“CHOKING SAND”: NEW ARSIS PRE-PRODUCTION DEMO!

If you took the news that Arsis was touring without James Malone last year as a bad sign for the band’s future, fret not — the band has just sent out a press release in which they “promise to return in late 2012/early 2013 with a new album” with Malone “back at the helm.” And, as though to prove it, they’ve debuted a new pre-production demo, “Choking Sand,” via Guitar World. It’s the second new Arsis song we’ve heard since October, when the Malone-free version of the band debuted a cut called “Since the Shadows” on tour.

And it sounds plenty Arsis-y to me. Honestly, not to be a total dick, but I don’t really care if Nick Cordle is still in the band or not (and Malone says in the release that he “could not be happier,” for Cordle, who he also calls “by far the best musician I have ever collaborated with”) — Arsis without Malone is really not Arsis at all. So I’m glad to hear that Malone plans to soldier on, regardless of whatever his reasons were for sitting out that tour in 2011.

Stream “Choking Sand” below, then celebrate Arsis’ return in the comments section.

-AR