The term `Easter' usually conjures to mind an assortment of activities, including the gift of candy from an imaginary bunny, collecting decorated eggs and perhaps, a visit to church. But for the collective members of THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES, the meaning of the word Easter goes far beyond Hallmark bunnies, pastel colored eggs and church visits. Instead, for THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES, Easter has become a symbolic juxtaposition, pitting resurrected ghosts against innocuous ritual, and humanity against environment. "There is an underlying theme of religion, the desert, and ghosts through the course of the record," says TAAS bassist/keyboardist Brian Cook in regards to the album title. Clearly, for THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES, the scope of Easter reaches far beyond that which is held as tradition in everyday life, circa 2006.

Seattle's THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES has been confounding audiences with their unique brand of melodic yet blistering hardcore since 2003.

Following two EP's and a 2004 debut full length on Jade Tree, THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES, comprised of Steve Snere (vocals), Brian Cook (bass, keyboards), Ryan Frederiksen (guitar), and Chris Common (drums), have stepped out of the shadows of the "ex-members of" tag (TAAS members were formerly in Both and Kill Sadie) and into a revered position in the independent music scene of the Pacific Northwest, recently being voted Punk/Hardcore band of 2006 by Seattle Weekly Magazine. Constant touring alongside well known acts such as Minus The Bear, Isis, The Blood Brothers, Pelican, Big Business and Oxes has allowed These Arms Are Snakes to intermediate between a variety of concisely divided scenes, blurring the lines between screamo, math core, and noise-inspired prog rock. Following a lineup change in 2005 (former drummer Ben Verellen was replaced by Chris Common) and a more organic approach to their song writing, THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES returned to the studio in April of 2006 to record what would become `Easter.'

Recorded at Red Room Recording in Seattle by TAAS drummer Chris Common, the sound and subjects explored on Easter find the band towing a proverbial line between paradox, hostility and a caustic blend of post-hard/math core. Retaining the definitive tension and angular force of earlier THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES efforts, Easter explores the relationship between suspect animism, impending otherwordly doom and the ethereal battle between virtue and ruin. Thematically, Easter is a journey through the unspoken sides of humanity. "There is a real sense of doom amongst people these days. It's very hard for that not to come out," says TAAS vocalist Steve Snere.

To supplement the underlying themes of Easter, TAAS guitarist Ryan Frederiksen designed the layout based on a stream of conscious process utilizing Snere's lyrics as a focal point. Augmented by illustrations from bassist Brian Cook and Demian Johnston, along with landscape photography from Robin Lannenan, the aesthetic appearance of Easter creates "A cross between the quiet and serene and the loud and manic," says Snere.

The end result of this multi-faceted thematic study through human trial and error is an Easter unlike anything embraced by children in shopping malls and churches across America. This is a far more dismal interpretation; unformulated, brooding and corrupt. It is Easter as interpreted by These Arms Are Snakes, and there's nothing happy about it.