Original drummer and founding member of ARSIS, Michael VanDyne - who played on the band’s 2004 debut album, A Celebration Of Guilt, 2005’s A Diamond For Disease EP, and 2006’s United In Regret - has officially returned to the band’s lineup.

VanDyne has this to say about his homecoming: "I'm looking forward to working with my friend Jim again, as well as the great people at Nuclear Blast. Judging by the new material that [guitarist/singer] Jim [Malone] and [guitarist] Nick [Cordle] have been working on, I think we may be sitting on some of the most memorable and thrashy Arsis material written to date. Due to obligations with my full-time career, session drummers will most likely be utilized for big tours that Jim wishes to do in the future... However, regional shows and occasional mini-tours or festival gigs either here in North America or overseas are a definite possibility (and something I'd be totally psyched to do) if our collective schedules allow it. Good times."

Jim Malone offers the following statement: "I can't say how excited I am to be working Mike Van Dyne again; Arsis would have never existed in the first place had it not been for him and his motivation. It's very hard to find people to work with that you can connect both as musicians and as friends. Mike has always been both of these. I can't wait to start demoing some new material with Mike and Nick. While David Kinkead did a great good job for Arsis and he may still play live with us from time to time, I can't pass up the opportunity to work with Mike Van Dyne again. I have the a feeling the vibe will be amazing and feel confident that we’ll make Arsis stronger and better than ever. We have the best fans in the world behind us and they deserve the best we have to offer!”

Visit Arsis online at www.myspace.com/ARSIS.