Still Confusing. Still Listening.
As I Lay Dying confuse me, and I’ve stopped pretending otherwise. Here’s what kills me: I actually didn’t hate what they put out last year. “Echoes” is a pretty great song. It has that classic As I Lay Dying 2000s metalcore sound, some incredible guitar work, good vocals. Then I remember who’s fronting it.
Tim Lambesis posted a video Monday saying the ninth album is finished. They tracked 12 songs and want 10 on the record. The two on the bubble, “Polarized” and “Retribution,” both arrive September 15, and the band is asking fans to help decide whether either one belongs. Lambesis calls “Polarized” the melodic, mid-tempo one with more singing, still heavy and driving. “Retribution” is fast, dark and heavy with no singing at all.
I’m not sure that even makes sense. If the songs were good enough to track, keep them. If they weren’t, cut them. Turning it into a vote reads less like democracy and more like two free weeks of engagement. But whatever. We’re getting potentially cool new music out of it.
The harder part is everything else. Lambesis went to prison for trying to hire someone to kill his wife. He got the original band back together, and it came apart. Nick Hipa left in 2021, citing “behavior which mistreats, disrespects, and hurts other people.” Josh Gilbert and Jordan Mancino followed in 2022. He built a second lineup, and in October 2024 that one emptied out in twelve days. Ken Susi said his “personal morals have recently been tested to a breaking point.” Phil Sgrosso, in the band since 2003, left saying it “no longer offers a healthy or safe environment for anyone involved.” Now there’s a third lineup, and Lambesis is the only original member standing.
We argued this week that Pantera carrying the name with two original members is still Pantera. As I Lay Dying is where that argument gets hard. The guy who stayed is the one everybody keeps leaving over, and they left on moral grounds, not musical ones. Honestly, this band would probably be in better shape with Hipa or Sgrosso steering it.
I get separating the artist from the work. With these guys it’s hard not to. I’ll still listen. I’ll probably even still see them on tour. What do you guys think?
Source: As I Lay Dying