Arsis
10 Years of Guilt

31.07.2014

It's been a decade since the release of the debut album of U.S. technical melodic death metallers Arsis, a cult record among fans of the genre, which keeps getting more and more cover treatments, not only by YouTube guitarists, but also by keyboard players, who are more than happy to convert the band’s unique riffs, extremely melodic but also very heavy, into synthesizer passages. These manifestations of fans’ affection are the best proof that “A Celebration Of Guilt” is indeed an extraordinary record, even though the band behind it is still far from a household name. We got in contact with Arsis mastermind James Malone to discuss the 10th anniversary, as well as recent developments in the band’s camp.

It’s been more than a year since the release of your latest album “Unwelcome”. What have you been doing all this time?

Well, we recorded “Unwelcome” in the summer of 2012 and directly after we were done tracking the album, we were asked to record an EP for Scion A/V. To meet their deadline, we had approximately three weeks to get material together. This became the “Leper's Caress” EP. Funny enough, the EP was released before “Unwelcome”, since “Unwelcome” was recorded before “Leper's Caress”. To support/set up the EP and “Unwelcome”, we did 3 U.S. tours; one with Sonata Arctica, another with Krisiun, and the last one was with Wintersun. There are plans to start touring again in September, be on the lookout for dates!

You have a contract with Nuclear Blast, right? Do they set any deadlines for you regarding completion of the next album? What is your attitude to such clauses in record contracts? Is it really important for musicians not to have such kind of time limitations?

We are indeed under contract with Nuclear Blast, and have been for the past 8 years. Record contracts are a necessary evil, in my opinion, but we are fortunate that everyone at Nuclear Blast has always had our best interest at heart. I honestly have never felt limited as an artist during my time with the label.

Arsis has been changing significantly since the very beginning. There are fans of your early period, fans of “We Are the Nightmare” (2008) and those like the actual Arsis and don’t look back at the past. What’s your view of these three periods? Or maybe you don’t see it this way and don’t divide the history of Arsis into three periods?

I definitely can understand the idea of dividing the career of Arsis into three periods.  At first, the band was basically a studio project between a drummer (Michaen van Dyne – ed.) and myself. Basically, I handled all the songwriting duties and performed all the instruments, except drums, on these recordings. Around the time of "We are the Nightmare", the original drummer left, and I was forced to put a lineup together at the last minute.  I wanted more of a group effort on this recording, and I think it certainly shows in the sound of this record.  We were certainly trying to keep up with all of the 'tech death' bands that we had been touring with, and I am sure this is obvious.  After that, the original drummer returned, and we decided to make an album that revolted against the 'tech death' tag that we had been stuck with. This became "Starve for the Devil" (2010). Current is by far my favorite era of Arsis.

The line-up of Arsis is rather unstable. What is the main reason? Honestly it reminds me the situation in Death, historically.

When Arsis first started and even through our third album, we really didn't have 'line up'. It was just me and a drummer, and we picked guys to tour with. This did vary from tour to tour. As far as the lineups after that, people left and came back (most of them anyhow) usually because touring isn't for everyone. It’s a hard life and sometimes it’s good to take a break from it and revisit it with a stronger mind. Nowadays, the line up is super solid, everything is a group effort, and we just write the metal tunes we want to hear.

What is your attitude towards free downloading from the web? The majority of Arsis listeners here in Russia have got to know about you because of free sharing.

It's a double edged sword really.  On the one hand, it allows more people to check out your music and you have the potential to gain fans that you wouldn't have had otherwise.  The other side of this, is that people are getting your music and art for free.  At the end of the day, I have to be okay with it.  It's not something that I have any control over.

What music do you listen? What underrated bands could you mention/recommend for the readers of this interview? What music do you listen outside metal?

Lately, I have been listening a lot of In Solitude and Ghost.  I am a huge Mercyful Fate and King Diamond fan, and this is closest modern metal I have found to the mood that was created on the first bunch of MF/KD releases.  Other than metal, I am a big fan of 80's pop/goth rock.  I listen to a lot of Depeche Mode and The Mission.

How do you usually compose your music? What are the ideal conditions to compose the perfect riff that would be as expressive as a bullet? What do you need for that?

I feel that the best material always kind of flows out of me.  I generally jam until I find something that catches my attention.  I then record it, analyze it, and try to figure what about it made it unique or catchy.  Upon doing this, I try to deconstruct the idea(s) and build a puzzle with themes and variation.

When you compose your music do you first hear the music in your mind and then fix it or do you just improvise and fix the best ideas? Or maybe it passes in a different way?

It really depends, the music can come to me in both ways.

What is your song (songs) that you would mention as ideal? The song in which you managed to express your composer’s potential by 100%?

A lot the material on the first album (“Wholly Night” in particular), “A Diamond for Disease”, “Failure's Conquest”, and “Handbook for the Recently Deceased”. By the way, we are going to be doing some anniversary tours to celebrate our first album being 10 years old this year. These tours will take place in North America as well as Europe... be on the lookout for dates!

Arsis on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/arsis

Vitaly Mimoladov
July 18, 2014
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