(Nuclear Blast) Total Time: 40:44
“Starve for The Devil” is the fourth full album by Virginia Beach death metallers Arsis. In these four albums Arsis have managed to initially astonish critics and fans alike with their tech/prog death metal debut “A Celebration of Guilt” (some would even go as far as seeing in Arsis the heirs of legendary Death), and then disappoint many of them them by taking a turn to more 'mainstream' melodic death metal. This album completes this melodic turn and it seems that the band stabilise their sound after their initial endeavours. Playing less technical is certainly not bad, and not trying to play like Death is definitely very wise, as some things are meant to happen only once...
The album opens with the worst possible opening, the shallow “Forced to Rock”, a cheesy anthem put there to catch radio time. What is even worse about the song is its paternalistic tone, depicted in phrases like “Where the only hell is growing old, we are starving for the beast”. Further evidence of paternalism can be found in James Malone's (guitar, vocals, the band's mastermind) own statement: "'How can I better the world?' This is the question that I asked myself when writing 'Forced to rock'. [...]”. Well, let me only say that a special “grown-ups edition” of the album excluding “Forced to Rock” would be appropriate.
So let us pretend for a moment that we have that special edition at hand and take it from there. The album depicts Malone's personal battle against anorexia, and this is where the title and the lyrics come from. Musically, the album distances itself from the tech death metal style of its predecessor, “We Are The Nighmare”, and moves to more melodic lines, sometimes getting dangerously close to the sound of Arch Enemy. There are still guitar solos but they seem to fit better and they won't tire the listener. There is an overall robustness in what Arsis present here, but at the same time their music is diverse and deep.
“Starve for The Devil” has diversity within songs, but also from one song to the next. Certain compositions are remarkably well-knit, enclosing substance that is revealed gradually to the listener – and that won't happen at first listen. A special mention should be made to “Closer to Cold”, a stunning melodic death metal hymn with recurring epic black riffs and an overall progressive/doom attitude (I could also hear a reference to Malmsteen). A must listen!
Taking stock, Arsis here present a melodic death metal album that deserves your attention, no matter how crowded the genre might look to you. There is a certain mishap with the opening track, and otherwise my rating would have been a bit higher.
