The band's main composer, singer/guitarist/songwriter James Malone, wrote and performed all the guitar, vocal, and bass work on the first studio album, A Celebration of Guilt, as well as the follow-up, A Diamond for Disease. Malone also composed and performed a score for the off-Broadway ballet company Ballet Deviare.[4] He has a signature model for Washburn Guitars.[5]
Mike Van Dyne performed drums on all of Arsis' releases and tours up until early 2007, and recorded/toured again with the band from 2009 until 2011. Van Dyne went on to record and perform live with The Final Sleep.[6]
We Are the Nightmare and lineup changes (2007–2008)
The band signed to Nuclear Blast just before original drummer Van Dyne left to pursue a degree in medicine; he was replaced by Darren Cesca. Noah Martin, who played bass on United in Regret, and Ryan Knight were also added to the lineup to complete the touring cycle and record We Are the Nightmare (2008), their first album with Nuclear Blast. That summer 2008, Arsis played on the Thrash & Burn tour.[7]
Cesca was let go in 2008, with differences in musical direction provided as the reason; he was replaced on tour by Alex Tomlin of Battlemaster and later by Shawn Priest. Martin left the group in the fall of 2008 to return to college. In late 2008, Nick Cordle (guitar) and David Kinkade (drums) joined the band, and in December Knight left Arsis to join The Black Dahlia Murder.[citation needed]
On March 18, 2009, Malone issued a statement explaining and apologizing for recent tour cancellations and lineup changes, citing personal reasons. Soon after, it was announced that original drummer Mike Van Dyne would return (although due to career commitments, his ability to tour with the band may be limited).[8]
Starve for the Devil (2009–2011)
In July 2009, it was announced that work was ongoing for their next record, Starve for the Devil. In September, recording sessions began with Nathaniel Carter performing bass and production being handled again by Zeuss. The record was released on February 9, 2010, and landed at No.13 on the Billboard Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, making Starve for the Devil the highest charting Arsis album.[9]
In January 2010, Arsis released a music video for "Forced to Rock", the first track off Starve for the Devil.
In January and February 2010, Arsis toured the U.S. and Canada with Arch Enemy, Exodus, and Mutiny Within on the Tyrants of Evil North American Tour.
On March 6, 2010, Arsis performed at the Eye Scream Metal Fest II in Mexico City (the band's first ever performance in Latin America) with Sacred Reich, Cynic, Municipal Waste, and Dying Fetus. This festival, the Tyrants of Evil Tour, and the Neckbreakers Ball Tour are the only times the full Starve for the Devil recording lineup performed live.
On May 13, 2010, Noah Martin rejoined the band, despite staying enrolled in college, following the departure of Nathaniel Carter.
In November 2010, the lineup of Malone, Cordle, Martin, and Van Dyne toured Europe extensively with Misery Index, Grave, The Last Felony, and The Rotted, followed by a U.S. headlining tour in December with Powerglove and Conducting from the Grave. During their headlining dates, Arsis performed the 12+ minute track "A Diamond for Disease" in its entirety for the first time ever.[10]
On August 9, 2011, Willowtip Records reissued Arsis' acclaimed debut album A Celebration of Guilt with two bonus tracks and expanded artwork.[11]
Unwelcome (2011–2017)
News of demos and samples of a new full-length record starting pouring out in early 2012. Not long after, however, guitarist Nick Cordle left the band to join Arch Enemy.[12] Shortly after that, longtime drummer and founding member Mike Van Dyne departed Arsis to concentrate on his career full-time.[13]
On March 13, 2012, Arsis released a demo song entitled "Choking on Sand" featuring Malone on vocals and both guitars and Noah Martin on bass.[14]
On April 6, Arsis announced Shawn Priest as Mike Van Dyne's replacement and reposted the demo song "Choking on Sand" with Shawn on the recording.[15]
Tracking for the as-of-then still untitled full-length record produced by Mark Lewis began on June 4.[16] Raw video footage from the recording sessions was posted by the band on Facebook on July 19.[17]
On July 27, 2012, the album art and title for Unwelcome were made public.[18]
On December 4, 2012, Arsis released an EP entitled Lepers Caress preceding the release of Unwelcome containing new songs that would be on the full-length record as well as some re-recordings from their earlier catalog.
In 2015, Arsis supported Sepultura on their 30th Anniversary tour, they were also joined by Destruction and Starkill.[20]
In 2016, Arsis released their pre-production demo which is titled "As Deep As Your Flesh".[21] They also opened up for Scar Symmetry once again on their North American tour alongside Shattered Sun and Painted in Exile.[22]
Mercyful Fate is a Danish heavy metal band from Copenhagen, formed in 1981 by vocalist King Diamond and guitarist Hank Shermann. Influenced by progressive rock and hard rock, and with lyrics dealing with LaVeyan Satanism and the occult, Mercyful Fate was part of the first wave of black metal in the early to mid-1980s, along with Venom and Bathory. The band is also cited as a formative influence on many then-up-and-coming subgenres of heavy metal, including thrash metal and death metal, as well as the Norwegian black metal scene.
