Arcturus "Aspera Hiems Symfonia/Constellation/My Angel"

Aspera Hiems Symfonia (Latin for "Harsh Winter's Symphony") is the debut studio album by the Norwegian avant-garde metal band Arcturus.

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 list:

Disc 1

1. "To Thou Who Dwellest In The Night" – 6:46
2. "Wintry Grey" – 4:34
3. "Whence And Whither Goest The Wind" – 5:14
4. "Raudt Og Svart" – 5:48
5. "The Bodkin And The Quietus" – 4:34
6. "Du Nordavind" – 3:59
7. "Fall Of Man" – 6:05
8. "Naar Kulda Tar" – 4:21

Disc 2

1. "The Deep Is The Skies" – 4:19
2. "Cosmojam" – 1:45
3. "Raudt Og Svart" – 6:08
4. "Icebound Streams And Vapours Grey" – 4:44
5. "Naar Kulda Tar" – 4:28
6. "Du Nordavind" – 4:29
7. "My Angel" – 5:56
8. "Morax" – 6:28

CD2:

Tracks 1 and 2 were previously unreleased.

Tracks 3-6 were taken from the Constellation EP (1994) (remixed and/or remastered).

Tracks 7 and 8 were taken from the My Angel EP (1991).

Under license from Misanthropy Records.

Recording information:

Aspera Hiems Symfonia is remixed and remastered. The band says that they didn't re-record anything, but by listening to it, it's obvious that Garm re-recorded some vocal parts.

Mastered at Strype Audio.