THE UNION ARE PLEASED TO PRESENT
THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES
With METZ and DESIDERATA

SEPT 16, 2009
PAWN SHOP

EDMONTON, AB
Doors 8:00 PM - GENERAL ADMISSION – Licensed 18+

Tickets $13.00+ S/C, on sale NOW at all Ticketmaster outlets, charge-by-phone (780) 451-8000, online at Ticketmaster.ca, Unionevents.com, Listen and Blackbyrd

These Arms Are Snakes. A natural force, that thunders with constant contradiction and
challenge. Self-described as, “Four men with a chronic black cloud overhead; bitter,
bummed out, and bored,” they couple dark pessimism with an elemental energy that
does not end.

On "Tail Swallower & Dove," These Arms Are Snakes move through 10-songs with the
cracked grace of bolted lightning, rolling and leveling, seeking a space to storm into.
The band, comprised of Chris Common (drums, percussion), Brian Cook (bass, guitar,
keyboards), Ryan Frederiksen (guitar, keyboards), Steve Snere (vocals, effects), have
brought their non-stop work ethic of touring and beyond-intense performance to the
studio with career defining result.

Not any one thing. TAAS play with their history, with their personalities built deep into
the music. You hear it in every innovation, behind each note. A beautiful collision of
what has always been with what is completely unexpected. It's evident in the weight of
the words, structure of the songs, the linkage of current and construction: concrete
writing, coupled with a natural approach to recording, that brought the band – helmed by
Chris Common, to produce and engineer – back into the semi-secret Red Room, in
Seattle, Washington, to track and mix.

The result is more an album – a coherent whole – than a cycle of individual songs. The
music circles around, from beginning to end, looping seamlessly and devouring any
sense of arrested motion. The first single, “Red Line Season,” is all guitar-hook-squirm,
leading to an anthem of a chorus. “Seven Curtains” explodes into being after thirtyseconds
of gorgeous, low volume riffing. It’s here that the band’s strength in the studio really shows. From the textural depth of the keyboards and guitar tones, to the vocal delivery, the attention to detail is incredible. Each sound sets up huge spatial relationships, creating a dynamic tug-o-war, and building up a groove that continues throughout - marked by impossibly nimble drumming - blowing up the room with resonant vibration.

Relentless, and restless - nothing in nature says no. And from this direction comes
These Arms Are Snakes, a dark cloud of sound thundering, waiting to burst and drown
everything in their noise.

METZ is comprised of former members of Moneen, They Grey and Abandoned Hearts Club.

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A production by The Union