Rough Edge: As I Lay Dying CD Reviews

AS I LAY DYING

"An Ocean Between Us" (Metal Blade; 2007)

Reviewed by Mike SOS

San Diego Christian metalcore troupe As I Lay Dying have set the measuring stick by which all other metalcore acts will be judged from here on in with their fourth album, the devastating "An Ocean Between Us."

Armed with a vicious twin guitar attack, the band has seemingly all but abandoned their Iron Maiden fetish for a new level of viciousness -- just check the furious flurry brought forth by "Within Destruction," the Randy Rhodes-esque solo on "The Sound of Truth" or the thrash-happy "Comfort Betrays" as indicators of the quintet's vigorous volatility coming to a head.

Packed with jaw-dropping percussion that jumps out the speakers at every twist and turn and the rich dual vocal harmonies that propel songs such as "I Never Wanted" and "Forsaken" into the upper echelon of modern classic metal (a la Metallica, Megadeth and their ilk), this 12-track offering cleverly demonstrates As I Lay Dying's ability to progress without compromising their hostility. Instead, it sharpens their trademark aggressiveness into dynamic bits of metallic majesty that help to all but shed the maligned "metalcore" moniker.

For more information visit http://www.asilaydying.com.

"Frail Words Collapse" (Metal Blade; 2003)

Reviewed by Christopher J. Kelter

As I Lay Dying deftly combine hardcore and Swedish melodic death metal as one of the freshest sounds emerging from the expanding and exploding metalcore scene. For an immediate comparison "Frail Words Collapse" is in the vein of Killswitch Engage's recent effort "Alive Or Just Breathing."

Overall, while the choruses of As I Lay Dying's songs have some clean vocals they're not as smooth and not as melodic as Killswitch Engage; that's not a bad thing -- it’s just different. I wonder how much of that has to do with the differences in the East Coast and West Coast hardcore scenes -- I'm getting the sense that the West Coast scene has not been as quick to adopt stylistic elements of the Swedish melodic death metal sound as their East Coast counterparts.

Every song on "Frail Words Collapse," save for the quiet instrumental, has cool change-ups on the riffs without sounding like traditional hardcore breakdowns -- that’s a pretty cool feat in my book. Hell, some of the lead guitar spurts and flourishes have a classic Iron Maiden feel to them. Additionally, as I hinted at before, there are definitely Swedish melodic death metal influences, but not to the point of obvious comparison (unlike their labelmates The Black Dhalia Murder).

While "Frail Words Collapse" isn't going to be a heavy rotation disc for me, I do know that I’ll come back to As I Lay Dying for a broader sound collage when I’m in a more metalcore mood.

"Frail Words Collapse" was produced by Evan White and Tim Lambesis.

As I Lay Dying is Tim Lambesis on vocals, Evan White and Jasun Krebs on guitars, Aaron Kennedy on bass, and Jordan Mancino on drums.

For more information visit http://www.asilaydying.com.

Rating Guide:

A classic. This record will kick your ass.

Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.

So-so. You've heard better.

Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.

Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.

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