Guitarist/vocalist James Malone of Virginia's Arsis has issued the following update:
"Despite the numerous headaches caused by our van's breakdown this summer, we spent time working on perfecting pre-production for our debut release for Nuclear Blast Records, tentatively titled 'We Are The Nightmare'. We will begin recording the album on September 3, 2007 at Planet Z Studios in Massachusetts with Zeuss (who has worked with Shadows Fall and Hatebreed) handling the production. I feel that this will be the most exciting ARSIS album to date. We are now a full band and every member has contributed to the writing process for this album. While it is more varied than anything we have ever written, I feel the result is a much more focused product."
Arsis drummer Darren Cesca added: "This is an album any fan of Arsis or heavy music in general should get excited about. We've really captured the band's sound and improved it in all aspects. It's dark, melodic, and very technical at times, but we wrote songs you can pump your fists to. I've definitely pushed my drumming very far for this record and I know the rest of the band will be pushing themselves as well. One thing's for sure: this is going to be one fun album to listen to. As soon as we finish recording, we plan on shooting a video for 'We Are the Nightmare' in October, then we’ll be hitting the road withEnslaved in November and Exodus in January. The album should be stores sometime in early 2008 and I am sure more touring will ensue after that. 2008 should be a busy year for us and we're looking forward to it!"
All of the Arsis recordings (which include two demos, one EP, and two full-length albums) have won the band many rabid fans among the metal underground, the metal press, and metal musicians themselves. Their 2004 debut, "A Celebration of Guilt", was praised to hell and back by Revolver magazine as "the best in the genre since At The Gates' legendary swan song ['Slaughter of the Soul']." Source: NuclearBlast
