How As I Lay Dying Became a Metalcore Supergroup

As I Lay Dying has been pretty quiet since releasing its 2019 album, Shaped by Fire.

Without any new music in the ensuing years, the metalcore pioneer seemed all but dead by 2022, when bassist Josh Gilbert left the group to join Spiritbox and longtime drummer Jordan Mancino stepped away to focus on other musical projects, mainly Wovenwar.

But vocalist Tim Lambesis, who formed As I Lay Dying in 2000, had other plans. For him and his songwriting partner and guitarist, Phil Sgrosso, it was business as usual. The two continued to work on the next record, while recruiting some new players to bring it to life.

“We just kept doing what we do as the songwriting duo,” Lambesis says. “It’s a weird history, because we didn’t panic when things happened. Externally, the way that it appeared to our fanbase is this huge, crazy deal. But internally it wasn’t really that much different for him and I. We always took on the core responsibility of writing the albums.”

The timing of guitarist Ken Susi and drummer Nick Pierce leaving the metalcore group Unearth around the same time proved to be serendipitous, or “absolutely perfect,” as Lambesis sees it.

Little did anyone know, but the new As I Lay Dying was taking shape; the former Unearth duo was quickly tapped to round out the lineup, along with current Miss May I bassist Ryan Neff.

“The joke that people are making is As I Lay Dying merged with the guys who left Unearth. But both Ken and Nick leaving Unearth was completely unrelated to anything being open with As I Lay Dying. That actually happened, then we were working on the album,” Lambesis explains. “When we heard that both of those guys have left, and they’re good friends of ours, we said, ‘Well, guys, the timing couldn’t be better, because we’re demoing this album.’”
So As I Lay Dying returned to the public eye as a metalcore supergroup, and it's arguably stronger than ever. With two singles — “Burden” and “The Cave We Fear to Enter” — out this year, the San Diego five-piece is still showcasing the form that saw As I Lay Dying usher metalcore into the mainstream in the early 2000s as part of the new wave of American heavy metal alongside such bands as Unearth and Killswitch Engage.

“I just think the futures really bright, and I’m excited about it,” Lambesis says.

If the new songs are any indication, you should be excited, too. “Burden” and “The Cave We Fear to Enter” have all the time-tested As I Lay Dying trademarks — Sgrosso’s melodic leads, Lambesis’s growls against catchy clean choruses — but beefed up even more with Susi and Pierce’s signature chops, as well as Neff’s clean vocals.

While an exact record-release date for this year or an official title hasn’t been announced yet, As I Lay Dying is currently touring in the wake of the singles. The group will be in Denver on Tuesday, July 16, at Summit. Chelsea Grin and Entheos are also on the bill.

Lambesis, who takes a break from packing the day before hitting the road to sit down and chat, admits that being in a band for so long can sometimes lead to a certain level of atrophy. Before remolding As I Lay Dying, he slipped into what he describes as a “coasting mode,” particularly through the doldrums of the pandemic. But the addition of Susi, Pierce and Neff has injected newfound life into the band named after a 1930 Southern Gothic novel by William Faulkner.

“They’re able to bring in this freshness of excitement about it. When two guys have been primarily responsible for heading up the writing of seven albums, it can start to feel potentially monotonous or like you’re repeating yourself a little bit,” Lambesis shares.

“You just get that breathe of fresh air and all of a sudden it feels like a different entity in a good way. There are changes that happen sometimes, and I think the fans often times are skeptical of changes, which they have the right to be, but my personal approach is, ‘Does the band come out with something exciting in the aftermath of these changes?’ That’s the reaction that Phil and I had. It made us have a renewed passion for writing and the production of this album.”

Now he likens the devotion to As I Lay Dying to the early days, when he decided to drop out of San Diego State University to pursue music full-time. Of course, in hindsight it ended up being the best decision, but at the time, nothing was guaranteed.

“The original plan when I started As I Lay Dying was, I would do one semester on, one semester off, and that was my tradeoff,” he said. “I figured, eventually, at this rate, I’ll finish college in eight years.” And if the band didn’t blow up, he’d just quit his “fun side hobby” and get a “real job.”

Luckily, for metal music and its fans, Lambesis didn’t have to put As I Lay Dying to rest, and the latest iteration is a masterclass in metalcore.

“Now I’m as hungry as I ever been in terms of output,” he concludes.

As I Lay Dying, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 16, Summit, 1902 Blake Street. Tickets are $45.