A year ago, if you came up to me and told me that an American band could release a decent melodic death metal record I would have given you a strange stare and walked away. If you told me that an American band could put together an excellent melodic death metal release that would throw the listener back a decade, I would have laughed you in the face. Well, it’s time to eat my own hat: Arsis’s A Celebration Of Guilt actually fucking delivered.

The minute the album kicks in gear with "The Face Of My Innocence" it’s just a whirlwind of sheer melodic chaos. The guitar playing is tight, the solos are good, and the vocals have this high pitch shrill that sound like what would happen if you genetically spliced together a Norwegian black metal lunatic and Jeff Walker. The drumming is standard fair, but nothing overly notable. The end result is a sound that throws the listener back to the days of Slaughter Of The Soul and Heartwork, all while maintaining an impressive display of technical ability.

And boy do the songs deliver, but there’s a catch: while individually the songs range from decent to murderously good, when compiled into a whole package the album hits a giant tedious spot. As you go from "The Face Of My Innocence" to "Carnal Ways To Recreate The Heart" and end on "Wholly Night", you hit this weird decline of apathy towards the songs that hits barrel bottom toward the middle, but then descends back up to its starting point towards the end. It’s like a horribly-made cream donut: the donut/frosting that bookends the cream is always awesome and the cream is usually good by itself, but when combined the taste lacks a certain element and towards the middle you just lose the drive to finish eating. The only reason you finish is when you get past the bulk of the cream there is a promise of awesome taste again.

Same thing goes with Arsis: individually the songs are awesome, but somehow the final mixed product becomes like this epic battle to get through the middle. Still though, what is on this album is definitely worth a listen for any melodic death metal fan. Fuck Soilwork and Dark Tranquility, I’ll stick with Arsis.

Review byNecro-tron