Archspire Went Through Dozens of Guitarists

Finding the people who can play technical death metal is hard enough -- making it harder is finding the right musicians that share the same vision as well. Few other bands might know this more than Vancouver, B.C.'s Archspire. "I swear man, we've been going through members for the past two years," drummer Spencer Prewitt told Noisecreep. "It's only been about eight months with this lineup. I mean, we probably tried 10 or 15 guitarists before we found the right members. F---, we've gone through our fair share of vocalists, too ..."

Waiting for just the right members paid off for the new band, musically speaking. They play progressive, rhythm-switching death metal like seasoned veterans of the industry -- no small feat by far, as anyone who has attempted the same can attest.

"The ultimate goal for this band is to do some major touring and really pick up where Gremory left off," bassist Jaron Evil said, referring to the now-defunct band out of which Archspire formed. "We are currently supporting our yet to be released EP, 'All Shall Align', which was produced by Stuart McKillop at The Hive in the Vancouver area. He did an amazing job, and we're all very proud of the work he did. We are just going to play the f--- out of those songs, and work our asses off with writing so that we have more material for our full-length. It's a long process, but we're all extremely dedicated, so it'll be worth the wait."

Notably, guitarists Tobi Morelli and Dean Lamb use 7- and 8-string Ibanez guitars, respectively. This is an unusual method of attack for sure, but it's one that suits of them comfortably. "I find that having more options opens up my playing style," Lamb said. "And my writing has changed since I started using the 8-string. It's a very neat instrument, and I feel it embodies the genre that we're playing, the more strings the better!"

"I find the 7-string guitar allows me to play in the lower register," Morelli explained, "but is still comfortable while doing leads. It allows me to play with the same gauge strings I've always played with, and adjusting to the extra low B didn't take too long."

Archspire hopes to print their EP, release a split CD with another band, and write a full-length CD. But first there is a mini-tour that will bring the band around a bit in their home country of Canada. "We're definitely excited to tour," Prewitt said. "So keep an eye out for new show dates and the release of the EP, 'All Shall Align,' on the Myspace!"