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As
I Lay Dying
"The Powerless Rise"
(Metal Blade)
Similar to their multi styled approach on 2007's Grammy-nominated "An
Ocean Between Us", this time round the band have chosen to take a
more melodic approach resulting in a somewhat more metalcore style. Based
on a concept represented in the song 'Upside Down Kingdom' which posits
that the suffering of the world stems from the upside-down nature of society,
vocalist Tim Lambesis stresses that rather than fill an album with bitter
ranting, he’s attempting to offer a solution such that if we do
the opposite of what the modern world tells us, many of our current world
problems will no longer exist. Lambesis also took an intriguing approach
to actually penning the lyrics, by allowing the various characteristics
of the instrumental tracks to inform his words: '..when we’re writing,
we tend to second guess ourselves but in a good way, like we’re
really trying to push each song. Our first instinct is to create the initial
energy, but we push ourselves beyond that to add more and more layers.
For some bands, when they second-guess themselves they lose the original
appeal of what made their band exciting, but in our case, it’s a
positive thing, because it pushes us further. We say, ‘Ok, this
song is great. How can we make it better?...’. And I gotta say it
works! Brutal opener ‘Beyond Our Suffering’ is about '....how
if we constantly focus on our own problems and try to help ourselves,
then we dig ourselves deeper into a rut. But if we focus on helping somebody
else, it’s like our problems magically solve themselves....”.
Contrasting that was ‘Anger and Apathy’ that was very mid-tempo,
and lulled at times, which reminded Tim '...of this apathetic feeling,
but then it would feel passionate and really layered melodies that would
come in, later in the song...'. As such this is a fine and impressive
release that matches the complexities and power of their songs with a
deep lyrical approach that has attained AILD a new level of artistry and
urgency with their fifth release.
-Shan Siva
As I Lay Dying
“An Ocean Between Us”
(Metal Blade)
These guys are another multi style band. The opening tracks had me thinking of Metallica during their Lady Justice period or even early Scandinavian metal a la Gardenian. Then “Within Destruction” carts me off to Slayerville complete with punk riffs and Lombardoesque double bass drumming before ‘I Never Wanted’ shows me the band can be cool and trendy just like Prime Sth. And just to show me the band aren’t pussy’s, they crank it back up with the Soilwork inspired ‘Bury Us All’ before closing on a peak giving In Flames a true run for their talent on ‘Departed’. Though certainly better and more original than a cover band, As I Lay Dying need to use their obvious talent in defining a sound for themselves and be a band in their own right. True pretenders finish first in this game.
-Shan Siva