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These Arms Are Snakes' second release Easter, produced
by Chris Common (the band's drummer) is a fricassee of
metal/hardcore furor and impulsive vocal lunges. The individual
instrument parts are suited to the individual players and hashed
out at varying degrees of speed and sound frequency as they twist
and hurdle through the songs. There is familiarity in the metal
binding and formidable deluges and tonality to Hot Cross
and Botch. TAAS play metal to the max, coming at the listener
in disgruntled heaps, mauling slingshots, and elbowing rants.
The bending and twisting effects in the series of guitar notes
performed by Ryan Frederiksen on tracks like "Subtle
Body" and "Horse Girl" are intensely perplex and
piercing. The rhythm sections strategically maneuvered by drummer
Common and bassist Brian Cook are stocky and add weight
to lead singer Steve Snere's coarse vocal timbres. The
instrumental piece "Desert Ghost" acts as a prelude
to the acerbic psychedelics in "Child Chicken Play,"
which segues into the space-age shaped mechanics of "Hell's
Bank Notes" and the parallel trails of percussive chants
on "Abracadabraca." The vocal handling in "Abracadabraca"
is tightly gripped with a robust hold while the instruments variables
accrue a hounding unity in the build up and progressions making
it one of the most cultivated tracks on the album where the vocals
and instrument lines are precisely columned.
The song "Lady North" is attired with impressive vocal
stretches and volcanic width. The acoustic guitar licks on "Perpetual
Bris" cable into a lengthy organ regalia and a tomb-like
vocal séance. A lot of the songs have a séance vibe
to them, like the vocals are speaking to someone in another life.
The music manifests into makeshift wings that bring the emotive
and rugged vocals to the person who is meant to hear these lyrics.
Like in "Lady North", where Snere barks, "You took
my hand and threw me in the grave…/ Now hold your throat/
The air's a little worse than last week/ It's a little bit warmer
than last week/ Is it really like you weren't informed?/ Well,
consider yourself enlightened now."
Its true heavy metal witticism that dates back to Black Sabbath
and AC/DC. (I told you there was a familiarity in TAAS'
music). The dark and gloomy tones in TAAS' songs are shrink wrapped
into metalcore atmospheres which give each player space to act
out loudly and independent of each other. Their lines are less
clumped together than in other metal/hardcore bands but just as
aggressively serrated and heavy in chafing wraiths. These Arms
Are Snakes keep metal music relatable to the present in their
own way.
-Susan Frances
Track Listing:
1. Mescaline Eyes
2. Horse Girl
3. Subtle Body
4. Desert Ghost
5. Child Chicken Play
6. Hell's Bank Notes
7. Abracadabraca
8. Deer Lodge
9. Lady North
10. Perpetual Bris
11. Coporeal
12. Crazy Woman Dirty Train
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