· Member joins
Peter Bjärgö joins the band
source: musicbrainz
Tier 3 · vertical & regional
Arcana
Group · Sweden · formed 1994
band
official homepagestreamingstreamingstreamingstreamingstreamingsocialdatabasedatabase
Listen on SpotifyYouTube Music
Also known as Arcana Banda · アルカナ
Timeline
17 events▣ Album 8+ Member joins 6◆ Formed 1★ Debut release 1− Member leaves 1
1990s
· Member joins
Ida Bengtsson joins the band
source: musicbrainz
· Debut release
Debut release: Dark Age of Reason
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
2000s
· Member leaves
Ida Bengtsson leaves the band
source: musicbrainz
· Member joins
Annmari Thim joins the band
lead vocals
source: musicbrainz
· Member joins
Stefan Eriksson joins the band
source: musicbrainz
· Member joins
Cecilia Bjärgö joins the band
source: musicbrainz
· Member joins
Mattias Borgh joins the band
percussion
source: musicbrainz
2010s
2020s
Biography
English biography225 words · 3 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1374890973
Biography
Arcana is Swedish neoclassical dark wave band created in 1994 by Peter Bjärgö.
History
The original band consisted of founder Peter Bjärgö (then Peter Pettersson) and vocalist Ida Bengtsson. Since 2002, Arcana has changed line-up and during the years 2003-2015 it consisted of Peter Bjärgö, Stefan Eriksson, Ann-Mari Thim, Ia Bjärgö and Mattias Borgh. Since some years back, Peter Bjärgö have invited different musicians for live performances, depending on the venue, location and time.
Often largely instrumental, the band describes its music as inspired by medieval music or the middle age's more romantic aspects. Their album Le Serpent Rouge
Le Serpent RougeSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1In Search of the Divine3:082Le Serpent Rouge4:383Cathar5:044Under the Sun5:465Amber5:346Seductive Flame4:407Serpents Dance4:408The Passage2:019The Nemesis5:28 had a more oriental feeling to it, with instruments like hammered dulcimer, finger cymbals, duduk and other oriental/Arabic instruments. The latest album "Magna Silentia
Magna SilentiaSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Det Stora Tysta2:402The Adversity Bell8:523Natura Est Templum4:104The Obsidian Mirror5:335You Are Still With Me1:306Viola Eterna2:167The Collapsing of All Light2:578Somnia Intus4:259An Innermost Sanctum4:1810Magna Silentia2:42", released on Cold Meat Industry in September 2026, the music has been more into the sacred music, with choirs mixed with the instrument nyckelharpa.
Peter also has a martial industrial side-project called Sophia and has also recorded one collaborative album with Gustaf Hildebrand.
In other media
The remake of the Dead Can Dance song "Enigma of the Absolute" was used in the soundtrack for the popular Civilization 4 mod Fall from Heaven 2 as background music for the Runes Of Kilmorph religion.
The composition "Wings of Gabriel" was used in the soundtrack for the popular Medieval 2: Total War mod Broken Crescent as a main theme.
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 12 | 64.8th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 18 | 86.3th |
| Studio albums | 8 | 88.9th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 17 | 92.4th |
| Recording span (years) | 30 | 66.1th |
| Genres | 3 | 80.4th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (18 release groups · 8 studio albums)
Albums · 8
1996 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 37:14
1Our God Weeps2:032Angel of Sorrow3:113Source of Light3:054The Calm Before the Storm2:595Dark Age of Reason7:076Like Statues in the Garden of Dreaming3:027The Oath3:348…for My Love2:219Serenity6:0510The Song of Mourning3:471997 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 12 tracks · 47:12
1The Opening of the Wound3:322Chant of the Awakening4:223The Song of Solitude (The Cry of Isolde)2:574Void of Silence3:245Cantar de procella6:276Æterna doloris2:557The Song of Preparation0:438God of the Winds4:469The Dreams Made of Sand4:4310Gathering of the Storm4:1511La salva de profundis5:3012The Tree Within3:382000 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 44:11
1…the Last Embrace5:432Hymn of Absolute Deceit3:353Diadema4:514Winds of the Lost Soul4:345Love Eternal2:406Repentance4:127March of Loss5:178The Ascending of a New Dawn3:289Sono la salva5:1510Lorica vite4:362002 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 8 tracks · 38:02
1My Cold Sea4:292Lovelorn5:243Icons4:364We Rise Above4:445Innocent Child5:186Song of the Dead Sun4:097Season of Thought4:168Closure5:062004 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 9 tracks · 40:59
1In Search of the Divine3:082Le Serpent Rouge4:383Cathar5:044Under the Sun5:465Amber5:346Seductive Flame4:407Serpents Dance4:408The Passage2:019The Nemesis5:282008 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 38:04
1Abrakt5:022Sigh of Relief2:503Invisible Motions4:014Outside Your World4:285Parisal3:276Autumnal4:297Out of the Gray Ashes2:508Lost in Time4:389In Remembrance2:5210Circumspection3:272012 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 45:00
1Somnolence1:532As the End Draws Near4:163Inceptus6:314Medea4:105Leave Me Be4:236Infinity5:347In memoriam6:108The Fading Shadow4:019As Bright as a Thousand Suns5:0010Vinter3:022026 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 39:23
