As I Lay Dying's fourth studio album, An Ocean Between Us peaked at number 8 on the Billboard 200, and number 1 on the Top Rock chart. The band has performed at Wacken Open Air, With Full Force, Soundwave Festival, Sounds of the Underground, Warped Tour, Bloodstock Open Air and Taste of Chaos. In 2007, As I Lay Dying won the "Ultimate Metal God" award from MTV2 at the first annual "All That Rocks" special, was named "Artist of the Year" at the San Diego Music Awards in 2008 and was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award for the song "Nothing Left". Their latest album, The Powerless Rise was written over a three year period and was released in May 2010 to widespread critical acclaim.
After leaving the band Society's Finest where he played guitar, vocalist Tim Lambesis formed As I Lay Dying in 2000.[10]Starting out as a duet with drummer Jordan Mancino after they first met as a band in February 2001, the title of the band was taken from the novel of the same name by William Faulkner although there is no correlation between the band's musical theme to the theme of the novel.
Pluto Records took interest and offered As I Lay Dying a recording contract. After accepting the offer, one month later the band entered the studio to record their first album Beneath the Encasing of Ashes, which was released in June 2001. In 2002. The band recorded five songs for a split album through Pluto Records, with San Diego heavy metal band American Tragedy. As I Lay Dying realized it needed to expand to a five-piece to include another guitarist and a bassist. Mancino commented "we started going on tour and we needed obviously more people than that." Since they had no "solid" members besides Tim Lambesis and Jordan Mancino, the band recruited friends to perform with them and from there on the group encountered several line-up changes; bassist Noah Chase departed from band in 2001, Brandon Hayes and his subsequent replacement Aaron Kennedy departed in 2003; soon after forming the band The Tokyo Smash in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
In July 2003, the band's second studio album, Frail Words Collapse was released. Produced by Lambesis, the album peaked at number 30 onBillboard's Independent Albums chart, and number 41 on the Top Heatseekers chart. William York of Allmusic thought the band "doesn't really add anything new to the mix from a musical standpoint" with the release, although praised it for being "solid enough and well executed, and the production is adequate." Sherwin Frias of Jesus Freak Hideout had similar sentiments and commented "As I Lay Dying didn't exactly break many boundaries in making this record", but praised that each song is "executed so well (and with such precision) that nary a song misses its target." Touring followed to promote the album with the bands Himsa, Shadows Fall, The Black Dahlia Murder, Killswitch Engage, In Flames, Sworn Enemy, and Hatebreed. Music videos for the songs “94 Hours” and "Forever received rotation on networks such as Fuse and MTV2's Headbanger's Ball.
As I Lay Dying entered Big Fish recording studio in Encinitas, California in January 2005 to record their third studio album. Shadows Are Security was released in June, and debuted at number 1 on the Independent Albums. It was the band's first release to enter the Billboard 200 at number 35. and sold about 275 000 copies. Wade Kergan of Allmusic called it "one of the strongest releases of 2005," and commented that new guitarists Phil Sgrosso and Nick Hipa, make the band "stronger." Rod Smith of Decibel Magazine commented "Tim Lambesis’ finely honed roar in bittersweet instrumental matrices augmented by occasional clean vocals by bassist Clint Norris. Guitarists Phil Sgrosso and Nick Hipa whip up a melodic cyclone on 'The Darkest Nights'." Guitarist Evan White had quit the band due to personal reasons after his mother had died. All the clean vocals were sung by Dave Arthur of Kings to You, because they sounded more powerful in the studio than Clint Norris'.
In 2007, As I Lay Dying started recording a new album titled An Ocean Between Us, which was released on August 21, 2007. Debuting at number 8 on the Billboard 200, and number 1 on the Top Rock chart with first-week sales of 39,000, the album was the highest charting release for the band. Co-produced by Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz and As I Lay Dying, and mixed by Colin Richardson, the album received generally positive reviews. Christa L. Titus of Billboard commented "Whatever the differences between As I Lay Dying's personal desires and what its fans demand, this album surely acts as a bridge," praising the song "Comfort Betrays" for its guitar solo. Scott Alisoglu of Blabbermouth.net described the album as "a well-rounded and often thrashy metalcore album, as the band has struck an effective balance between aggression and accessible melodies." Thom Jurek of Allmusic praised the band for expanding its musical range by including melodic choruses and clean vocals such as they had previously done on Confined from Shadows Are Security. It was the first time for bassist Josh Gilbert to be featured on an As I Lay Dying record since the time of the departure of previous bassists, Evan White and Clint Norris.
On September 28, 2009, As I Lay Dying announced that 6—7 songs had already been written for their then upcoming album, which followed onward to November 23 where Josh Gilbert announced through Twitter that half of the record was recorded. As I Lay Dying announced the title of their new album The Powerless Rise.
On May 7, The Powerless Rise was posted in its entirety through MySpace Music. The streaming lasted until May 10. The album was officially released on May 11, 2010 and received generally positive critical acclaim, with one critic saying "Fans of metalcore in general, and As I Lay Dying in particular, will be more than satisfied with The Powerless Rise, as the band's gradual progression and consistency makes this their best album."
As of January 2012, As I Lay Dying have been in the studio with producer Bill Stevenson (NOFX, Rise Against, Anti Flag) working on material for a sixth album, expected for release later in the year.
