Metalcore
ABOUT :
It’s hard to believe that a veteran metal band like San Diego’s As I Lay Dying could be just hitting their stride now, some 10 years and five full-lengths into an already stellar career. Still, even after just one listen to the quintet’s latest, The Powerless Rise, you can’t ignore the obvious: One of modern metal’s best just got better.
Similar to their approach on 2007’s Grammy-nominated An Ocean Between Us, the band chose to employ the production prowess of Adam D. and record a majority of the album at singer Tim Lambesis’ own private studio. The end result is The Powerless Rise; the first true collaborative effort between the current AILD lineup.
Similar to their approach on 2007’s Grammy-nominated An Ocean Between Us, the band chose to employ the production prowess of Adam D. and record a majority of the album at singer Tim Lambesis’ own private studio. The end result is The Powerless Rise; the first true collaborative effort between the current AILD lineup.
Although they didn’t know it at first, the band’s creative potential kicked into overdrive with the introduction of bassist/singer Josh Gilbert in 2007, who played on Ocean but was not involved with the writing. For the previous two albums, the brunt of the instrumental development was spearheaded by guitarist Phil Sgrosso, whose penchant for melody and riff-conjuring suited the notoriously powerful drum stylings of drummer Jordan Mancino, complimented the lead guitar work of Nick Hipa, and exacted Lambesis’s vision for the bands’ overall intensity. The aforementioned format remained the same on Powerless but with the addition of Gilbert’s musical contribution, added yet another facet to an already established creative dynamic. The result is an album built upon the strength of its parts and the remarkable ways in which those parts become a cohesive whole.
For this current round of lyrics, Lambesis gravitated toward a concept centrally represented in the song “Upside Down Kingdom,” which posits that the suffering of the world stems from the broken, upside-down nature of society. In addition to providing the line that became the album’s title, the song lays out the guiding premise behind many of The Powerless Rise’s ideological excursions—the notion that if we do the opposite of what the modern world tells us, many of the problems this current world causes will no longer exist. Lambesis stresses that rather than fill an album with bitter ranting, he’s attempting to offer a solution with Powerless.
For this current round of lyrics, Lambesis gravitated toward a concept centrally represented in the song “Upside Down Kingdom,” which posits that the suffering of the world stems from the broken, upside-down nature of society. In addition to providing the line that became the album’s title, the song lays out the guiding premise behind many of The Powerless Rise’s ideological excursions—the notion that if we do the opposite of what the modern world tells us, many of the problems this current world causes will no longer exist. Lambesis stresses that rather than fill an album with bitter ranting, he’s attempting to offer a solution with Powerless.
So yes, it may come as a surprise to some that AILD would attain an entirely new level of artistry and urgency with their fifth release Powerless when many others might consider phoning it in, but once you appreciate all the various ingredients essential to the album, it’s no shock at all. By taking the trademark AILD sound then adding a band-wide effort and Lambesis’ novel approach to writing lyrics, the group has truly outdone themselves on The Powerless Rise, at least for now.
HISTORY :
Debut and split album (2001–2003)
After leaving the band Society's Finest where he played guitar, vocalist Tim Lambesis formed As I Lay Dying in 2000. Starting out as a duet with drummer Jordan Mancino after they first met as a band in February 2001, the title of the band was taken by the novel of the same name by William Faulkner although there is no correlation between the band's musical theme to the book's theme. Tim Lambesisstated in an interview on metalunderground that, "We got the idea from the name. I wouldn’t say that there is a correlation in the meaning of the book and the meaning of the band. We stole the name from there".
Record label Pluto Records took interest and offered As I Lay Dying a recording contract. After accepting the offer, one month later the band entered the recording studio to record its first album Beneath the Encasing of Ashes, which was released in June 2001. In 2002, the band recorded five songs for a split album on Pluto Records, with San Diego heavy metal bandAmerican Tragedy. The band realized it needed to expand to a five-piece to include another guitarist and a bassist. Mancino commented "we started going on tour and we needed obviously more people than that." Since they had no "solid" members besides Tim Lambesis and Jordan Mancino, the band recruited friends to play with them, so the band experienced several line-up changes; Bassist Noah Chase left the band in 2001,Brandon Hayes and his subsequent replacement Aaron Kennedy departed in 2003; soon after forming the band The Tokyo Smash in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Frail Words Collapse (2003–2004)
As I Lay Dying's contract with Pluto Records had expired and the band was free to pursue other record labels. After extensive touring and an increase in popularity, As I Lay Dying was offered a record deal with Metal Blade Records in March 2003. The band accepted the offer and Pluto Records owner Brian Cobbel was supportive of the band moving to Metal Blade. Lambesis commented "since we've been on the label, they've really gone out of their way to market us differently than they've marketed other bands in the past and have really pushed us as a newer sound for the label."
In July 2003, the band's second studio album, Frail Words Collapse was released. Produced by Lambesis, the album peaked at number 30 on Billboard'sIndependent Albums chart, and number 41 on the Top Heatseekers chart. William York of Allmusic thought the band "doesn't really add anything new to the mix from a musical standpoint" with the release, although praised it for being "solid enough and well executed, and the production is adequate."Sherwin Frias of Jesus Freak Hideout had similar sentiments and commented "As I Lay Dying didn't exactly break many boundaries in making this record", but praised that each song is "executed so well (and with such precision) that nary a song misses its target." Touring followed to promote the album with the bands Himsa, Shadows Fall, The Black Dahlia Murder, Killswitch Engage, In Flames, Sworn Enemy, and Hatebreed. Music videos for the songs "94 Hours" and "Forever" received rotation on the networks of FUSE and MTV2's Headbanger's Ball.