1Det Stora Tysta2:402The Adversity Bell8:523Natura Est Templum4:104The Obsidian Mirror5:335You Are Still With Me1:306Viola Eterna2:167The Collapsing of All Light2:578Somnia Intus4:259An Innermost Sanctum4:1810Magna Silentia2:42
EP · 3
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | LizabethSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 3 tracks · 14:381Cantar de Procella6:28 2The Dreams Made of Sand4:44 3Emperor of the Sun3:26 | 1997 | ||
| 1999 | IsabelSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 3 tracks · 8:061Eclipse of the Soul1:57 2Love Eternal2:39 3Hymn of Absolute Deceit3:30 | 1999 | ||
| 2011 | Un passage silencieuxSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks · 21:241Un passage silencieux, Parts I, II & III15:48 2A New Amber5:36 | 2011 |
Single · 3
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Body of SinSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks · 18:051We Rise Above / Body of Sin9:05 2We Rise Above / Body of Sin9:00 | 7 February 2002 | ||
| 2012 | EmeraldSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 3 tracks · 13:331As the End Draws Near4:17 2A Cage4:35 3Precious Stone4:41 | 14 March 2012 | ||
| — | Le Serpent RougeSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks1Le Serpent Rouge 2The Passage | — |
Album · 4
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | The New LightSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 11 tracks · 40:121The Opening2:18 2Reminiscence (demo)3:27 3Source of Light (demo)2:25 4Fade Away (demo)3:50 5Wound (demo)4:25 6Lament (demo)5:37 7Prophecy of the Inevitable (alternative recording)2:43 8Eclipse of the Soul (alternative recording)1:53 9Like Statues in the Garden of Dreaming (alternative recording)4:00 10Through the Grey Horizon5:34 11Wings of Gabriel4:00 | Compilation | 10 August 2004 | |
| 2010 | The First Era 1996–2002Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 45 tracks · 3:05:48Disc 1 1Our God Weeps2:02 2Angel of Sorrow3:08 3Source of Light3:05 4The Calm Before the Storm2:45 5Dark Age of Reason6:59 6Like Statues in the Garden of Dreaming2:52 7The Oath3:30 8…for My Love2:17 9Serenity5:59 10The Song of Mourning3:48 11Eternal Sleep5:13 12Spirits of the Past3:59 Disc 21The Opening of the Wound3:34 2Chant of the Awakening4:21 3The Song of Solitude (The Cry of Isolde)2:59 4Void of Silence3:26 5Cantar de procella6:29 6Æterna doloris2:57 7The Song of Preparation0:45 8God of the Winds4:48 9The Dreams Made of Sand4:45 10Gathering of the Storm4:17 11La salva de profundis5:32 12The Tree Within3:40 13Emperor of the Sun3:26 Disc 31…the Last Embrace5:45 2Hymn of Absolute Deceit3:37 3Diadema4:53 4Winds of the Lost Soul4:36 5Love Eternal2:42 6Repentance4:14 7March of Loss5:19 8The Ascending of a New Dawn3:30 9Sono la salva5:17 10Lorica vite4:39 11Eclipse of the Soul1:56 Disc 41My Cold Sea4:32 2Lovelorn5:25 3Icons4:38 4We Rise Above4:46 5Innocent Child5:20 6Song of the Dead Sun4:11 7Season of Thought4:18 8Closure5:08 9Body of Sin4:26 | Compilation | 24 April 2010 | |
| 2014 | The Extra Songs of ArcanaSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 18 tracks · 1:24:471This Big Hush4:35 2A Cage5:13 3For Our Continuity4:10 4As Night Turns to Day4:20 5Dehkbala3:07 6Enigma of the Absolute3:55 7The Arcane3:31 8Intro2:26 9Precious Stone4:41 10The Irreversible Truth4:29 11Body of Sin4:23 12Eclipse of the Soul1:57 13Emperor of the Sun3:26 14Eternal Sleep5:11 15Spirits of the Past3:59 16Part I-II-III15:48 17Part IV - A New Amber5:36 18Perdidit Cantus - Live in Portugal4:00 | Compilation | 23 January 2014 | |
| 2017 | PetrichorSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 12 tracks · 59:171Intro2:24 2Emperor of the Sun3:26 3Eclipse of the Soul1:52 4Body of Sin4:24 5As Night Turns to Day4:20 6Part I-II-III15:48 7Part IV - A New Amber5:36 8The Irreversible Truth4:29 9A Cage5:00 10Precious Stone4:41 11Dehkbala3:07 12For Our Continuity4:10 | Compilation | 8 November 2017 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Arcana head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 12 | 64.8th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 18 | 86.3th |
| Studio albums | 8 | 88.9th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 17 | 92.4th |
| Recording span (years) | 30 | 66.1th |
| Genres | 3 | 80.4th |
Awards & honours
Line-up
| Name | From | To | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Bjärgö | 1993 | present | |
| Ida Bengtsson | 1994 | 2001 | |
| Annmari Thim | 2002 | present | lead vocals |
| Stefan Eriksson | 2002 | present | |
| Cecilia Bjärgö | 2003 | present | |
| Mattias Borgh | 2006 | present | percussion |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arcana2008Mithras.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/93c1606c-28ef-4955-ae75-331a0975608ddiscography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/93c1606c-28ef-4955-ae75-331a0975608dcore—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q631589genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q631589seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcana_%28Swedish_band%29biography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcana_%28Swedish_band%29
Why this artist is in the database
- List of Swedish musicians
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: Hans D. from Utrecht, The Netherlands · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q631589 · MusicBrainz: 93c1606c-28ef-4955-ae75-331a0975608d
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