It has been a short career for the San Diego quintet As I Lay Dying, but it has also been a successful one. They have put together two highly acclaimed albums Frail Words Collapse and Shadows Are Security, and have stood out from the metalcore scene.
They are now opening up for one of heavy metals greatest acts, Slipknot, on the Final Volume Tour. On Nov. 8 the tour stopped in Philadelphia to play at the Electric Factory and As I Lay Dying’s singer Tim Lambesis discussed their music and the band’s future.
The Temple News: How would you describe your band’s music compared to all other metalcore bands out there?
Tim Lambesis: What we do is take a lot of guitar melody [and] influences from some European bands and even way back to Iron Maiden, and bring a different kind of aggression to it. I don’t think our music is so much like hardcore music but I think we take the aggression and energy from those hardcore roots.
TTN: With all the bands you’ve toured with on Ozzfest, was there any band that really helped you guys along and really inspired you to continue making music?
TL: This sounds kind of weird but on Ozzfest we played with the band Wicked Wisdom with Jada Pinkett Smith. At first we were really skeptical since Ozzfest is a buy-on situation, which is where bands that haven’t had a big history can pay money to get on the tour. By the end of the tour we realized that they were some of the most genuine people when it came to what they were doing.
TTN: How would you compare your most recent album Shadows Are Security to your past albums?
TL: Well, the new album is a concept album so it sounds a little more focused as a record. There is a little less diversity on this record and it’s a little more focused on guitar melodies and it may even be a little more melodic than our last record. At the same time I think it is more technical and more challenging, and the backbone crazy drumming is still there.
TTN: Is there any song which you wrote that you really think defines the band’s identity?
TL: I think the song “Confined” off the new album I am especially proud of. It has the aggression but still good song writing. I think the hardest thing for a metal or metalcore band to do is to be very aggressive and have hard hitting parts but actually make them come together to feel like a song.
TTN: What do you want fans to get out of your music?
TL: We want people to listen to our music and enjoy themselves. Maybe to be challenged to change the way we live a little bit. We want everyone to be challenged to become better people.
TTN: Finally, what are your plans after you guys are done touring?
TL: Actually 10 days after this tour ends we start a headlining tour with Norma Jean, Madball and A Life Once Lost. That will be all the way until Christmas and then we will take a break and enjoy some time off at home and then go back out on tour.
Dan Cappello can be reached at dancaps@temple.edu.
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