(wysht): These Arms Are Gone. :(

This morning I woke up to some sad news. These Arms Are Snakes are no more. TAAS are one of the reasons I always laugh whenever anyone complains about how "there's no good bands these days". You have to dig a bit deeper and find it for yourself but there's great music happening all over the place. All the bands and genres you love were once underrated or unheard of, and if music is a constant evolution TAAS are the next phase. (This analogy would also imply TAAS are the best band ever to exist thus far, a statement I'm not unhappy with.) While TAAS will never be as big as someone like The Beatles and now won't get the respect they deserve in their lifetime, one can only hope that they will continue to gain respect post-demise much like Refused who's The Shape of Punk to Come is now widely recognised as the blueprint for modern hardcore/screamo. These Arms Are Snakes created post-hardcore with intelligence and style. They are the definition of what this music can and should be.

I only got to see them live once, but it was definitely a memorable show. They supported Isis back in 2007 at the Hi-Fi Bar. As much as I enjoy Isis, TAAS are the real reason I went to this show. The power cut out half way through their set, but I was already in love. And as much as I would love to have seen them do a full set, there was something poetic about the rawness and passion of a band like this knocking out the power for the whole venue. The shirt I bought after that show is one of my favourites to this day. (Yes it says "These Horsecocks Are Eels" instead of "These Arms Are Snakes". No, I don't know why. That's kind of why I love it anyway).

The saddest thing about this band ending is we'll never see what could have happened next. These Arms Are Snakes 2006 album Easter was a masterpiece. Absolute perfection as far as I'm concerned. The 2008 follow up Tail Swallower and Dove rightly took a turn in a different direction, experimenting with new ideas for the band which were interesting and exciting, but didn't come together as solidly as Easter. But after two years of touring I can only imagine they would have nailed those styles into place and the next album may well have been their best. I guess now we'll never know. No reason was given for the break-up but hopefully in the same way the break-up of Botch in 2001 spawned both TAAS and Minus the Bear, we will see the members emerge in new projects soon. Their talents are just too good to go to waste.