Arsis' technical mastery has never been in doubt, and they continue that on We Are The Nightmare. The songs are complex, with great guitar riffs and impressive solos. My biggest complaint with their last album was the lack of hooks. That has been remedied here. In addition to their impressive musicianship, Arsis has made the songs on this CD very catchy and memorable.
Subtlety and extreme music don't really go together, but there is a surprising amount of nuance and subtlety here that you'll notice upon repeated listens. James Malone is Arsis' vocalist, and he adds some variety by using both angry, high pitched screams and ominous death metal growls. I don't know if progressive technical melodic death metal is an actual genre, but it describes We Are The Nightmare pretty well.
(released April 15, 2008 on Nuclear Blast Records)
