Noisecreep reports:

2008 should have been a banner year for tech-death greats ARSIS. Last April the band released We Are The Nightmare, a dizzying, forward-thinking death metal album that garnered praise from fans and jaded critics alike. They were also slotted into a series of high-profile tours but things started to fall apart shortly after their album's release. Not only did Arsis cancel a slew of live appearances, they even dropped off tours before they even began. Not surprisingly, band members came and went.

On March 18th, vocalist/guitarist James Malone released a statement to the press apologizing to his fans, record label, and booking agents for all of the problems the band has had in the last year. In the statement, Malone cryptically revealed, "Without going into too many details, let's just say that there is no healthy way to lose 100 pounds in 4 months, as I did late last year. To say that I have been dealing with some issues would be an understatement." Almost immediately, the internet was ablaze with speculations that the musician had a heroin problem.

In this Noisecreep exclusive, Malone finally comes clean about the last year and his ongoing health battles.

Q: You recently released a press release trying to explain all of the cancellations and trouble Arsis has had in the last year. But it raised more questions and started more rumors than anything. Would you like to set the record straight once and for all?

A: "This is really tough for me to talk about. I don't even know where to begin in all honesty. I just want to start off by saying that I don't have a drug problem of any kind. I know a lot of people were saying that when I released that press statement. The truth is I've had anorexia for the past year or so. It's not the first time I've gone through it either. When I was in college I struggled with it. I finally got past then I started having a drinking problem that I fought with for years. When I stopped drinking last year, the anorexia problems came back.

I have the kind of personality where I take things way too far. For me it wasn't about weight, it was all about control. I couldn't control everything in my life so I fixated on my weight. At my worst, I weighed 128 lbs and that's crazy for a guy who is 6' 1" tall. I got to the point where I was surviving on 500 calories a day and that's even with the rigorous exercising I was doing at the same time. Last year I lost 100 lbs in the span of 4 months. I think doctors say that a healthy weight loss pattern is about 2 lbs a week so that should tell you how messed up I was."

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