Well, well, well – ArcTanGent, you’ve only gone and done it again! Another absolutely incredible year, another edition smashed right out of the park. The sun beat down hard all weekend and, from the moment the gates opened for Wednesday’s early arrivals, anticipation was sky-high.

Bristol’s Sans Froid had the honour of kicking things off this year, joined on stage by Ellie Godwin (No Violet, Peach) as backing vocalist with some Bez-style dance antics thrown in for good measure. Their set drew heavily from their debut album Boil Brain, alongside teasers from their forthcoming record and it was a fierce display of talent with Ais’s majestic vocals carrying their weird an wonderful riffs to whole new dimensions- definitely ones to watch. Next up, Thank brought their trademark chaotic noise rock and sharp banter, followed by Hundred Year Old Man delivering a crushingly heavy set at a punishing volume. Then came Ireland’s feral young force God Alone, throwing themselves into 30 minutes of pure chaos with a few new bangers from their forthcoming sophomore album flinging themselves around with untamed energy while the crowd lapped it up.

After ducking out briefly for some interviews, we rejoined with Colossal Squid – a familiar ATG presence – as drummer Adam Betts got back into full flow after some technical hiccups. Teeth of the Sea layered the day with dense psych riffs before making way for the mighty French psych-metal trio SLIFT, who made a heroic return with a selection of old and unreleased songs. Then, for the first time ever, the main stage opened on a Wednesday, especially to host Nordic folk headliners Wardruna. Much like last year’s Heilung, their performance was entrancing, although not quite as spectacular as their counterparts. Nevertheless, they left many festival-goers describing the experience as “spiritually uplifting.”

Thursday

We began our day with Scottish post-metallers Codespeaker, who tore through tracks from their most recent album Scavenger, bringing a heavy start to the day on the PX3. We then made our way to the Bixler stage, where another UK-based post-metal band, The Grey, absolutely levelled the place, joined by guest vocalist Grady Avenell from Will Haven. Norwegian prog outfit Drongo shifted the mood with a dancey, upbeat set, before everything was flipped on its head by the wild French experimentalists Ni, who played the biggest show of their career and left jaws hanging in the Yokhai, guitars that sound like Baritone Saxs, Insane drumming and more cartoon sound effects than you can even comprehend. Utterly Wild stuff and really one for the more OG ATG mathrockers.

A quick stop at REZN gave us some cosmic doom before a delicious curry goat dinner from the Jerk Yard fuelled us up for Horrendous, who brought some straight-up thrash metal to the festival for a rare outing on UK soil. A few more interviews meant we missed We Lost the Sea, but we made it back in time for Chicago’s Snooze, whose happy-heavy math-rock charmed a new legion of fans on their first-ever festival outing and first visit to the UK.

Math-rock legends The Fall of Troy delighted diehards with Doppelgänger in full, followed by sludge titans Melvins on the main stage, where Buzz Osborne’s wild grey hair dominated the stage amidst some serious shredding. Discovery of the day, though? Sungazer, who had the entire tent dancing with their infectiously happy progressive jazz rock grooves. Later, we finally caught BattleSnake after missing them at 2000 Trees earlier this summer. Ending their two-and-a-half-month tour with an AC/DC “Let There Be Rock” cover, the Aussies were pure joy – we opted for them over Godspeed to keep our spirits high.

Friday

Friday opened with a hot, sweaty and emotional set from Overhead, The Albatross, who delivered post-rock brilliance. Their tribute to Bri Fitzgerald had many in the crowd in tears – and if they aren’t invited back next year for the Wednesday, then there’s something really wrong in the world. Car Bomb followed with crushing heaviness before Danish chaos-bringers EYES stormed the stage. Frontman Victor is magnetic, deranged, and utterly compelling. Consider me obsessed. His vocal abilities are incredible, and he was hands down my favourite vocalist of the weekend.

The weekend’s toughest clash came next: ATG heroes Alpha Male Tea Party vs Switzerland’s Coilguns. After catching AMTP’s first four songs – which included upcoming album tracks “Probably Just Hungry”, “A Terrible Day to Have Eyes”, and another unreleased one – we raced over for the last of Coilguns’ explosive set. Frontman Louis Jucker practically dismantled the stage before diving headlong into the crowd for their finale, leaving us even more excited for their tour in October.

Other standouts included Future of the Left tearing through their back catalogue with plenty from my favourite album Curses, much to my delight. Next up it’s only bloody Mew playing their final UK show. The Danish legends celebrated their 30th anniversary in an emotional affair that left plenty of tears in the audience and even though heat exhaustion got the better of me partway through but after a much needed sit down to soak up the rest of their set and reserve some energy for another bunch of ATG legends coming up next, Maybeshewill, are celebrating their 20th year as a band along with a string ensemble. The tent was absolutely heaving, and it was just as busy outside as punters brought camping chairs and picnic blankets to enjoy the post-rock legends dusting off rarities like “I’m in Awe, Amadeus” and “He Films the Clouds Pt. 2”. We couldn’t resist buying tickets for their London date as soon as it was announced.

The night wrapped up for us with Walpurgis playing a live silent disco Black Sabbath set. Featuring Mike Vennart, Joe Lazarus, and Ben Griffiths, they powered through Ozzy-era classics – a brilliant way to finish the night.

Saturday

Sugar Horse blasted open the main stage with a thunderous four-song set, including new material and fan-favourite “Shouting Judas at Bob Dylan.” Sadly, Love Rarely didn’t land quite as well this time round for us with technical issues dampening the anticpated chaos they’re better known for and we’d hoped for. No such issues for The Callous Daoboys, though, who obliterated the main stage and closed with a fiery Enter Shikari cover featuring Liam Knowles (Hidden Mothers).

My discovery of the weekend came next with Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. Bizarre, brilliant, and completely hypnotic, they were everything I didn’t know I needed and more – equal parts experimental prog and theatrical madness. They also used their platform to highlight the importance of mental health resources at festivals, shouting out Head Above the Waves and Safe Gigs for Women.

Waldo’s Gift delivered jazzy, mind-bending chaos (including a Toxicity cover), while the long-awaited return of Adebisi Shank was sheer energy incarnate as the crowd went absolutely wild and there were countless sweaty topless crowdsufers (including the one and only Colin Skehan who the band named their song of the same name after) and pits opening for the duration of their whirlwind set, damn is it good to have them back. Then came another one of my all-time favourites: Mclusky, who tore through bangers like “Light Sabre Cock Sucking Blues” and “Alan Is a Cowboy Killer”. Falco’s banter was razor-sharp as ever, and they remain untouchable. Our Saturday night headliner choice went to Vessels, a decision we’ll never regret. Blending post-rock with electronica in the spirit of 65daysofstatic and FourTet, they were the perfect closer to an unforgettable weekend.

ArcTanGent is more than just a festival, it’s a community, a celebration, and a labour of love. James, Goc, Simon, and the entire crew pull off something truly magical year after year, and that’s exactly why we’ll keep coming back for as long as it exists and hopefully, that’s forever.

See you in the field next year. Tickets are on sale now HERE