As I Lay Dying (band)

As I Lay Dying
As I Lay Dying performing at 2007's With Full Force festival.
Background information
Origin	San Diego, California, USA
Genres	Metalcore, melodic metalcore
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Metal Blade, Pluto
Associated acts	Point of Recognition, Austrian Death Machine, Year One, Sworn Enemy, Pyrithion, The Devil Wears Prada
Website	www.asilaydying.com
Members	Tim Lambesis Jordan Mancino Phil Sgrosso Nick Hipa Josh Gilbert
Past members	Noah Chase Evan White Tommy Garcia Jason Krebs Aaron Kennedy Clint Norris

As I Lay Dying is an American Christian metalcore band from San Diego, California. Founded in 2000 by their vocalist Tim Lambesis and drummer Jordan Mancino, they completed their first Line-up in 2001; the band currently consists of vocalist Tim Lambesis, drummer Jordan Mancino, lead guitarist Nick Hipa, rhythm guitarist Phil Sgrosso, and bassist/clean vocals Josh Gilbert. As I Lay Dying has released six crom albums, one split album, and two compilation albums.

As I Lay Dying's fourth studio album, An Ocean Between Us peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, and No. 1 on the Top Rock chart. The band has performed at Wacken Open Air, With Full Force, Soundwave Festival, Sounds of the Underground, Warped Tour, Bloodstock Open Air and Taste of Chaos. In 2007, As I Lay Dying won the "Ultimate Metal God" award from MTV2 at the first annual "All That Rocks" special, was named "Artist of the Year" at the San Diego Music Awards in 2005, 2007 and 2008, and was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award for the song "Nothing Left". Their fifth studio album, The Powerless Rise was written over a three-year period and was released in May 2010 to widespread critical acclaim. The band's sixth album, Awakened, was released on September 25, 2012.

History

Formation, debut album, 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 band's name came from the novel of the same name by William Faulkner that was published in 1930, although the band's lyrics and music take no direct inspiration from the novel.

Pluto Records took interest and offered As I Lay Dying a recording contract. After accepting the offer, one month later the band entered the studio to record their first album Beneath the Encasing of Ashes, which was released in June 2001. In 2002. The band recorded five songs for a split album through Pluto Records, with San Diego post-hardcore band American Tragedy. As I Lay Dying 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 perform with them and from there on the group encountered several line-up changes; bassist Noah Chase departed from band in 2001, Brandon Hays 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)

Lead vocalist, Tim Lambesis

During early 2003, when As I Lay Dying's contract with Pluto Records expired, the band from there undertook realization of their opportunity 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.

In July 2003, the band's second studio album, Frail Words Collapse was released. Produced by Lambesis, the album peaked at No. 30 on Billboard's Independent Albums chart, and No. 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 networks such as Fuse and MTV2's Headbanger's Ball.

Shadows Are Security (2005–2006)

Rhythm guitarist, Phil Sgrosso

As I Lay Dying entered Big Fish recording studio in Encinitas, California in January 2005 to record their third studio album. Shadows Are Security was released in June, and debuted at No. 1 on the Independent Albums. It was the band's first release to enter the Billboard 200 at No. 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 were sung by Dave Arthur of Kings to You, because they sounded more powerful in the studio than Clint Norris'.

Bassist, Josh Gilbert

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 with Slipknot 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 the Taste of Chaos tour in the US alongside bands such as Deftones, Thrice, Dredg, Funeral for a Friend and Story of the Year. 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 through Metal 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 No. 3 on Independent Albums, and 129 on the Billboard 200. In the summer of 2006 As I Lay Dying closed the Sounds of the Underground Festival. 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. 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)

Lead guitarist, Nick Hipa

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 No. 8 on the Billboard 200, and No. 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.^{[citation needed]} 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 of Blabbermouth.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 Clint Norris.

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 Europe. On April 14, 2009, it was released in United States. Almost a month after its US release, it was certified Gold in the country alone.

The Powerless Rise and Decas (2009—2011)

On September 28, 2009, As I Lay Dying announced that 6—7 songs had already been written for their then upcoming album, which followed onward to November 23 where Josh Gilbert announced through Twitter that half of the record was 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 May 10. The album was officially released on May 11, 2010 and 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."

