Introducing: Arcaine

Swiss death metal meets deathcore band Arcaine pack an almighty punch, blending brutal guitars, ferocious rhythms and vicious vocals with immersive harmonies in a sound that they describe as “hard, technical and melodic.”

The quintet from Graubünden, in eastern Switzerland, started out as a project between lead guitarist Brandon Wildhaber and drummer Reto Camenisch back in 2015. But it soon expanded into a full-blown band as they onboarded Adrian Gisler (vocals) and Renato Davatz (rhythm guitar) and Robin Tscharner (bass) and, in their words, targeted world domination. They released their debut album As Life Decays in 2020, before a five-year gap was broken by two singles in the last three months.

And on the sound they’ve crafted since, Reto told us: “I think it’s a mixture of catchy melodic parts and brutal interludes. But we find it more exciting to hear how people describe us!”

Our latest taste of this is Eternal Burden, which was released last week. It wastes no time hanging around, as it dives into heavy guitars and driving drums under a vicious scream. The intense instrumentals continue under Adrian’s powerful vocals, before piercing guitar licks support a lively chorus. That drops into delicious darting guitar riffs feeding into another intense verse, before a darker section of chugging guitars supported by wild drums. Heavy vocals return in a big atmospheric section, which gives way to a delicious guitar duet over rolling drums, which tees up a powerful conclusion.

On the track, Reto said: “We are very excited about every new song and look forward to feedback from our listeners. You can also insult us, we’re used to it. I think people who listen to us can expect something that really hits them right in the face.”

That follows on from last month’s release of Harbinger of Doom, which is every bit as epic as the title suggests. It launches straight into a lively guitar riff over powerful drums, which continue as Adrian’s intense vocals take over. A funky darting guitar lick jumps in through a big chorus, which ends with a deliciously brutal stabbing riff that picks up pace alongside relentless drums and continues as a big growl announces Adrian’s return. It delves into new levels of darkness, before flying into another chorus. That gives way to djenty guitars alongside vicious guttural vocals, which are joined by dark sweeping synths, before a tease of a guitar solo finally follows through alongside vocals bringing the track to an atmospheric conclusion.

On what inspires them to write music, Reto told us: “We are influenced by a little bit of everything. I think it’s still difficult to say which band has influenced us the most. But I think Sylosis, Bleed from Within, and Mors Principium Est are bands that have captivated us and thus also influenced us. Our songs are about war, injustice, and how we treat nature. But we also tackle other topics from time to time. For example, Life Decays is about the mental decline of a protagonist.”

Arcaine have another single lined up for release, War Knows No Innocence, which Reto says he likes because “it was inspired by the war in Ukraine and allows us to vent our hatred against the imperialists of this world.”

And he added: “We want people to realise how much work and joy go into our songs. We look forward to any feedback and love getting in touch with other metalheads.”

You can follow Arcaine on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music, Soundcloud, Deezer and YouTube.