ArcTanGent Festival 2025: The Review – Saturday

All good thing must come to an end, and sadly this year's ArcTanGent was no different. Here's what went down on the fourth and final day at one of the UK's most uncompromising festivals. Words by Dan Hillier, Tom Bruce and Adam Vallely.

It’s 11am on a pleasant summertime Saturday morning and the start of the final day of a festival – perfect timing for Sugar Horse. Opening the main stage, the Bristolian doomgazers sound wonderfully desolate this beautiful morning, especially with the likes of ‘Office Job Simulator’ and ‘Shouting Judas at Bob Dylan’ sounding positively bleak as sin. But after all, who can blame them. Yes, ArcTanGent this year be host to nothing but smiles and positivity, but beyond the farm, there’s nowt but pure horror to be had. Be in it in the form of sociopolitical unrest or the fact there’s an actual genocide taking place that we can more or less livestream in thanks to the bastard wonders of social media, there’s no shortage of evidence proving that we as a species are failing. Horrific thinking for a Saturday morning yes, but there’s no denying that such horrors have infused Sugar Horse’s output here, something that becomes evident with the set finale that is a mammoth new song dedicated to Palestine. This set is a lot, pretty much in every sense of the word, but one that feels authentic, urgent and crucial. – DH

As Church Road Records continues its dominance as one of the most exciting underground labels in the UK, they have recently added the bananas post hardcore band Indifferent Engine to their roster. Today, the Cambridge post-hardcore outfit prove why they are turning heads. Opening the PX3 and coming up against the aforementioned Sugar Horse in which is becoming to be known as ‘Who Can Make The Loudest Noise Whilst I Eat My Breakfast Burrito’ slot before midday, they still pull a crowd. Playing an array of tracks off their first full length, Speculative Fiction they throw their bodies across the stage, vocalist Adam Paul reminiscent of At the Drive-In in his delivery and chaos. They certainly shake a few hungover husks of humans into gear for the last day. – AV

Now, if Sugar Horse or Indifferent Engine don’t kick assess into gear this morning, some atmospheric sludge metal via the depths of hell via Wren certainly does. Their noise is discordant, spacious yet immediate. Seb Tull’s hard hitting drums feel like a threat as Robert Lett’s bass rumbles through the soil beneath the battered trainers and boots of those in the packed tent. As the sun shines just outside, inside the Bixler tent Wren make most in attendance question their own reality with the darkness they deliver. – AV

Photo Credit:
Derek Bremner (@del_photos)

With Fernhill Farm still basking in uncharacteristic summertime warmth, there doesn’t appear to be a fitting time for A Swarm Of The Sun. Not that they’re a band suited for summer though; opening with ‘The Woods’, the band sound more akin to the soundtrack of a funeral procession than anything resembling a feel good hits of the summer. Delivering synth driven post rock that’s as glacial as it is despondent, A Swarm Of The Sun are a brilliant if not achingly bleak watch. With an approach and delivery that makes Godspeed sound almost cheery, this band fully animate their namesake in the way they force thoughts and mental visualisations of the inevitable consumption of our planet by the expansion of our sun. Not exactly stereotypical listening for midday on a Saturday at a festival, but there’s no denying that they’re fantastically immersive – DH

The bleak devastation doesn’t stop over in the Yohkai. Physically from Sydney but musically sounding like they hail from the frostbitten forests of the frozen north, Lo! Take the direness of Swarm Of The Sun and transplant into a blacked sound that’s just utterly ferocious and downright menacing. Despite the classic Aussie banter shining through between songs (“are you deciding if you want to fuck us or fight us, ArcTanGent?”), the Aussie yob take the unrelenting savagery of Nails, the ashen misery of the most wretched of post metal and the atmospheric qualities of esoteric death metal as a whole and funnel it all though a sound that sounds demonic. It’s relentless, and Lo! are perfect companions for the proceeding Burner next door in the PX3. – DH