In 2010 the band toured in support of The Powerless Rise headlining the majority of their shows. In spring doing a US tour with Demon Hunter, blessthefall and War of Ages. Then in the summer headlining The Cool Tour across the US. Then As I lay Dying embarked on a fall headlining tour across USA/Canada featuring All That Remains, Unearth and Carnifex. They then flew over to Europe for a last year headlining tour with Heaven Shall Burn, Suicide Silence, and Sylosis. In February 2011 the band headlined a US tour featuring Winds of Plague and After the Burial. The band toured late April early May with Trivium in support of Disturbed on the Music as a Weapon tour in Australia and New Zealand, then at the end of May and beginning of June they headlined a few dates with Heaven Shall Burn.

On November 8, 2011, As I Lay Dying released a compilation album called Decas in honor of their decade as a band. The album featured three new, original songs; four covers including songs originally by Slayer, Judas Priest and Descendents; a re-recorded medley of pieces from several songs taken from the band's debut Beneath the Encasing of Ashes; and four remixes, each of one song from each of their albums since Frail Words Collapse. The album's first track, "Paralyzed", was released as a lyric video on September 13, and as a free download on iTunes on November 7, the day before the album's release. The band embarked on the "A Decade of Destruction" tour coinciding with the release of the album, running from November to December 2011.

Awakened (2012-present)

In January 2012, As I Lay Dying entered the studio with producer Bill Stevenson (NOFX, Rise Against, Anti Flag) and began working on material for their sixth album.

On January 25, it was announced that they will be playing Mayhem Festival 2012 with Slipknot, Slayer, Motörhead, Anthrax, The Devil Wears Prada, Asking Alexandria, Whitechapel, Upon A Burning Body, I, the Breather, Betraying the Martyrs and Dirtfedd.

On June 22, the band announced on the Metal Blade Records website that their sixth album would be titled Awakened and was released on September 25. The album's first single, "Cauterize", was released June 25. It was made available on the band's website as a free download for 24 hours and then purchasable the day after. On September 12, As I Lay Dying released their second single "A Greater Foundation" and a music video to go with it.

Announced roughly around September that the band will be playing in South Africa for the RAMFEST festival in March 2013. Although on December 20, 2012, only 2 months before they were due to play RAMFEST, the band announced a tour with The Devil Wears Prada which extends over the period in which they were to play RAMFEST. 2 Days later the band releases an official apology to the South African fans stating "This is a direct result of scheduling conflicts...". Many fans were outraged and confused at the notion that a band as large as this still suffers from "scheduling conflicts".

As I Lay Dying won "Metal Band of the Year" from Loudwire in 2012, beating other well known bands, including Anthrax and Lamb of God.

Style

The band's genre is considered metalcore or melodic metalcore and is described as that. The band is sometimes referred to as thrash metal as they occasionally share some characteristics of thrash metal in their sound. Their music often mixes melodic death metal and beat-down hardcore punk together. Their music features harmonic or aggressive guitar riffs, growled vocals, singing in the choruses, and metalcore-style breakdowns.

Christianity

As I Lay Dying has stated on numerous occasions that all of the members of the group are Christians. When asked if they're a Christian band or Christians in a band, Tim Lambesis stated on the band's FAQ, "I'm not sure what the difference is between five Christians playing in a band and a Christian band, If you truly believe something, then it should affect every area of your life. All five of us are Christians. I believe that change should start with me first, and as a result, our lyrics do not come across very 'preachy.' Many of our songs are about life, struggles, mistakes, relationships and other issues that don't fit entirely in the spiritual category. However, all of these topics are written about through my perspective as a Christian." During an August 2010 radio interview on The Full Armor of God Broadcast, Lambesis once more made a statement regarding the band and his faith, expressing that his world view as a Christian "always comes across in our lyrics in some way or another".

However, Lambesis also stated on his Tumblr page, "Every year that I had put toward my degree in Religious Studies caused me to see the god of tradition and ritual that I grew up with as less and less of a probable truth. By the time I graduated, my entire concept of the divine had changed as I sought to reconcile spirituality and reason. The more I sought truth uncorrupted by years of religious history, the more I kept finding answers I didn’t want to find. Emotionally, it would have been easiest for me to just hold on to what I grew up believing, but mentally that wasn’t an option anymore."

