“Sideshow Symphonies” reminds me more of “La Masquerade Infernale” than “The Sham Mirrors”.
It’s a wonderful piece of eclectic black progressive metal. Vocals from Hestnaes are reminiscent of old with some terrific talent displayed. Hellhammer’s drumming is beyond human capability as always, guitars from Moren and Valle are all over the place. Mingay’s bass is turned up a notch on this album, with some really impressive work here, and the keys of Johnsen provide the characteristic cosmic atmosphere of Arcturus.
My favourite songs on here are “Shipwrecked frontier poineer” and “Evacuation code deciphered”.
This is a brilliant album, possibly Arcturus’ best, and by the time the end of the year comes this will remain fresh in people’s memories, and may well come top of many album polls, if there’s any justice!