''Aspera Hiems Symfonia'' (
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
for "Harsh Winter Symphony") is the debut studio album by the Norwegian
avant-garde metal
Avant-garde metal (also known as avant-metal, experimental metal, art metal and experimetal) is a subgenre of heavy metal music loosely defined by use of experimentation and innovative, avant-garde music, avant-garde elements, including non-stan ...
band
Arcturus
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, Note (category: variability): , , H and K emission vary.
Arcturus is a red giant star in the Northern celestial hemisphere, northern constellation of Boötes, and the brightest star in the constellation. It ha ...
. It has primarily a
black metal
Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...
sound, though still contains many of the experimental elements that would be expanded upon on their following albums, which saw the band shift permanently into the genres of avant-garde and
progressive metal
Progressive metal (often shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven sound of the former with t ...
. Four of the album's songs are re-recorded versions of tracks from the ''
Constellation
A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object.
The first constellati ...
'' EP, whereas the other four are new songs.
Background
The music on ''Aspera'' is relatively down-tempo, atmospheric black metal, and is much more restrained in character and lyrical content than major black metal acts such as
Mayhem
Mayhem most commonly refers to:
* Mayhem (crime), a type of crime
Mayhem may also refer to:
People
* Monica Mayhem (born 1978), Australian pornographic actress
* Jason "Mayhem" Miller, American mixed martial arts fighter
* Mayhem Miller (dr ...
and
Darkthrone
Darkthrone is a Norwegian black metal band hailing from Kolbotn, Akershus. Formed in 1986 as a death metal band named Black Death, in 1991, Darkthrone transitioned to a black metal style influenced by Bathory (band), Bathory and Celtic Frost and ...
. The album's production is also thin and lo-fi in nature. The lyrical themes revolve around
nature
Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...
,
winter
Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...
,
alchemy
Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...
,
astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...
, and
Viking
Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...
folklore
Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...
and
mythology
Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
.
Reception
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
wrote, "''Aspera'' is a powerhouse album chock full of charged riffs, sinister chants and howls and some wonderfully foreboding atmospheres", and called it "one of the best metal albums ever."
Re-release
In 2002, the album was remastered, along with the preceding EPs ''
My Angel'' and ''Constellation''. Re-released as a double disc, entitled ''Aspera Hiems Symfonia/Constellation/My Angel'', it also contains two previously unreleased tracks, "The Deep Is The Skies" and "Cosmojam" at the beginning of Disc 2. The remastered version has a considerably stronger, clearer sound that restores many of the lower-frequency elements of the music lost in the original mastering.
Although the liner notes on the CD booklet state that Arcturus did not re-record any material, certain passages are evidently different from the originally released versions. Examples are the clean vocal sections in "Wintry Grey", "Naar Kulda Tar" and "Raudt Og Svart". The original synthesizer lines in the opening of "The Bodkin And The Quietus" are replaced by a similar but slightly more complex guitar solo. It is possible, but not confirmed, that these passages were not re-recorded and may have been spliced in from alternate, unreleased takes of the original material.
Track listing
Re-release track listing
;Disc 1
#"To Thou Who Dwellest in the Night" – 6:46
#"Wintry Grey" – 4:34
#"Whence and Whither Goest the Wind" – 5:14
#"Raudt Og Svart" – 5:48
#"The Bodkin and the Quietus" – 4:34
#"Du Nordavind" – 3:59
#"Fall of Man" – 6:05
#"Naar Kulda Tar" – 4:21
;Disc 2
#"The Deep Is the Skies" – 4:19
#"Cosmojam" – 1:45
#"Raudt Og Svart" – 6:08
#"Icebound Streams and Vapours Grey" – 4:44
#"Naar Kulda Tar" – 4:28
#"Du Nordavind" – 4:29
#"My Angel" – 5:56
#"Morax" – 6:28
Personnel
;Arcturus
*
Kristoffer Rygg
Kristoffer Rygg (born 9 September 1976), also known as Garm, Trickster G. Rex and God Head, is a Norwegian vocalist, musician and producer known primarily for his work with Ulver, Arcturus, and Borknagar.
Biography
Kristoffer Rygg was born ...
(credited as "Garm") – vocals
*
Carl August Tidemann
Carl August Tidemann (born 7 June 1971) is a Norwegian neoclassical metal guitarist, best known for his work in progressive bands like Arcturus and Winds.
Discography
Solo
# Stylistic Changes (1996)
With Tritonus
# Evolution ''Demo' ...
(credited as "August") – guitar
*
Hugh Mingay
Hugh Steven James Mingay (born 12 December 1974), also known by his stage name Skoll, is a Norwegian bassist.
Career
He became a member of the Norwegian band Arcturus from 1995 to 2000 for the recording of the album '' Aspera Hiems Symfonia ...
(credited as "Skoll") – bass
*
Steinar Sverd Johnsen
Steinar Sverd Johnsen (born 1972) is a Norwegian keyboardist and composer. Sverd plays keyboards and synthesizers in Arcturus and was also the main composer for the band. He formed the band with Marius Vold (Mortem, Stigma Diabolicum of Thorns, ...
(credited as "Sverd") – keyboards
*
Jan Axel Blomberg
Jan Axel Blomberg (born 2 August 1969), better known by his stage name Hellhammer, is a Norwegian drummer known for his role as the drummer of the black metal band Mayhem, which he joined in 1988. He is the only member to have appeared on all of ...
(credited as "Hellhammer") – drums
;Other credits
* Craig Morris – mastering
* Kristian Romsøe – mixing
*
Christophe Szpajdel
Christophe Szpajdel (; born 29 September 1970) is a Belgian-born international calligrapher and illustrator, principally known for designing band logos.
Life
Szpajdel was born on 29 September 1970 in Gembloux, Namur, Belgium, and grew up in ...
– logo design
References
{{Authority control
Arcturus (band) albums
1996 debut albums