Tim Lambesis' arrest

On May 7, 2013, Tim Lambesis was arrested in Oceanside, California after allegedly trying to hire an undercover detective to kill his estranged wife, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department reported.

Band members

Current members

• Tim Lambesis – lead vocals (2000–present)
• Jordan Mancino – drums (2000–present)
• Phil Sgrosso – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2003–present)
• Nick Hipa – lead guitar, backing vocals (2004–present)
• Josh Gilbert – bass guitar, clean vocals (2007–present)

Former members

• Noah Chase – bass guitar (2001)
• Evan White – lead guitar (2001–2003)
• Tommy Garcia – lead guitar (2002–2003)
• Jasun Krebs – lead guitar (2002-2003)
• Aaron Kennedy – bass guitar (2003)
• Clint Norris – bass guitar, clean vocals (2003–2006)

Touring substitutes

• Justin Foley – drums (2009)
• Aaron Newberry had originally been asked to try out for one week of shows but was told no after just one try-out show – bass guitar (2007)
• Chris Lindstrom – rhythm guitar (2003–2004)
• Brandon Hays – bass guitar (2002–2003)
• Chad Ackerman – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2002)

Session musicians

• Brandon Young (drums on the song "When This World Fades")
• Tommy Garcia (appeared at least once on every record except "Awakened")
• David Arthur (clean vocals on the album Shadows Are Security)

Discography

As I Lay Dying discography

Releases
↙Studio albums	6
↙Live albums	1
↙Compilation albums	2
↙Singles	11
↙Music videos	15

Studio albums

Date of release	Title	Label	Billboard 200 peak	UK peak
June 12, 2001	Beneath the Encasing of Ashes	Pluto	—	—
July 1, 2003	Frail Words Collapse	Metal Blade	—	—
June 14, 2005	Shadows Are Security		35	—
August 21, 2007	An Ocean Between Us		8	—
May 11, 2010	The Powerless Rise		10	172
September 25, 2012	Awakened		11

Compilation albums

Date of release	Title	Label	Billboard 200 peak
May 16, 2006	A Long March: The First Recordings	Metal Blade	129
November 8, 2011	Decas		61

Split albums

• As I Lay Dying/American Tragedy (2002)

DVDs

• This Is Who We Are (2009)

Awards and nominations

• San Diego Music Awards
  • Artist of the Year (2005)
  • Artist of the Year (2007)
  • Artist of the Year (2008)
  • Best Hard Rock (2011)
• Grammy Awards
  • Nominated for 2008 Best Metal Performance for the song "Nothing Left"
• MTV2 Music Awards
  • Ultimate Metal God (2007)
• Hollywood Film Fest awards
  • Best Music Video for "The Sound of Truth" music video
• Loudwire Music Awards
  • Metal Band of the Year (2012)

Official Music Videos

• "94 Hours" (Frail Words Collapse) − 2003 YouTube
• "Forever" (Frail Words Collapse) − 2004 YouTube
• "Confined" (Shadows Are Security) − 2005 Youtube
• "Through Struggle" (Shadows Are Security) − 2005 YouTube
• "The Darkest Nights" (Shadows Are Security) − 2006 YouTube
• "Nothing Left" (An Ocean Between Us) − 2007 YouTube
• "The Sound of Truth" (An Ocean Between Us) − 2008 YouTube
• "Within Destruction" (An Ocean Between Us) − 2008 YouTube
• "I Never Wanted" (An Ocean Between Us) – 2009 YouTube
• "Parallels" (The Powerless Rise) – 2010 YouTube
• "Anodyne Sea" (The Powerless Rise) – 2011 YouTube
• "Beyond Our Suffering" (The Powerless Rise) – 2011 YouTube
• "Electric Eye" (Decas) – 2011 YouTube
• "Paralyzed" (Decas) – 2012 YouTube
• "A Greater Foundation" (Awakened) - 2012 YouTube

External links

• Official website