Shadows Are Security (2005–2006)
As I Lay Dying entered Big Fish recording studio in Encinitas, California in January 2005 to record its third studio album. Shadows Are Security was released in June, and debuted at number 1 on the Independent Albums. It was the band's first release to enter the Billboard 200 at number 35. and sold about 275 000 copies. Wade Kergan of Allmusic called it "one of the strongest releases of 2005," and commented that new guitarists Phil Sgrosso and Nick Hipa, make the band "stronger." Rod Smith of Decibel Magazine commented "Tim Lambesis’ finely honed roar in bittersweet instrumental matrices augmented by occasional clean vocals by bassist Clint Norris . Guitarists Phil Sgrosso and Nick Hipa whip up a melodic cyclone on 'The Darkest Nights'." Guitarist Evan White had quit the band due to personal reasons after his mother had died. All the clean vocals where sung by Dave Arthur of Kings To You, because they sounded in the studio more powerful than Clint Norris'. Guitarist Phil Sgrosso recorded bass on the album, to get the recording finished in the given time.
As I Lay Dying began touring to promote the new record by making appearances at Hell on Earth, Winter Headline Tour, Ozzfest, and a tour withSlipknot and Unearth. The band was on the second stage alongside Rob Zombie, Killswitch Engage, Mastodon, The Haunted, and It Dies Today. At the fee of $75,000 the band could have chosen to perform on the headliners stage but refused the offer as they thought it was not worth the money. The band raised its profile in 2006 through its support slot on theTaste of Chaos tour in the US alongside bands such as Deftones, Thrice, Dredg, Funeral for a Friend and Story of the Year. In the summer of 2006 As I Lay Dying closed the Sounds of the Underground Festival.
In May 2006, Beneath the Encasing of Ashes and the songs from the split album were re-released as A Long March: The First Recordings throughMetal Blade Records. The album contained the original and re-recordings of the songs from the split album, and was released as the band preferred to re-release the material rather than have fans pay large sums of money to listen to early releases. The re-release peaked at number 3 on Independent Albums, and 129 on the Billboard 200. Bassist Clint Norris left the band on good terms in November 2006 with the desire to focus on his marriage. The band auditioned ten bassists, although none proved successful. Lambesis received demo tapes from a band called This Endearing, of which bassist Josh Gilbert was a part of. Lambesis wanted to "sit on it" and wait for the band to record more material. However, This Endearing disbanded and Gilbert was then recruited as As I Lay Dying's new bassist.
An Ocean Between Us (2007–2009)
In 2007, As I Lay Dying started recording a new album titled An Ocean Between Us, which was released on August 21, 2007. Debuting at number 8 on the Billboard 200, and number 1 on the Top Rock chart with first-week sales of 39,000, the album was the highest charting release for the band. Co-produced by Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz and As I Lay Dying, and mixed by Colin Richardson, the album received generally positive reviews. Christa L. Titus of Billboard commented "Whatever the differences between As I Lay Dying's personal desires and what its fans demand, this album surely acts as a bridge," praising the song "Comfort Betrays" for its guitar solo. Scott Alisoglu ofBlabbermouth.net described the album as "a well-rounded and often thrashy metalcore album, as the band has struck an effective balance between aggression and accessible melodies." Thom Jurek of Allmusic praised the band for expanding its musical range by including melodic choruses and clean vocals such as they had previously done on Confined from Shadows Are Security. It was the first time for bassist Josh Gilbert, to be featured on an As I Lay Dying record, since the time of the departure of previous bassists, Evan White and Phil Sgrosso.
To promote the album, As I Lay Dying performed at the Warped Tour 2007 in August,and toured through Europe in September with Darkest Hour,Himsa, and Maroon. The band was awarded "Ultimate Metal God" by MTV2's "All That Rocks", and was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of "Best Metal Performance" for the song "Nothing Left". Other nominees included Slayer (who won the award), King Diamond, Machine Head, and Shadows Fall. They played some of the 2008 Warped Tour, as well as the Taste of Chaos UK 2008 Tour with headliners Atreyu.
On April 9, 2009, their DVD This Is Who We Are was released in the Europe. On April 14, 2009, the DVD was released in United States. Almost a month after its release, This Is Who We Are (DVD) was certified Gold in the US.
The Powerless Rise (2009—present)
As I Lay Dying have written 6–7 songs on September 28, 2009 for their new album. On November 23, 2009, Josh Gilbert announced through Twitter that half of the record is recorded. As I Lay Dying announced the title of their new album The Powerless Rise. On May 7, The Powerless Rise was posted in its entirety through MySpace Music. The streaming lasted until May10. The album was officially released on May 11, 2010. The album received generally positive critical acclaim, with one critic saying "Fans of metalcore in general, and As I Lay Dying in particular, will be more than satisfied with The Powerless Rise, as the band's gradual progression and consistency makes this their best album"
MEMBERS :
Current Members :
Tim Lambesis : Lead Vocals (2001 - Present)
Jordan Mancino: Drums (2001 - Present)
Phil Sgrosso : Rhythm Guitar (2003 - Present )
Nick Hipa : Lead Guitar (2004 - Present )
Josh Gilbert : Bass Guitar, Clean Vocals (2007 - Present)
Former Members :
Clint Norris : Bass. Clean Vocals (2003 - 2006)
Aaron Kennedy : Bass (2003)
Noah Chase : Bass (2001 - 2002)
Evan White : Lead Guitar (2001 - 2002, 2003)
Tommy Garcia : Lead Guitar (2002 - 2003)
Jason Krebs : Rhythm Guitar (2003)
