We Are the Nightmare by Arsis
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Release date : April 2008
Reviewed by Mark Fisher
Background information
Review
Background information
Christened after a musical term meaning “silence”, Arsis was formed in the year 2000 by Berklee College of Music students James Malone (guitarist / songwriter) and Michael Van Dyne (drums). Two demos respectively issued in 2001 and 2002 (later collected under the title As Regret Becomes Guilt, and issued via Negative Existence in December 2007 with two alternative studio takes hitherto unreleased) circulated within the underground, and stimulated metallic waves. Shortly after, the duo performed live shows with the aid of fill-in musicians. In the fall of 2003, the group inked a record contract with Willowtip Records. Mixed and mastered at Hit and Run Studios in Maryland, inaugural full length A Celebration of Guilt was issued on March 30th 2004 in North America (a February 2005 union between both Willowtip Records and Earache Records meant the album benefited from European distribution in July 2005). Mark Riddick handled the album's layout, an effort that showcased the duo's earliest material. With the likes of Misery Index, Set Ablaze, Invocation of Nehek, The Hostage Heart, Incantation, and Mortician, Arsis toured both the east coast and parts of the southern and midwestern United States. Immediately catapulted into the Metal spotlight, critics hailed Arsis as one of Death Metal's most promising acts. Featuring a thirteen minute title track originally composed as a score for New York City's Ballet Deviare, October 2005 witnessed the issue of EP A Diamond for Disease. Recorded at Atlanta, Georgia's Hairy Breakfast Productions with Eyal Levi (Misery Index), mastering was handled by legendary guitarist James Murphy (Death, Testament, Disincarnate). Once again, Mark Riddick handled artwork. On January 7th and 8th 2006, the title track featured in the Ballet Deviare production Seven, not to mention material by Opeth and My Dying Bride.
From late April to late May, Arsis embarked on the Carving North America's Epitaph 2006 tour alongside Necrophagist, Cattle Decapitation, Neuraxis and Alarum. In early June, Canadian dates with Necrophagist, Alarum and Ion Dissonance occurred. Provisionally titled Lust Before The Maggots Conquest, second album United in Regret came in October. Recorded at Albany, New York's Max Tax Studios and Hairy Breakfast Productions with Eyal Levi, Riddick assumed artwork duties yet again. Critical acclaim was bestowed upon United in Regret, as was the same for A Diamond for Disease. Late October through to November saw US dates with All Shall Perish and The Faceless, whereas Arsis played dates on the North American Death By Decibels Tour in mid December with Napalm Death, A Life Once Lost, Dead to Fall and Animosity. Arsis inked a global record contract in January 2007, and the label happened to be Germany's legendary Nuclear Blast. Immediately following this deal, the bittersweet news came that the group had parted ways with drummer Michael Van Dyne. At that time, Arsis was comprised of the following musicians; James Malone supplying both guitar and vocals, Ryan Knight (The Knife Trade) strumming guitar, Noah Martin (Blood Promise, Dark Empire, Avian) occupying bass and Darren Cesca (Virulence, Goratory, Pillory, Burn In Silence) thumping drums and donating backing vocals. The Chains of Humanity tour paired the group with God Forbid, Goatwhore and Mnemic, and travelled through North America from January to February. Arsis conducted yet more US dates from November through to December, this time alongside Enslaved and The Agonist, whereas January and February 2008 saw the outfit trek with the likes of Exodus, Goatwhore and Warbringer.
Review
In August 2007, Arsis had announced the title of their planned third album: We Are the Nightmare. Recording sessions for We Are the Nightmare began in earnest on September 3rd 2007 at Planet Z Studios in Massachusetts with Zeuss (Agnostic Front, Hatebreed, Municipal Waste) handling production and Alan Douches (Kataklysm, Unearth, Shadows Fall) overseeing mastering, and those sessions came to a close in mid October. In the realms of modern Extreme Metal, American Death Metal can be deemed one of the few genres which is audibly distinct. Much like the back of their very palm, Arsis are particularly familiar with this. Utilising technical, exploratory sonics prevalent within the material of groups such as both Sculptured and Nile, Arsis smoothly casts this against a blackened, sinister demeanour associated with groups such as Immolation and Morbid Angel. We Are the Nightmare comprises the present standard bearer, and arguably grasps the cherished crown from Hate Eternal's debut.
Axework forms the album's centrepiece, echoing the adopted method mapped out by most other American Death Metal acts. In this specific instance, the guitar work bears overt similarities to Nile. Irrespective of whether you're an admirer of Death Metal specifically, it doesn't prove overly difficult to become enamoured with the guitars. In all, “Shattering the Spell” can be deemed a prime example. By the time that the track approaches halfs its lifespan, such is the guitar work's intensity that the listener becomes almost wholly immersed. “Overthrown” treads the very same path in countless respects, and wields more solos than any full length penned by Van Halen. Its lead part would likely elicit a bewildered response from Rock god Eddie, not to mention a shaken head. However, the songs themselves thankfully maintain their general focus. The album's title cut is a catchy, anthemic affair, insofar as Death Metal's confines allow. The words powerful, destructive and masterful accurately describe the epic “Failure's Conquest”, a composition wallowing in grandeur. Without doubt, “Failure's Conquest” is the album's optimum asset. Whereas the Black Metal tinged “Sightless Wisdom” mouths caustic lyrics, technicality duels against groove within “A Fest for the Liar's Tongue”'s musical passages. Both collectively provide stylistic flexibility, thus widening the album's horizons via methods simply inaccessible to most Metal groups.
Death Metal immediately requires a vigorous injection, and We Are the Nightmare fulfils that necessity. In spite of pushing the envelope to its very limit, Nile's gains are seemingly insufficient. Whether one focuses their gaze upon the artwork, or their attentive ears upon the wondrously diverse material, or even the surprisingly fluent sound, this album is mandatory listening. If Arsis has yet to sit amongst their respective music collections, then admirers of Daath, Sculptured, Nile and Hate Eternal should rectify that situation.
