La Masquerade Infernale

La Masquerade Infernale (Misspelled French for The Infernal Masquerade. The correct spelling would be La Mascarade Infernale.) is the second studio album by Arcturus. Released by Misanthropy Records in 1997, the album marks a drastic musical change from the slow, nature-influenced melodic black metal of Aspera Hiems Symfonia. Most of the songs revolve around the themes of theater, literature, and Satan. The screams characteristic of black metal utilized by Kristoffer Rygg on Aspera are replaced by a gruff, low-toned, clean vocal style.[4] The album also features operatic singing and bizarre high-pitched singing from guest vocalist Simen Hestnæs, who nine years later would replace Rygg as the band's frontman. It was reissued by Candlelight Records in 2003.

La Masquerade Infernale
Studio album by
Arcturus
ReleasedOctober 27, 1997
RecordedDecember 1996 - May 1997 at Jester Studio
GenreSymphonic metal,[1] post-black metal,[2] avant-garde metal[3]
Length45:12
LabelMusic for Nations
ProducerKristoffer Rygg, Knut M. Valle
Arcturus chronology
Aspera Hiems Symfonia
(1996)		 La Masquerade Infernale
(1997)		 Disguised Masters
(1999)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[4]
Chronicles of Chaos10/10[5]

In 2021, it was elected by Metal Hammer as the 12th best symphonic metal album of all time.[1]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Master of Disguise"6:42
2."Ad Astra"7:40
3."The Chaos Path"5:33
4."La Masquerade Infernale" (instrumental)2:00
5."Alone"4:39
6."The Throne of Tragedy"6:33
7."Painting My Horror"5:59
8."Of Nails and Sinners"6:06
Total length:45:12
  • The album is actually 1:27 longer than listed due to the hidden track at the beginning of "Master of Disguise".
  • The lyrics of "Alone" are taken from a poem by Edgar Allan Poe.
  • "The Throne of Tragedy" is divided into 66 parts. At the end of the track, the sub-track counter will have increased to 66, making the display show the number 666.

Personnel

References
  1. Davies, Hywel; Dome, Malcolm; Goodman, Eleanor; Chantler, Chris; Gordon, Connie; Grady, Spencer; Rees, Adam; Selzer, Jonathan (17 November 2021). "The 25 best symphonic metal albums". Metal Hammer. Future plc. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  2. O'Boyle, Tom (May 14, 2019). "The 10 essential post-black metal album". Metal Hammer. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  3. "Arcturus - La Masquerade Infernale - Nordic Metal". Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  4. https://www.allmusic.com/album/r376690
  5. Schwarz, Paul (April 14, 1998). "CoC: Arcturus - La Masquerade Infernale : Review". Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.