I think it’s no secret that I have a mild man-crush on the band ARSIS and their brand of blackened, neoclassical-esque death metal. So it goes without saying that when the opportunity to check them out live came up, I jumped at the chance and trekked down to Springfield, VA to see them in action.

Right off the bat, the guys in ARSIS are probably some of the most unassuming folks you’ll ever meet. For a split second, I assumed that the members of the band floating around the venue were just regular guys there to catch the show. This perception, however, changes when they take the stage and melt your face off. Though they drew mainly from their 2004 Willowtip debut A Celebration of Guilt, playing “”The Face of My Innocence”", “”Worship Depraved”" and “”Return”" among others, they also performed “”The Promise of Never”" (with its fantastic chorus “”I gave you roses. Be careful of the fucking thorns.”") and an abridged version of the epic “”A Diamond for Disease”" from the EP of the same name. Unfortunately for ARSIS and the audience, the sound mix at Jaxx was terrible, obscuring the elaborate lead guitar parts that distinguish ARSIS from so many other bands. This particular issue also detracted from the new songs, “”The Hopeless Truth”" and “”The Cold Resistance,”" that the band performed from their upcoming record United In Regret. From what I could tell, the songs sounded promising, but Jaxx did not help in that respect.

ARSIS are a very technically proficient band and when they perform live, they are able to recreate their music extremely well. Yet, their stage show doesn’t fully capture the energy that their music is so full of. Granted, most bands shouldn’t jump around like FALL OUT BOY all the time because, that way, their songs are actually played properly. But when it gets so quiet between songs that you can hear a pin drop, it’s time to up the onstage charisma a bit. Regardless, the sheer force of the music was enough to whip the small, but devoted, audience into a frenzy and it is well worth your time to check out one of the best of the current crop of American metal bands.