Back in the main stage, while it’s practically impossible to be too bizarre for the UK’s home of weird and chaotic sounds, even in an Arctangent weekend featuring Clown Core, Melvins and Wardruna, California’s Sleepytime Gorilla Museum get an A for effort. Employing elaborate costumes featuring garish dresses and kabuki style makeup, the five-piece band draw the audience into a surreal world of homemade instruments creating clashing sonic textures. Sleepytime Gorilla Museum’s live performance feels less like your typical rock gig and more like a glimpse into another dimension full of art rock and avant-garde theatre tropes smashing into each other at high speed propelled by off-kilter prog metal ferocity. Throwing every disorienting sound at their disposal into a series of memorable grooves before closing on their offbeat 2004 hit ‘The Donkey-Headed Adversary Of Humanity Opens The Discussion’, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum are sure to go down in history as one of ArcTanGent’s most delightfully unhinged bookings. – TB

Photo Credit:
Abbi Draper (abbidraperphoto)

The musical madness only continues across site though. When live looping rising stars Waldo’s Gift released their critically acclaimed debut album at the beginning of the year the Bristol based trio must’ve at least partially had ArcTanGent in mind. Smashing together jazz, math and prog with infectious hip-hop grooves and sped up live loops, Waldo’s Gift seem tailor made for the festival. Effortlessly shredding through choice cuts from their debut Malcolm’s Law, the trio also throw in a totally improvised piece of math rock chaos as well as a the instrumental jazz-math soundscape that is ‘Toxicity’. If odd time signatures and hectic math rock melodies bring you back to ArcTanGent year after year then Waldo’s Gift are sure to become your new favourite band. – TB

As for Unprocessed, the German progressive metal quartet should be no strangers to ArcTanGent, discerning audience, blending the precise guitar work of festival alumni like Animals As Leaders or Meshuggah together with the ripping metalcore energy of Northlane or LANDMVRKS. Opening on the …And Everything In Between era single ‘Hell’, frontman Manuel Gardner Fernandes brings immense eight string riffs and ferocious screams to get the crowd spinning in one of the weekend’s most intense pits. While instrumental acts such as Polyphia impress with their intricate progressive metal riffs, Unprocessed manage to one-up them by delivering the same level of technical fidelity layered with moshable metalcore energy. Closing out on 2018 single ‘Haven’ and a massive wall of death, ArcTanGent’s rabid crowd are sure to welcome Unprocessed back soon. – TB

Now, time for another anniversary. In similar vein to Maybeshewill yesterday, the musical acrobatics that are Rolo Tomassi are down the farm celebrating 20 years of existence by performing most of their set alongside a stringed ensamble. But whilst the Leicester post rock group aforementioned undoubtedly suit such guest musicians, one would be forgiven for being unsure just how this pairing will pan out. The answer, however, is wonderfully. Following the band swiftly revisiting their youth by opening with rare performances of ‘Oh, Hello Ghost’, ‘Fofteen’ and the giddy 2010 throwback that is ‘Party Wounds’, Rolo Tomassi introduce the second phase of their set by introducing their stringed quartet with an utterly spellbinding rendition of ‘Crystal Cascades’. What comes to pass after this is something that hallmarks this set as what may be the best performances of this whole festival.

As the band navigate the labyrinthine likes of ‘Aftermath’, ‘A Flood of Light’ and ‘Cloaked’ with their string baring guests, this performance see’s Rolo Tomassi at their very apex as a creative entity. Whilst these tracks have always seen the band masterfully balancing celestial devastation with atmospheric wonder, the inclusion of a strings only lifts these songs to heights previously only imaginable. This is a set where one is either duking it out to the most majestic mosh music possible or watching in total awe with goosebumps and all. As the band close out with an all annihilating rendition of ‘Prescience’ with their guest peers, whilst many where unaware of what this set would entail, it’s safe to say no one was expecting just how magical and mesmerising it would ultimately be.