Sanctuary is an American heavy metal band, formed in 1985 in Seattle, Washington. They were broken up from 1992 to 2010. The band consists of Lenny Rutledge (guitar), Joseph Michael (vocals), George Hernandez (bass), and Dave Budbill (drums). The lead vocalist position was held by Warrel Dane until his death in 2017. They have released four studio albums and one live EP.
Cryptopsy is a Canadian death metal band from Montreal, formed in 1988.
Moonspell is a Portuguese gothic metal band formed in 1992. The group released their first EP, Under the Moonspell, in 1994 and followed up with their debut album, Wolfheart, a year later. They quickly became the most recognizable metal band from Portugal and a key figure in gothic metal. Fernando Ribeiro is co-founder, singer and songwriter of the band.
The Black Dahlia Murder is an American melodic death metal band from Waterford, Michigan, formed in 2001. Their name is derived from the 1947 unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short, often referred to as Black Dahlia. Currently, the band consists of lead vocalist Brian Eschbach, bassist Max Lavelle, drummer Alan Cassidy, and guitarists Brandon Ellis and Ryan Knight. The Black Dahlia Murder has undergone various lineup changes, with Trevor Strnad and Eschbach remaining the only constant members, until the former's death in 2022, which then saw Eschbach take over lead vocals and Knight replacing him on rhythm guitar.
Necrophagist was a German technical death metal band founded and fronted by guitarist and vocalist Muhammed Suiçmez. The band used baroque music-influenced compositions paired with extreme metal drumming.
Grave is a Swedish death metal band that was formed in 1988 by vocalist and guitarist Ola Lindgren who is their only constant member. The band had particular success in the early 1990s, and their first four albums, Into the Grave, You'll Never See..., Soulless and Hating Life, cemented their reputation as one of Sweden's foremost death metal bands. Grave went on hiatus in 1997, but got back together two years later. Since then, they have released seven more albums, making a total of eleven studio albums. Along with Dismember, Entombed and Unleashed, Grave is considered one of the "big four" of Swedish death metal.
Destruction is a German thrash metal band formed in 1982. They have been credited as one of the "Big Four" of the German thrash metal scene, the others being Kreator, Sodom and Tankard. In addition to helping pioneer black metal, Destruction was part of the second wave of thrash metal in the mid-to-late 1980s, along with US bands Testament, Sacred Reich, Death Angel and Dark Angel. For most of the 1990s, the band was not signed to a record label and self-produced their albums until they signed a contract with Nuclear Blast in the early 2000s.
Primal Fear is a German power metal band formed in 1997 by Ralf Scheepers and Mat Sinner. Sinner and Scheepers formed the band after Scheepers was not hired as Rob Halford's replacement in Judas Priest.
Christopher Amott is a Swedish guitarist, younger brother of Michael Amott and founding member of the metal bands Arch Enemy and Armageddon. He is most recently the former guitarist for Dark Tranquillity.
A Celebration of Guilt is the debut studio album released by American death metal band Arsis.
Deströyer 666 is an Australian extreme metal band formed in 1994 by vocalist and guitarist K. K. Warslut. The group originated in Melbourne, Australia and by 2001 had relocated to Europe.
A Diamond for Disease is an EP by American heavy metal band Arsis released on October 25, 2005, via Willowtip Records. The title track, "A Diamond for Disease", took almost four months to write. This release also includes an Alice Cooper cover from the Raise Your Fist and Yell album, and "The Promise of Never". The EP was mastered by James Murphy, who is best known for his work with Death, Testament, Obituary, and Disincarnate.
The Red Death was an American extreme metal band from Bath, New York.
United in Regret is the second studio album released by American death metal band Arsis. This album has Noah Martin on session bass as opposed to James Malone, and features a guest guitar solo by Emil Werstler of Chimaira and Dååth on "The Things You Said." United in Regret received favorable reviews from press worldwide, including The Village Voice, Pop Matters, Metal Review, and Metal Maniacs magazine.
Cynic is an American progressive metal band formed in Miami, Florida in 1987. The band has been primarily based in California since the late 1990s, marking a significant shift in their geographic and creative roots. Paul Masvidal originally served solely as the band's guitarist, but later took over as lead vocalist and chief songwriter. Cynic incorporates elements of progressive rock, alternative, and metal.
As Regret Becomes Guilt: The Demos of Arsis is a compilation album by American heavy metal band Arsis which was officially released on December 28, 2007 in both physical and digital formats via Negative-Existence Records. This release contains the band’s pre-A Celebration of Guilt recordings from 2001 and 2002, which led to Arsis signing with Willowtip Records in 2003.
Starve for the Devil is the fourth studio album by American melodic death metal band Arsis. It was released on February 9, 2010, by Nuclear Blast Records.
Unwelcome is the fifth studio album by the American death metal band Arsis. It was released on April 30, 2013 through Nuclear Blast Records. This is the first full-length album to feature Shawn Priest on drums and Brandon Ellis on guitar. The second track is taken from their 2012 EP, Lepers Caress. This album was produced by Mark Lewis.
Lepers Caress is the second EP by american metal band Arsis. It was released on December 4, 2012 as a digital release through Scion Audio/Visual. This is the first album to feature Shawn Priest on drums and Brandon Ellis on guitars who joined earlier that year. They replacing Mike Van Dyne and Nick Cordle after their departure.
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