A bleak garden to shit

[Eoin McLove]

I had the Arcane Sun self titled on today for the first time in a while.  What a brilliant album- needs the vinyl treatment,  of course- and it captures a moment in the Irish scene.  There was a bit of magic in the air around then that seemed to die down a little (nostalgia??) in the following years, although Corr Mhóna might have tapped into something similar in recent times.  It's a pity Arcane Sun fizzled out and Fade never got a release but I remain optimistic. It would be cool to hear those dudes do something together again and see what they'd come up with twenty years on.

[Paul keohane]

Yeah  good band back in the day alright,they could/should have probably hit another level  in terms of  popularity.

[Eoin McLove]

Yes indeed.  I think with a better label behind them and a bit of momentum they'd have potentially become more known outside Ireland.  I only caught them live once when they supported Morbid Angel with Abaddon Incarnate (or am I jumbling up gigs?) and was so impressed.  They soon imploded,  sadly.

[Paul keohane]

Yes indeed.  I think with a better label behind them and a bit of momentum they'd have potentially become more known outside Ireland.  I only caught them live once when they supported Morbid Angel with Abaddon Incarnate (or am I jumbling up gigs?) and was so impressed.  They soon imploded,  sadly.

Yeah same as,one ond only time i saw them live.

[Thorn]

 I recall running into Paul in the jacks at some gig or other years back and breaking into an impromptu "Sundrenched" chorus ,...these rock stars can't even take a piss in peace.
Never heard the second album, according to MA it only got a digital release?

[Cryptic Stench]

A magic album for sure lads but I wouldn't like to hear what else they could do 20 years on. Some things should be left as they are and this is a case in point, the chemistry on that record simply can't be replicated.  Would love to see it get the vinyl treatment, I'll agree on that , it more than deserves a high quality reissue.

I think something that hindered these lads was their live shows, I see Morbid Angel mentioned there by the young Mclove, I remember that one as being on the shambolic side, the whole thing was a mess for the supports in general  moreso Abaddon but Arcane Sun definitely suffered. Also, they had a stand in guitarist that night who looked best placed in an Oasis tribute band, that may sound petty but it totally took from the mystique for me. I seen the band on a handful of other occasions the best probably being the support to Anathema in Doran's but they just weren't as consistent or polished as their peers, although Abaddon and Primordial were still early on in their careers they were nearer to being complete packages in terms of live performance.

[Eoin McLove]

You could be right there.  It's a long time ago now but I remember being impressed at the time by Abaddon's savagery and the complexity or maturity of sound that Arcane Sun had.  To my teenage ears they sounded the business. I can't remember The Oasis guy but coming out of my Metal Hammer years it was pretty much normal to see non-metal looking people playing heavy music- God bless nu metal!

I have no doubt that if Arcane Sun recorded something new now it would be far away from the debut as Feargal Flannery is long gone out of the metal scene,  but they could end up doing more in the vein of Fade which is a cool album in its own right. Or they might do something completely different to that as well, which would at least be interesting to hear.

[Pedrito]

Just in regards to the above point, as I know little about the band: I was at that MA gig and I had heard of the band. Myself, amongst others in attendance were not impressed with their performance. I seem to recall they didn´t have a bass player or something to that effect which just sucked the life out of the sound(maybe that was Abaddon Incarnate?). Either way, neither them nor Abaddon Incarnate covered themselves in glory that night. It just all looked very unprofessional.

[Eoin McLove]

I think it was Abaddon who were sans bass now that you mention it. Funny,  perhaps if I witnessed the gig today it would have sucked but it was good at the time.  I think it was one of my first death metal gigs so perhaps the novelty alone was enough to excite me. Fond memories for me.

[Cryptic Stench]

Abaddon were baseless that night. Luckily I'd seen both bands a few times prior to that so Abaddon got a pass from me for that one as I knew what they were capable of but it was a crap performance, you're right Pedro - didn't cover themselves in glory, had it been the first time I seen them I would've chuckled at them.

[Pedrito]

Ah fuck it everyone's a critic type thing, and I don't really mean it that way. I suppose when MA came onstage the massive gulf was apparent but they'd do that to almost any band. Always a tricky thing the whole supporting massive bands.

[Paul keohane]

I do remember wanting  AI to finish up because i was so eager to see Morbid angel.The supports were always off to  a loser that night such was the anticipation for MA.

[Eoin McLove]

Looks like I've a completely different memory of that gig to everyone else.  All hail early onset dementia.

[Eoin McLove]

It seems Sentinel will be putting the debut album out on vinyl for the first time, and re-issuing the CD as well. Death Dealer from Vomitor is painting a new cover for it. Curious to see how he will interpret the music. A t-shirt with their original logo would be nice to get too. It's high time this local masterpiece got some recognition.

[Circlepit]

Did they play a Day Of Darkness in Abbeyleix where Primordial headlined? Had the singer a fine head of curly hair?
I remember I picked up a demo on cassette from a band called  Moonfog. I played the shit out if it. Great stuff.
Anyway If that was Arcane Sun then I remember them being brilliant that day.