I guess it had more to do with the fact that all albums are now finally under one roof at Prophecy Productions. I’m not sure it started with the band, to be honest. Why did the band decide now is the time to release this massive product? When did you start working on it? But it was also a very different time, of course, with regards to the Septem Circumstantiae. Real exciting, for more reasons than I can relay here and now. Kristoffer Rygg: How it feels? Like it’s a minute ago (laughs). He also talks about the band and his development as a vocalist.ĭarren Cowan: How does it feel to have been a part of Arcturus during this time? In the following interview, Rygg provides details about the box set. The boxed set has a lot of additional material, too, including a massive booklet with photos and art and bonus tracks. Fans can experience the wonders of Steinar Sverd Johnsen’s keys, Knut Magne Valle’s guitar melodies, Carl August Tideman’s shredding leads and Jan Axel Blomberg’s (Hellhammer) precise and power-driven drums, and of course, Rygg’s varied voice. Prophecy Productions has released the massive box set Stars and Oblivion – The Complete Works 1991 – 2002, which includes all the Arcturus material that featured Rygg, as well as the “My Angel” single released prior to his time in the band. After a decade, Garm left and current Borknagar vocalist ICS Vortex (Simen Hestnæs) took over the mic. With the exception of some brief moments of harsh vocals used for effect, he went fully clean with the next two albums, La Masquerade Infernale and The Sham Mirrors, with a greater emphasis on experimentation. Also known as the voice of Ulver and former Borknagar vocalist, Rygg presented the dual approach of operatic clean tones to savage, blackened shrieks on the Constellation EP and Aspera Hiems Symfonia full-length. Kristoffer “Garm” Rygg’s vocals are a defining characteristic of Arcturus’s early material. While maintaining keyboard-derived atmospheres, later efforts saw them expand beyond the black metal tag, albeit a unique take on the genre, into something more progressive and avant-garde. Early recordings were epic and atmospheric. They were a vastly important band in the early Norwegian black metal scene, yet with a style that can’t really be copied or emulated. Arcturus are at the forefront of the Norwegian metal scene with their mind-expanding brand of music.