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By JEFF MAKI
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.
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