Baroness close things up tonight? 

Friday kicks off first thing is iHaxa who today are performing their first ever gig, it is a mix of folky witch vibes backed by an incredible use of the giant backing screen adding woodland visuals to their set, it’s at times dark, it’s confusing but it’s also brilliant.

Zetra then follow them up, Zetra are one of those bands that really seem to be on the rise and after seeing them support Creeper in July I knew we had to go back and see them, their sound is a mix of 80’s synth wave and that dark “classic” goth rock with heavy riffs for a two piece the sound is so well rounded and full you don’t miss the fact their isn’t a traditional “full band”. 

Every hell are up next and after a chat with the guys yesterday we were looking forward to catching what was looking to be a lively and entertaining set of genre defying mix of “doom pop” front man Will Gardner making use of every inch of the stage, followed by an over enthusiastic videographer which it was noted by the crowd distracted slightly from the performance. 

Sigh is a band I was intrigued by after hearing them on the ATG playlist, not knowing what to expect other than a mix of late 80’s Japanese black metal we were greeted with one of the most eccentric and brilliant performances of the weekend, from burning katana’s, books on fire, kids in corpse paint make up it had everything and more thrown into their set not only that but the music was simply great.

Then came Australia’s Plini this is another one of those bookings that may have misplaced them on the line up because the Yokhai tent was packed not just packed but spilling out 30/40 people deep on the outside of the tent. Plini’s instrumental set takes you on a journey and while seemingly we have quite the mass of instrumental bands this weekend Plini by far is the best of the best.

Meshuggah close things off with military precision everything is perfectly timed from the moment they take to the stage from each member of the band having their own lighting rig, to the set list being filled with classic’s. This is how you headline a festival, we were given instruction on when we would be allowed into the pit about 35 minutes in so I caught some photos of the many (so so many) crowd surfers, security not phased by this epic task at hand made sure everyone was safe and well looked after solid 10/10 to those guys it was madness.

Waking up Saturday as the kettle is boiling to hearing the distant sounds of Mogwai sound checking we knew it was going to be a slower paced day and after the week’s madness this was a welcome one.

We slowly made our way up to the arena just in time for Briqueville who I had seen previously at last years ATG they bring a hypnotising doom metal start to the day the perfect way to shift the dust from our sleepy eyes.

Vower were another one of those bands that I was really keen to see made up of former black peaks and palm reader members this “supergroup” has been coming into their own as of late and with shows just like todays one it is no wonder there’s a lot of talk about them, it’s an exciting time for Vower, especially with their ep on the way too.

The question of the day was Imperial Triumphant or PIJN, this was probably one of the worst clashes of the weekend, however I knew there would be a visual aspect to Imperial Triumphant so headed over for them, adorned with mask’s that wouldn’t be out of place in a Egyptian museum I knew we were in for a visual treat, the sound a mix of Jazz, Metal, Avant Garde could make them one of the best bookings of ATG all weekend as they sit perfectly well within the line up while taking the time to come down to the barrier and spray the front rows with champagne.

Brontide are back after ten years away Brontide are back and after speaking with them earlier in the day this is not only the case but this is the very first show back in seven year which may have been quite a daunting notion however they took it in their stride and with the new single Mineral bringing something new yet nostalgic to their sound.

Closing the weekend were Glasgows own Mogwai, who build soundscapes taking you on a journey, their music seems more fitting for a film score than an end of the weekend headline set but that is what ArcTanGent is all about, giving you what you least expect and it was the perfect rounding off for what has been the best ArcTanGent to date.

ArcTanGent might be small in scale, but it is mighty big in stature bringing some of the biggest names to Fernhill Farm the organisers have tapped into the side of metal that is on occasions overlooked at the more mainstream festivals and for that ATG is the best in the game, the only problem I see them having now is how do they top this year?