Arsis
Unwelcome
Nuclear Blast Records
Street: 04.30
Arsis = Epicurean + Suicide Silence
When I first started listening to Unwelcome, I was a little apprehensive—however, the album’s title and first song pulled me in. The chugging guitars, blasting double bass and high, pterodactyl-Satan vocals brought back warm fuzzy memories. With track names such as “Choking On Sand,” you’re damn right you’ve got my attention. I YouTube’d the video for “Carve My Cross,” and within the first 30 seconds, saw a scary pig mask, a dude doing a hair-icane and some very metal people wandering through a spooky house! Despite all these very metal things, I can’t help but point out the band’s continuous game of musical chairs it plays with its members, and the inconsistency of the last few albums, which make me think that they are only out to please the current trend followers and, in the end, make themselves a prime example of gimmick metal. –Carl Acheson