From: Shropshire, UK
Sounds like: Morbid Angel, Kreator, Acheron
Website: www.MySpace.com/ArceyeUK

Thrash Hits verdict: We heard about Arceye from a compadre we met at Bloodstock Open Air this year. We’re always partial to a bit of Thrash/Death action, so our next stop was to get their vocalist, Al Llewellyn, to go through our Future Hits treatment.

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How did you meet?
“I’ve known Dave [Roberts, guitars] and Josh [Davies, drums] since I was knee high, and Giles [Callingham, guitar] joined the band in ‘06, after a night out on the lash when I mentioned we were looking for a new guitarist”

What made you want to start a band?
“We started the band in our younger days as a hobby and for the love of riffs. Arceye formed in late ‘04 but we didn’t consider ourselves a serious band till the gigs were rolling in and line-up changes in ‘06.Watching Metallica DVDs with Dave when I was first learning bass was the main inspiration for us I think, All those riffs flying about and wanting one day to be as cool as the Het!”

Where did the name come from? And how do we pronounce it?
“Arceye is a condition experienced by welders who look directly into the Burning Arc of a welding flash. It burns the retina and I’ve been told it fucking hurts like snow blindness.”

Where did you grow up? How do you think it’s affected your music?
“Most of us grew up around the Shropshire town of Bishops Castle, its not a huge town so there isn’t really a metal scene here at all, you have to venture into Birmingham for that. It hasn’t had any real effect on us except make us pretty tight musicians, as there isn’t much to do here except booze and riff!”

So far, what has been the best thing about being in a band?
“Going up and down the country, meeting new people, playing different venues and riffing with bands big and small is where I’ve had the most fun. Being in the recording studio and having your own music in your hands has got to be close second though!”

What bands do you consider as part of your scene or as your peers?

“We have a few local Metal bands who we gig with: Ingested, The Hollow Earth Theory, Opus Nex, Mindless Torture just to name a few. We are all very different, ranging from Hardcore to Black Metal – it keeps things interesting.”

What marks you out as different to other bands around at the moment?
“We’re a thrash outfit with the death influence in the vocals and drums. I feel although we are mainly thrash, we keep our music fresh and not so generic with plenty of sexy mid sections, blast beats, lead breaks and cock rockin riffs. Even on the new album, our sound varies from song to song but still remains 100% Arceye. We’ve been compared to bands From Opeth to Pantera, so we keep it varied but still nice and heavy.”

Watch Arceye recording (and dicking about) in the studio

What have been the best and funniest shows you’ve played?
When we Supported Finntroll and Battlelore last time they came over the water, we had a really good crowd and the Finntroll lads were a reet laugh! The funniest one has got to be when we played a charity outdoor festival in Wales. We were the only Heavy band on a Indie/pop line up! Field full of families, they loved it!”

What have you got planned for the future?
“Our new album, , has been released and we are planning to push it as far as we can. We have a few things up our sleeve at the moment with endorsements and upcoming shows for the new year so its looking good”

Tell us a joke.
“Why did the koala fall out of the Tree? Because it was Dead”

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Arceye are playing a few shows over the next few months, so if you’re in their neck of the woods go check them out – check their official MySpace page for more details.