By: Anders

Posted: Aug 24, 2005

Catchy and enchanting melodies, twisting their way in and out of each other, on top of a base of heavy riffs, a bass that keeps the rhythm in awe and thundering double bass drums, that's more or less how to describe the musical experience of Arsis. Well the band Arsis that is and not the term "arsis" which is a musical term meaning silence.

The musicianship and song writing displayed on this album is pretty good. The musicians know their way around the instruments and how to make them noisy and effective. There are some good riffs here and there, and some really good leads and solos and many killer melodies. Though I can't help of thinking of Swedish melodic death metal mixed with the weight and thoughtfulness of Carcass, when hearing the music. Composition-wise Arsis draws a lot on newer Carcass, and the same goes for some of the atmospheres the band invokes. That is not an entirely bad thing, in this context it is rather enjoyable.

The vocal is a nice and screamy growl, varied with a deeper growl at times. The vocal works very well and fits perfectly in the melodic, but hard hitting universe of Arsis. The drumming is pretty good as well, pummelling and pretty straight forward, but there are some nice breaks, some good patterns and nice pace shifts.

This is one of the best melodic oriented death metal albums that I have heard in a while. Even though Arsis plays on a lot recognizable influences, they deliver some fresh, catchy and pretty hard hitting metal. It might not catch on at the first listen, but believe me it comes. If older Swedish melodic death metal, Carcass and old heavy metal speak to you, I'm sure you'll find some joy while listening to this band. If the first couple of tracks doesn't cling onto you, check out the last track 'Wholly Night', the dark and enchanting atmosphere in that track is amazing.

Rating: 8/10

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