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I liked Arsis' much-lauded debut A Celebration Of Guilt, though not as much as a lot of other people did, so when I started to hear the complaining about this one I admit I was curious. With this album Arsis have gone farther into Tech Death territory, but at the same time they have added other influences to their sound, creating what I think is their best disc yet.

This album sounds a whole lot less Death and way more Black/Thrash to me. The guitars are not really downtuned, and the riffage is much thrashier. This is technical, and so there is quite a bit of deedly-deedly going on, but it's well-done, and Arsis have become more intricate and complex without losing viciousness. The aggression and feral energy of the songwriting is what really got my attention about this disc, and what keeps me listening. The technicality of the songs makes them more sprawling, and they are not as hooky or memorable as the songs on their debut, but they also have more depth, and there is no remnant of melodeath to be heard here at all.

The opening track is a bit groovy for my taste, and you have to get through it to get to the good stuff on this album, but there is lots of good stuff to be had. We Are The Nightmare is a tight, aggressive assault of extreme metal intricacy. It's not as memorable as it might be, but there is always something cool going on. Check it out.