After 3 years of playing locally and on tour in the north eastern United States, Arsena released their sophomore EP “Dawn of the Second Sun” on physical and digital formats. This 4 song, genre-bending epic of dynamic soundscape gripped listeners worldwide with its dissonant riffage, blues-inspired solos, interconnected lyrical content, and catchy, melodic vocals. It has since been streamed thousands of times on multiple formats including Spotify, YouTube, Bandcamp, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. After the exponential increase in fan base from the release, Arsena has returned to their home studio to begin writing and recording their upcoming full length album for the end of 2021. In the meantime, they continue to promote their work, plan shows, and be active members of the local music community of Baltimore and Philadelphia.
Before the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Arsena opened for acts such as Mushroomhead, Tengger Cavalry, September Mourning, and Silvertung, and played multiple shows on the 2019 national tour of heavy metal outfit Vicious Rumors. They have rocked the stages of renowned venues such as Virginia’s Blue Fox Billiards, Baltimore’s Fish Head Cantina and Baltimore Soundstage, and Philadelphia’s The Fire, building connections and fans along the way.
Since the onslaught of the coronavirus quarantine, Arsena turned their work from the stage to their home, where they wrote and recorded their latest EP “Dawn of the Second Sun,” sent the songs to Ben McLeod of All Them Witches for mixing, and forwarded them to Mikey Allred of Dark Art Audio for mastering. The tunes have been praised by Glenn Fricker of SMG Studios, the New Wave of Old School Thrash Metal YouTube channel, and Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit. The EP gained traction quickly and landed Arsena interviews with webzines such as Greece’s “Filthy Dogs of Metal” and Lithuania’s “Diovim,” providing the world with a closer look into the minds of the bands members. Currently, Arsena is coordinating with renowned radio promotional group Pirate! to submit their music to non-comm and university-funded radio stations nationwide in preparation for the release and subsequent touring of their next album. Stations such as WRIR, KFAI, WUNH, and many others are already spinning the latest Arsena songs in their rotations.
Praise:
"They're so tight. Like, when I opened up their [session], and I mean there's no trickery. It's just solid musicians, which is so much fun. I don't have to do any tricks." - Ben McLeod, All Them Witches
"Wow. That was fucking cool, I really liked that." - Glenn Fricker, SMG Studios
"<3" - Fred Durst, Limp Bizkit
“This is heavy metal! Pure riffage, drums, and solid bass back up these catchy tracks. Put these four songs on repeat and don't look back. Favorite track: Animal Instinct.” - Kapman, Bandcamp
“Incredible EP that has the sound and the attitude of the early Thrash/Speed Metal with NWOBHM influence, while also updating the style with sophisticated structures and the production quality of today. It opens with a song that has the purity and simplicity of early Anthrax/Metallica/Motorhead. The rest sounds similar to that of the 2nd-gen thrashers in the late 80s, such as Accuser, but mix it with a lot of NWOBHM solos and improvs.” - SkunkBeatManiac, Bandcamp
