As I Lay Dying

Hailing from San Diego, As I Lay Dying functions as a Grammy-nominated metalcore outfit whose approach fuses melodic death metal with thrash influences. The group first surfaced through the well-regarded, independently produced album Beneath the Encasing of Ashes in 2001 before securing a deal with Metal Blade. Their aggressive style and substantial guitar work eventually attracted a worldwide audience, elevating them to headliner status at major festivals. The 2007 release An Ocean Between Us entered the Top 200 at number eight. In 2014 the lineup dissolved once vocalist Tim Lambesis received a prison term for attempting to arrange the murder of his estranged wife. After previously vowing never to collaborate with him again, the musicians rejoined Lambesis in 2018 and issued Shaped by Fire on Nuclear Blast the next year. The band resurfaced in 2024 with fresh members and two aggressive singles, one of which became the streaming success “Burden.”

As I Lay Dying originated in 2001 as a trio featuring vocalist Tim Lambesis, drummer Jordan Mancino, and guitarist Evan White, then quickly delivered Beneath the Encasing of Ashes. A split LP with American Tragedy appeared the following year. The band joined Metal Blade in 2003 and put out Frail Words Collapse. Following that album’s arrival, White departed; Lambesis and Mancino recruited guitarists Phil Sgrosso and Nick Hipa along with bassist Clint Norris. This configuration recorded Shadows Are Security, which surfaced in 2005. The next year brought A Long March: The First Recordings in May, collecting the out-of-print 2001 debut plus alternate versions of tracks from the 2002 split. That summer the group joined the Sounds of the Underground tour with In Flames, GWAR, Trivium, and Cannibal Corpse.

Clint Norris soon exited to focus on family life, with Josh Gilbert taking over bass duties. Gilbert’s vocal harmonies introduced greater melodic texture, leading to the August 2007 release of the fourth album, An Ocean Between Us. This Is Who We Are arrived in 2009, containing a documentary, live performance footage, videos, and additional material; after a two-year absence it was warmly received by devoted followers. The band returned to full-length studio output in 2010 with the eleven-track The Powerless Rise on Metal Blade. To mark their tenth anniversary in 2011 they compiled Decas, which mixed covers of Slayer and Judas Priest songs with new tracks and remixes. In 2012 they entered the studio with punk veteran Bill Stevenson to create the sixth album, Awakened, issued later that year on Metal Blade.

Lambesis was arrested in California on May 7, 2013, after attempting to hire an undercover officer to kill his estranged wife and mother of his children. He initially entered a not-guilty plea before switching to guilty. Prior to that change, Mancino, Sgrosso, Hipa, Gilbert, and vocalist Shane Blay formed Wovenwar and pursued an entirely separate musical direction. Lambesis meanwhile issued Triple Brutal through his side project Austrian Death Machine while awaiting trial. After altering his plea he received a six-year sentence in May 2014. Following repeated efforts to reconcile with his former bandmates—efforts that briefly strained relations within Wovenwar—Lambesis persuaded them to regroup under the As I Lay Dying name with the lineup of himself, Hipa, Sgrosso, Gilbert, and Mancino. The members published an extended explanation of their decision in the metal press and on social platforms. Their first reunion performance occurred in June in San Diego. They scheduled European and American tours, many of which sold out instantly, although certain venues canceled or refused bookings amid protests from other acts and audiences. After signing with Nuclear Blast they released the single “Redefined” featuring Jake Luhrs of August Burns Red in April 2019, followed by the self-produced, internationally charting Shaped by Fire in September. Subsequent departures included guitarist Nick Hipa in 2020 and both drummer Jordan Mancino and bassist/clean vocalist Josh Gilbert in 2022. Lambesis and guitarist Phil Sgrosso brought in Ryan Neff, Nick Pierce, and Ken Susi, yielding the 2024 singles “Burden” and “The Cave We Fear to Enter.” The eighth album, Through Storms Ahead, appeared in November of that year, though the three newest members had already departed beforehand, again leaving the band’s long-term prospects uncertain.