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Formed in Virgina Beach, Va., in 2000, Arsis is a revelation
of death metal. The band has been receiving much critical
acclaim due to their complex style of death, thrash, technical
and black metal, and the praise is warramted with We Are
the Nightmare (the band's debut for Nuclear Blast), a
twisting, turning maze of brilliant guitar work, complex drum
patterns and melodic death not heard since Carcass's masterpiece
Heartwork or At the Gates's classic Slaughter
of the Soul. Arsis is the brainchild of James Malone
(songwriter/guitarist/vocalist) and he has created a thinking
man's death metal band. This is rare in the genre,
with extremity becoming the main goal of recent death metal
bands.
I'm not a musician, only a die hard metal fan, so usually
I'm not too impressed with technicality; I often get
lost within the complexity of this style, my mind and ears
wandering. Not so with We Are the Nightmare. Songs
split off in multiple directions, but at the core of each
song, it's just that--a song. Malone's vocals are similar
to Jeff Walker's of Carcass, that raspy screech that sounds
ever so twisted and evil. The lyrics and choruses stand apart
in the genre of death metal, melodic and memorable. The album
is a guitarist's dream (or a nightmare to try to play), but
unlike other technical-natured acts, Arsis never loses focus
of the main goal to create a masterful death metal song. The
album was produced by Zuess at Planet Z studios and they do
the band great justice by giving Arsis grade-A production.
How someone can play music on this level, let alone combine
all of these sounds and parts into one coherent recording
is extraordinary. The title track and “Servants To the
Night” are instant death metal classics, with the other
seven only a step behind. With We Are the Nightmare,
Arsis has set a standard for death metal in 2008. There is
so much material contained here that repeated listens is a
must. In case you haven't gotten the hint, don't miss
this.
®2008 Live-Metal.net
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