ARSIS
“Arsis”
in music theory is “silence”. When you play a note, then you are in “Thesis”
and when you wait for the note to complete it’s sound chronically without
hitting the chord again then you are in “Arsis”.
The word
“Arsis” is Greek and it means raising, lifting.
As another
(and the last) definition of the word “Arsis” I can give you the name of
a new, much promising band from the U.S. oriented in a mixture of black
with death. The first samples of their work are really excellent and I
think that they have to be prepared for a bright future.
1.TELL US IN A FEW WORDS THE MOST IMPORTANT
MOMENTS OF THE BAND’S HISTORY. WHICH IS THE CURRENT LINE UP?
Mike: I guess the most important
thing so far has just been getting some songs recorded, and seeing what
kind of reaction we get. The current lineup is just Jim and me. The two
of us are the band, although we are currently trying out rhythm guitarists
and bass players to learn the songs and play live with us.
2.WHY DID YOU SELECT A NAME THAT DERIVES
FROM THE THEORY OF MUSIC? DO YOU WANT IN THIS WAY TO INFORM PEOPLE OF YOUR
MUSICAL KNOWLEDGE?
Jim: I originally thought
the name Arsis would be an adequate name for a metal band after I read
a definition of Arsis in a book on conducting. The definition given
in that book was simply "silence". A lot can be read into that definition;
for example, silence could be taken to mean the end of life or death. Also
our music is anything but silent, so in that way the name could be taken
to mean the exact opposite of our music. In no way are we trying
to inform people of our musical knowledge, the music itself should let
people know. The fact that the name refers to music I feel is kind
of cool since we do play music.
3.BOTH OF YOU HAD STUDIES AT THE BERKLEE
COLLEGE OF MUSIC. THIS MEANS THAT YOU KNOW PRETTY WELL THE THEORY OF MUSIC.
SO, WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE HEAVY METAL MUSIC AND NOT PLAY SOMETHING ELSE
THAT DRAWS EASIER THE ATTENTION?
Mike: Honestly, I don’t really
like anything other than metal. I m 24 now, and that’s all I’ve been listening
to since I was about 10 years old. I guess it’s not even a conscious decision
for me, metal is what I’m all about and it’s all I’ve ever really played.
4.BESIDES THIS YOU PLAY QUITE MANY
INSTRUMENTS. HAVE YOU THOUGHT OF ENRICHING YOUR MUSIC WITH VIOLINS AND
OTHER CLASSICAL INSTRUMENTS?
Jim: The idea of adding classical
instruments to our music to enrich the sound is something that I've definitely
considered and is something that I'd like to experiment with in the future.
I think that in order to make something like that work I'd have to change
the way I write music to a certain degree. At the moment the guitar
parts are extremely busy. By this I mean that the guitars at any
given moment are handling both rhythm and melody simultaneously.
This I feel is necessary due to the nature of the vocals. As it stands
now, I'm afraid that the addition of instruments would make the sound become
very congested or cluttered. If certain aspects of our music were
simplified, the addition of instruments could be a very successful adventure.
5.TELL ME A FEW THINGS ON YOUR DEMO.
WHERE WAS IT RECORDED? HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU, WHO WAS THE PRODUCER,ETC.
ARE YOU STILL SATISFIED WITH IT OR IS THERE ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO CHANGE?
Mike: The tracks were recorded
at a couple different studios - Newbury Sound and Winter Sound. The mixing/mastering
was done at Max Trax Studios in New York (U.S.A.), and we produced it ourselves.
Bret Portzer was the engineer who mixed it, and I think it’s safe to say
that we re both pretty content with the end results. I think we did O.K.
considering we didn’t exactly have a huge budget to work with. It took
a couple months for everything to get finished, mainly due to some technical
difficulties transferring the master AIT tape/ProTools files between studios.
6.WHAT ARE THE LYRICS TALKING ABOUT?
REAL LIFE OR IMAGINARY SITUATIONS?
Jim: Both, and at times both
imaginary situations and real life situations are being addressed at the
same time. For example, the lyrics to "Elegant and Perverse" tell
of someone being drawn into a life of addiction and comparing this to someone
being seduced by a vampire or some other mythical creature. A lot
of times the lyrics are very vague so they can be taken either way.
Basically I try to take real situations or something that I have experienced
first hand and turn that into something supernatural or more interesting
than it actually is. Another example would be "Wholly Night".
On the surface those lyrics are about a Werewolf-like creature ripping
someone to pieces. I actually drew inspiration for this one from
life itself. Many times in life I found myself being pulled in a
million different directions; between family, love interests, school, work
etc. I compare this feeling of being pulled in a million different
directions to being ripped limb from limb by a beast.
7.WHAT INSPIRES YOU AND WHAT CAN TAKE
AWAY THE INSPIRATION FROM YOU?
