Starve for the Devil

Arsis are turning out to be one of the weirdest, most schizo bands around, as each release changes unpredictably from the last one, and yet they never leave their signature sound entirely behind, more like choosing to emphasize a different aspect of their sound on each recording. Their last disc We Are the Nightmare was a distillation of their most aggressive and technical aspects, while this new one is a return to their melodic roots with a hookier, more simplistic sound.

Note that I said 'more' simplistic, not 'simplistic', as this is Arsis, and they are still an intensively musical band, and I don't think they could make an album that was too simple. This is just way less technical than the last one, with songs that have more flow to them and a lot of Arch Enemy styled guitar licks. The musicianship is impressive, the production is so-so, the vocals are faceless, and while some of the songs are quite good ("A March For The Sick", "Beyond Forlorn") some of them are sucky (the awful opener "Forced to Rock") I note a definite Children of Boredom sound creeping in, with the often silly lyrics and the more melodic songwriting, and that's not good, but overall this is still an enjoyable album. I don't like it as well as the last one, but really, Arsis are fundamentally a derivative, second-rate band, and I don't ever expect them to produce a real classic. They just don't have it in them.