Virginia tech-death metal band Arsis — who have recently undergone a few lineup changes — released their fourth studio album, Unwelcome, April 30 in the US via Nuclear Blast Records.
It seems nothing is ever "normal" for Arsis, who have a habit of overcoming the obstacles life frequently puts in their path.
This time, headliners Hypocrisy and main support act Aborted dropped out of a North American tour that featured Arsis in the lineup. Regardless, with Brazilian death metal trio Krisiun set up as the new headliners, Arsis did the tour anyway.
I caught up with mainman James Malone at the band's May 17 Los Angeles stop at the Vex. We discussed some recent Arsis events, the then-ongoing tour, their new album and more. Listen to our nine-minute chat below, and visit Arsis online at facebook.com/arsis.
Andrew Bansal is a writer who has been running his own website, Metal Assault, since early 2010, and has been prolific in covering the hard rock and heavy metal scene by posting interviews, news, reviews and pictures on his website — with the help of a small group of people. He briefly moved away from the Los Angeles scene and explored metal in India, but he is now back in LA continuing from where he left off.