Mike: Drum-wise, I usually just
get inspiration from listening to my favorite drummers. Some of the albums
that inspire me the most are Seasons in the Abyss and Divine Intervention
by Slayer, Symbolic by Death, and Retribution by Malevolent Creation. I’m
always inspired to play, although I’ve had experiences in the past where
I’ve played with people who didn’t have a lot of motivation, and that was
always frustrating.
8.HAVE YOU SENT THIS FAR YOUR DEMO
TO ANY LABELS? WHICH WERE THE REACTIONS? WHAT KIND OF REVIEWS DID YOU RECEIVE
IN GENERAL?
Jim: The demo has been sent
to a few record labels but we have yet to hear from many of these labels.
At the current time our press kit is very basic and I feel that this may
be contributing to record labels not paying us that much attention. As
far as the reviews are concerned, every review that we have received has
been positive. There has been criticism but that has usually been about
the basic packaging of the CD and not the music. I just hope that the executives
at the record companies share the same opinions as the people reviewing
our material. If this happens we'll be signed in no time.
9.IS ARSIS A BAND OF JAMES OR IS THIS
A COMMON ATTEMPT? I READ IN YOUR BIO THAT JAMES CALLED MIKE TO PLAY THE
DRUMS, SO DOES THIS MEAN THAT ALL SONGS WERE COMPLETELY WRITTEN AND ARRANGED
BY JAMES OR DOES MIKE HAVE A SAY AS WELL?
Jim: Mike definitely has
a say in everything that Arsis does. While it is true that I do write
the material, Mike has full freedom with his drum parts and has had a lot
to do with the arrangements on much of the material. In many ways
Mike is a much more educated and disciplined musician than I am, so his
input and opinions are more than welcomed. I'm sure his involvement in
the composition process will only grow as the band evolves. Arsis is definitely
a group effort.
10.HOW ARE YOU PLANNING TO PROMOTE
YOUR WORK? HAVE YOU DONE ANY LIVE SHOWS TILL NOW? WHAT ARE YOU THINKING
OF DOING? HAVING SESSIONISTS OR FULL TIME MEMBERS?
Jim: To promote our work
we are definitely planning on playing as many live shows as we possibly
can. At the current time I cannot say if the members will be session members
or full time members. If we can find others who share the Arsis vision
and want to be full time members, then that would be the most ideal situation.
If not, Mike and I are prepared to handle the writing and recording duties
ourselves. Only time will tell.
11.NAME SOME OF YOUR MOST BELOVED BANDS
AND INFLUENCES. ARE THERE ANY ALBUMS YOU’D LIKE TO HAVE COMPOSED YOURSELVES?
Mike: Iron Maiden, Judas Priest,
Slayer, Death, Ozzy, Dark Angel........those are some of my favorite bands.
Somewhere in Time by Maiden and Diary of a Madman by Ozzy are definitely
two of the best releases ever.
12.WHAT’S GOING ON WITH HEAVY METAL
MUSIC THERE? IT’S COMING TO LIFE I THINK LITTLE BY LITTLE. ARE THERE ANY
NEW BANDS YOU LIKE AND FIND PROMISING?
Mike: There’s a lot of good bands
out there.......there was a band from my hometown called Stigmata, and
they were totally awesome. They put out a few cds in the 90 s on various
indie labels. I’d recommend buying their Hymns for an Unknown God cd, it
pounds.
13.ARE YOU ANNOYED BY PEOPLE WHO JUDGE
THE ARTISTIC VALUE OF A BAND BY THE NUMBER OF CDS THEY SELL?
Mike: Not really - although to
me, a lot of the bigger metal bands today sound pretty watered down. I
understand that the music industry is a business, but I personally wouldn’t
be able to sleep at night knowing that I played crappy music just to make
money.
14.WHICH DO YOU THINK IS THE BEST AND
WHICH IS THE WORST PART OF YOUR MUSIC? WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU NEED FURTHER
IMPROVEMENT?
Mike: I think the best aspect of
Arsis is the combination of old and new school metal. We re both all about
80s metal, but we also really like bands like Dying Fetus and Nile, too.
This, I feel, definitely comes across in the music. As far as improvement,
I think as long as we continue down the same path we’ve been going, every
aspect of the band (our playing abilities, the production quality of recordings,
live shows, etc.) will only get better.
15.WHAT TITLE WOULD YOU LIKE
THIS INTERVIEW TO HAVE?
Mike: How about Arsis - Death to
False Metal
16.THANK YOU! HAVE I FORGOTTEN TO ASK
YOU ANYTHING AND YOU’D LIKE TO MENTION?
Jim: Behind the Veil ROCKS!!!
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to do this interview!
Mike: Thanks for your support and
kind words! Take care.
|