ARSIS On Lineup Changes, Upcoming Album

HardRockRVA recently conducted an interview with Noah Martin (bass) and Jim Malone (guitar, vocals) of Virginia-based melodic tech-death metal masters ARSIS. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

HardRockRVA: What have you two been up to in the last year or so? Drummer Mike Van Dyne left (again) and it looks like you got Shawn Priest back. Is this revolving door syndrome starting to get to you guys? Or does it not really matter who's playing behind you two?

James: Noah and I have been extremely busy with ARSIS since last February. We basically wrote the entire album in two months; we really were writing nonstop. We then spent most of the summer honing the tracks and recording them with Mark Lewis (AudioHammer),finishing the album in August. As far as "the revolving door" of musicians is concerned, the Wikipedia page is very misleading. There are people listed as being former members that I literally never met in my life. [laughs] Just because you played session bass on a demo 12 years ago before the band was even called ARSIS does not make you a "former" or "past" member. Just saying. While it is true that we switched drummers with these recordings, Shawn probably did as many tours with ARSIS to support the last album as Mike did. To me, it felt like he was doing a ton work without getting respect of playing on a recording and this was terribly unfair. Shawn's playing on the new recordings is effin' beast!!! I could not be happier with way everything came together for these releases. The fact of the matter is that the band is better now than it has been and I hope everything stays as it is now for the rest of our career.

HardRockRVA: Noah, you've been in and out of the band a couple times, what's your long-term status now?

Noah: Well, this only happened once. I left the band once in September '08, and returned to the group in May '10. I've been in the band, full-time, ever since. During the time I was out of the band, I was taking full loads of classes and working at music shop here in Virginia Beach. Now, I'm just getting in a semester here and there during our down time. It really isn't more complicated than that.

HardRockRVA: Jim, in the last year or two, you've stepped down from an Arsis tour, got married, cut your hair and now you're back writing new ARSIS material. What else have you been up to? How's life treating you?

James: All of this is true, I guess a lot can happen in a short amount of time. Life is busy, but it's a good busy. If I am not at my day job with Parks and Recreation, I am busy doing music in some manner. If I am not writing and recording with ARSIS, I am working on music with my wife. It's kinda awesome.

HardRockRVA: What was the skinny on stepping down from the ARSIS tour anyway? Were you having second thoughts about continuing the band or did you have other priorities?

James: I know it came as a shock to a lot of people that I would not be participating in the tour, but the fact is that I informed the band and record label two months before the tour was to start that I saddly could not do it. It wasn't as if I just didn't show up to rehearsal or something. Basically, the tour offer came to us in February 2011 and we agreed although the tour was not to take place until October 2011. In March of that year, I started working full time (at a hair salon),for the first time in years and was qualifying for health insurance in September 2011. This would've been the first time I had health insurance since we recorded "A Celebration Of Guilt" when I was in college. I have been very public about some of my personal issues that have caused problems for me/us professionally, so the idea of having health insurance, if even for a short time, to get some of these things under control was VERY appealing. Unfortunately, this meant sitting out a tour, letting down my band, our fans, booking agent, promoters etc. It literally broke my heart, but it was necessary for the run. I am a better person now, and have been able to focus for the first time in years and give my all to ARSIS again. I am glad the guys pulled it together and did the tour without me. While I was depressed about the whole thing, I was proud to know they were out there kicking ass and doing the right thing. I regret not being able to do so.

Read the entire interview from HardRockRVA.