Times change and so do lineups.....

Arsis drummer Michael Van Dyne, a founding member of the group, has left the band for personal reasons. He has tentatively been replaced by Darren Cesca (Burn In Silence, Goratory).

However, even the departure of a founding member can't stop Arsis climb up the metal pecking order as they've just announced their recent signing to Nuclear Blast Records!

You can read below for the official press release:

When it comes to seminal death metal bands from North America, the East Coast alone can boast the likes of the genre's greatest staples such as Cannibal Corpse, Immolation, Death, Morbid Angel, and Nile. With West Virginia's legacy of being the only state formed as a direct result of the American Civil War, it's no wonder that Arsis have continued this tide of insurgence - albeit in the musical realm. The band, which derived its name from the musical term "arsis and thesis" meaning unstressed (up-) and stressed (down-) beats respectively, makes music that is righteously tinged with black and thrash metal influences, but is completely dedicated to expanding the reaches of melodicism and technicality in the genre of death metal.

Checking in from their current tour with God Forbid, Mnemic, and Goatwhore, founding member/guitarist/lead vocalist and former Berklee College of Music student James Malone has this to say about the newly-inked worldwide collaboration with Nuclear Blast Records:

"Since the conception of Arsis, I hoped to see the band as a part of the Nuclear Blast roster. Four years later, this is now a reality. I expect great things this coming year; the band is now a four piece, solid tours are on the way, and we have a fantastic label behind us 100%. I am more excited now about the potential of the band than I have ever been."

All of the Arsis recordings (which include two demos, one EP, and two full-length albums) have won the band many rabid fans among the metal underground, the metal press, and metal musicians themselves. Their 2004 debut, "A Celebration Of Guilt," was praised to hell and back by Revolver Magazine as "the best in the genre since At The Gates' legendary swan song [Slaughter Of The Soul]."

Given their current momentum in support of their latest album, "United In Regret," and with, as Malone states, "our most brutal release coming in 2008," Arsis are well on their way to making their discography absolutely essential for any fan with an extreme music library.