Photo Credit:
Abbi Draper (abbidraperphoto)

We could just write the words ‘Honk Honk’ and leave it there for the duo that is Clown Core, and it would probably make as much sense as this very set. A mysterious duo that were due to play last year got rebooked, much to the intrigue of everyone on site. Musically, it is hard to pinpoint what these two clowns do, a fusion of jazz, electronics and blast beats that t some points is actually danceable. It is beyond wild. But what makes it wilder is the absolute insanity on the huge LED screen set up behind them. A constant movement and bombardment of images from food being mangled to naked bodies being intertwined, and that is just a taster and an understatement of what is happening on screen. It needs to be seen in person, as no words will do it justice. If any in attendance were on acid they are guaranteed a bad time as they aren’t for the weak hearted.

This set provoked three reactions, laughter by many, confusion by more and absolute horror and disgust by a handful who walk away wondering if they’ll ever buy a ticket to ATG ever again. The fact that the music is a side note to the spectacle of Clown Core is part of their whole existence and message, that musical convention and seriousness can be sidelined, and clearly you can deliver something perfect for this time of evening on the last day of the festival. This booking was in the perfect slot as it clearly energized the crowd to see out their last evening. – AV

Returning to the UK for the first time in over a decade and with a brand new EP in tow, Irish math rock oddballs Adebisi Shank mark their first festival appearance since their reunion with a burst of electric energy on the Yohkai stage. With bassist Vincent McCreith sporting his signature skintight mask, the band storm through their hits like they’d never left, presenting a history of the band from ‘Minirockers’ from their debut album to ‘Start A Band’, the lead single from their EP This Is The Second EP Of A Band Called Adebisi Shank released the previous day. While this year’s ArcTanGent celebrates some of the final shows of a few beloved bands it’s fantastic to see one of the scene’s most iconic names back on top form after all this time. – TB

Photo Credit:
Carl Battams (@carlbattamsphoto)

Despite the pull of Tesseract, the PX3 is positively buzzing for tonight’s stage headliners Vessels. Returning to ArcTanGent after seven long years, the Leeds electronic outfit seem like the ideal closing act for those who don’t wish to cap off this year’s ArcTanGent experience with another dose of djent, Vessels sound perfect for the most part. Offering a sound that’s essentially amounts to live electronic dance music for the post rock inclined, the PX3 is host to nowt but joy this evening, everyone vibing or downright dancing to Vessels’ looping, layering and compounding soundscapes that are presented like a liquid state in constant flux. Whilst ArcTanGent has long been a festival host to genre dynamism, the fashion in which Vessels kinetically interlink the closed-eyed, continuously swerving beats of dance music with the intricate textural layering of post rock ultimately comes to feel like a true standout moment. As a result, there’s no denying that this is a true headline performance. Let’s not make it another seven years before Vessels are back on this farm please. – DH

And now for the final headliner for this years’s festival. While Milton Keynes based djent pioneers Tesseract are no strangers to Fernhill Farm, performing in 2022 and 2017, 2025 sees the 5 piece close the festival for the first time. Opening with the stomping prog metal groove of ‘Acceptance- Concealing Fate Pt. 1’ and flanked by a pair of backing singers, frontman Dan Tompkins grips the crowd with his powerful vocal delivery ranging from dramatic whispered cleans to throat-shredding screeches.

Although many have emulated the style of progressive metal that Tesseract helped to make popular, the band’s headlining set at Arctangent proves that they’re still on top form with tracks like ‘Nocturne’ providing huge sing-along moments as well as plenty of chugging riffs. Ending on an encore of the anthemic title track of their most recent album ‘War Of Being’, Tesseract justify their prestigious festival closing slot. A wonderful ending to what may be truly be the festival in the UK. – TB

#A Swarm Of The Sun, #Adebisi Shank, #ArcTanGent, #Clown Core, #Indifferent Engine, #Lo!, #Rolo Tomassi, #Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, #Sugar Horse, #Tesseract, #Unprocessed, #Vessels, #Waldos Gift, #Wren