In a recording career that's just about 4 years old, Arsis have come up with a complete sizzler here in We Are the Nightmare, a scorching blend of technical thrash, black and death metal. If you love ultra complex guitar riffery and blazing drum patterns, you've come to the right. Despite the display of insane chops that takes up almost every second of this CD, each of the 10 tracks are highly melodic, as it's obvious that Arsis listened to plenty of At the Gates, Dark Tranquility, In Flames, and Arch Enemy in their early days, the catchy melodies working perfectly with the brutal rhythms and dizzying guitar work.
The guitar duo of James Malone & Ryan Knight impress every step of the way, bringing to mind the work of bands like Death, Necrophagia, Cryptopsy, Beneath the Massacre, Brain Drill, Cynic, Athiest, and Watchtower, and drummer Darren Cesca motors alongside them with non-stop acrobatic fills and blasts. Tracks like "Servants to the Night", "Shattering the Spell", and the awesome title cut grab you by the throat with one hand, while the other rips out your innards and tosses them aside. Check out the blinding unison lines & blast beats on "Failing Winds of Hopeless Greed", or the superhuman, almost Iron Maiden-ish harmonies of "Overthrown" for proof of the synergetic talent of these four players. Bassist Noah Martin fires away torrents of notes alongside Cesca's relentless barrage on "Progressive Entrapment ", with Malone's mix of scorching black metal screams and deep death metal growls provides plenty of brutality. For a stunning blend of crushing death metal and virtuoso shred guitar work, check out the finale "Failure's Conquest", complete with a non-stop assortment of blinding lead lines dripping with tone and finesse.
This is stunning stuff from start to finish folks, as We Are the Nightmare no doubt has signaled the arrival of a new heavyweight player on the extreme metal scene. It used to be a few years back that bands like Arch Enemy and Cannibal Corpse were the talk of the death metal world with their melodic and brutal technical fretwork, but with bands like Brain Drill, Beneath the Massacre, and Arsis around, the bar has definitely been raised.
Track Listing
1. We Are the Nightmare
2. Shattering the Spell
3. Sightless Wisdom
4. Servants to the Night
5. Failing Winds of Hopeless Greed
6. Overthrown
7. Progressive Entrapment
8. Fest for the Liar's Tongue
9. My Oath to Madness
10. Failure's Conquest
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