''La Masquerade Infernale'' (Misspelled French for ''The Infernal Masquerade''. The correct spelling would be ''La Mascarade Infernale''.) is the second studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

Arcturus , - bgcolor="#FFFAFA" , Note (category: variability): , , H and K emission vary. Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Boötes. With an apparent visual magnitude of −0.05, it is the third-brightest of the ...

. Released by

Misanthropy Records Misanthropy Records was a British heavy metal record label. History The label was founded in 1993 by Tiziana Stupia, originally solely to release an album by Burzum. The background to the founding of the company was that after Varg Vikerne ...

in 1997, the album marks a drastic musical change from the slow, nature-influenced melodic black metal of ''

Aspera Hiems Symfonia ''Aspera Hiems Symfonia'' (Latin for ''"Harsh Winter Symphony"'') is the debut studio album by the Norwegian avant-garde metal band Arcturus. ''Aspera'' is the only album Arcturus released to showcase a melodic black metal sound, though it stil ...

''. Most of the songs revolve around the themes of

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

, and Satan. The screams characteristic of black metal utilized by Kristoffer Rygg on ''Aspera'' are replaced by a gruff, low-toned, clean vocal style. The album also features operatic singing and bizarre high-pitched singing from guest vocalist

Simen Hestnæs Simen Hestnæs (born 4 March 1974), better known by his stage name ICS Vortex or simply Vortex, is a Norwegian musician. He is the vocalist of the similarly named band ICS Vortex, the avant-garde metal band Arcturus and the doom metal band Lamen ...

, who nine years later would replace Rygg as the band's frontman. It was reissued by Candlelight Records in 2003. In 2021, it was elected by ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

'' as the 12th best symphonic metal album of all time.

Track listing

* 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 Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

. * "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

;Arcturus * Kristoffer Rygg (credited as "Garm") -

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, samples,

electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, mastering *

Knut Magne Valle Knut Magne Valle (born 5 August 1974 in Gjerstad) is a Norwegian heavy metal guitarist, songwriter, composer, recording studio owner, record producer and music arranger. Valle is best known as an Arcturus and Ulver (1998) band member. Musical ...

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

, production *

Hugh Mingay Hugh Steven James Mingay (born 12 December 1974), also known by his stage name Skoll, is a heavy metal musician. Musical career He became a member of the Norwegian band Arcturus from 1995 to 2000 for the recording of the album '' Aspera Hiem ...

(credited as "Skoll") -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

Steinar Sverd Johnsen Steinar Sverd Johnsen is a Norwegian keyboardist and composer, born 1972. Sverd plays keyboards and synthesizers in Arcturus and was also the main composer for the band. He formed the band with Jan Axel Blomberg (also known as Hellhammer) of Ma ...

(credited as "Sverd") -

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

Jan Axel Blomberg Jan Axel Blomberg (born 2 August 1969) is a Norwegian heavy metal drummer known professionally as Hellhammer. He is best known as the drummer of Mayhem, which he joined in 1988. In 1987 Blomberg formed the avant-garde black metal band Arcturus ...

(credited as "Hellhammer") - drums,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

;Additional Musicians * Hans Josef Groh -

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

* Dorthe Dreier -

viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

* Vegard Johnsen -

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

* Svein Haugen -

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

- vocals on "The Chaos Path", backing vocals on "Master Of Disguise" and "Painting My Horror" *

Carl August Tidemann Carl August Tidemann (born 7 June 1971) is a highly technical Norwegian Neo-classical metal guitarist and composer, best known for his work in progressive bands like Arcturus and Winds. Discography Solo # Stylistic Changes (1996) With ...

- lead guitar on "Ad Astra" and "Of Nails And Sinners" * Idun Felberg - cornet on "Ad Astra" * Erik Olivier Lancelot - flute on "Ad Astra" ;Other Credits * Børge Finstad - mixing * Pål Klåstad - technician, engineering (strings) * Marius Bodin - engineering (drums) * Gandalf Stryke - mastering

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Masquerade Infernale Arcturus (band) albums 1997 albums