I took part in the sessions for La Masquerade Infernale back in 1996 where I sung vocals on 'The Chaos Path'. I was at their rehearsal place a lot and we jammed for a bit and Knut came up with this idea for what later would be 'The Chaos Path' and he wanted me to sing vocals over it. It was actually meant for a project outside Arcturus. As time progressed Garm didn't seem to be very interested in the band anymore, so I was approached to step in. Luckily Garm changed his mind and he decided to do the album after all. I'm glad he did, because I think La Masquerade wouldn't be so good if I would have sung on it. The album has a timeless quality to it I think.
- Simen Hestnæs (ICS Vortex) / Borknagar interview, Echoes and Dust, 2015
ARCTURUS recorded their second album, La Masquerade Infernale, between December 1996 and May the following year. Final mixing took place over ten days, concluding on this day in 1997. The album was recorded for Misanthropy Records who released it in a distribution partnership with Music for Nations that October.
I was in another band in the 90s called Arcturus where we used a quartet for an album we did with that band [La Masquerade Infernale]. We became good friends with that quartet which was called the Oslo Session Quartet and so we worked closely with them with Ulver for the aforementioned Shadows of the Sun. They got a bit more creatively involved in that album which has an overall symphonic mood to it.
- Ulver interview, Louder Than War, 2016