On June 22, 2012, the band announced that their sixth album would be titled Awakened and the first single "Cauterize" was released on June 25, 2012. On September 12, 2012, As I Lay Dying released their second single "A Greater Foundation" with a corresponding music video. The album was released on September 25, 2012 and "Cauterize" was available on the band's website as a free download for a 24-hour period. As I Lay Dying won the "Metal Band of the Year" award from Loudwire in 2012.
On May 7, 2013, Lambesis was arrested in Oceanside, California, US after hiring an undercover detective to kill his estranged wife. On May 16, 2014, Lambesis was sentenced to six years in prison, with 48 days credit for time served.
Rather than continue on without Lambesis, Mancino, along with former members Phil Sgrosso, Nick Hipa, and Josh Gilbert, decided to focus on a different style of music under a different band name, Wovenwar, with Shane Blay (Oh, Sleeper) as the vocalist.
Lambesis was released from prison on probation in December 2016.
On September 2, 2017, Metal Injection reported that Lambesis was working on new music and planned to release it under the As I Lay Dying name and that none of the pre-hiatus lineup aside from Lambesis would be returning.
On June 8, 2018, the band released the music video for "My Own Grave", confirming through the video that the lineup of Lambesis, Hipa, Sgrosso, Gilbert and Mancino have reunited. They performed their first show—which sold out in four minutes—in five years at the SOMA Sidestage in San Diego. The band has stated the single was their first and only song written since their formal reunion in February 2018 and have no concrete plans past releasing the single and playing the SOMA show.
On June 16, 2018—the date of their comeback show at the SOMA, the band published a video on their official YouTube account addressing the questions and criticisms fans and critics of the band had and explaining the terms in detail of the reunion.
In July 2018, the band announced their first European headlining tour for December 2018. A day later, they announced their North American tour for November 2018. A vast majority of the shows sold out immediately.
In August 2021, Nick Hipa confirmed his exist of the band.
In May 2022, Josh Gilbert left and in June 2022 Jordan Mancino also left, which means that the current line-up consists of Tim Lambesis and Phil Sgrosso.
Band Members:
▪ Tim Lambesis – lead vocals
▪ Phil Sgrosso – rhythm guitar
Overcome
As I Lay Dying Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Must add up to something
Our bodies have been trained to keep it all in
But our hearts still hold on
Some say to release it, forget about your past
Instead we count the cost, it's part of us
That doesn't mean that we cannot move on
No matter what it is we've faced
It's now part of us (part of us)
We can overcome
Why rid of fuel that can make us stronger
When properly put behind us? (put behind us)
And in the same way that
Everything good in life can be taken away
So can all this pain
No matter what it is we've faced
It's now part of us (part of us)
No matter what we've faced in this life
We can overcome
Trying to forget is a burden we can never bear
When facing trials openly
There's nothing left to hide
New paths of strength come alive
We can overcome
No matter what it is we've faced
It's now part of us (part of us)
No matter what we've faced in this life
We can overcome
The lyrics of "Overcome" by As I Lay Dying contemplate the idea of pain and how it shapes us. While our bodies have been trained to hold in our pain, our hearts still hold on, and we can count the cost of the suffering. The song suggests that we should not seek to rid ourselves of the fuel that can make us stronger, rather we should seek to put it behind us to live a balanced, fulfilling life.
The chorus of the song suggests that no matter what we have faced, it is now a part of us. We should not try to forget it, and it is a burden that we can never bear. Instead, we should face our trials openly and walk new paths of strength that come alive through our perseverance.
The song's lyrics convey a message of hope and resilience, with an acknowledgment of the pain that we all have faced. It encourages the listener to recognize the strength that we have developed through overcoming our obstacles and to keep moving forward.
Line by Line Meaning
All these moments of pain
The various painful experiences that we have gone through in life
Must add up to something
These experiences should serve as a positive change in life
Our bodies have been trained to keep it all in
We have learned to suppress our pain and suffering
But our hearts still hold on
But the pain and hurt remain in our hearts
Some say to release it, forget about your past
Some people suggest that we should let go of our past and move on
Instead we count the cost, it's part of us
Instead, we acknowledge the pain and hurt as a part of who we are
That doesn't mean that we cannot move on
Acknowledging our pain doesn't mean that we cannot progress in life
It's just a memory of what we once were
The pain we experienced is just a memory of our past selves
No matter what it is we've faced
Regardless of our experiences in life
It's now part of us (part of us)
Our experiences have become a part of who we are as individuals
We can overcome
We can overcome any adversity in life
Why rid of fuel that can make us stronger
Why get rid of experiences that can make us stronger and resilient
When properly put behind us? (put behind us)
Instead, we should put our experiences behind us in a positive way
And in the same way that
Similar to how everything good in life can be taken away,
Everything good in life can be taken away
Everything bad can also be taken away, including the pain and suffering
So can all this pain
We have the power to remove the pain and hurt from our lives
Trying to forget is a burden we can never bear
Trying to forget our painful experiences is not possible and is a heavy burden
When facing trials openly
Instead, we should face our challenges head-on
There's nothing left to hide
When we face our trials, there's nothing left for us to hide
New paths of strength come alive
We discover new ways to cope with our challenges and become stronger
No matter what it is we've faced
Regardless of what challenges we have faced,
It's now part of us (part of us)
We have become a stronger version of ourselves because of our experiences
No matter what we've faced in this life
No matter what hardships we encounter in life,
We can overcome
We can overcome and emerge victorious
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: JORDAN D MANCINO, JOSH GILBERT, PHILLIP JOSEPH SGROSSO, SAMUEL NICHOLAS HIPA, TIMOTHY P LAMBESIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind