This album is a significant milestone for As I Lay Dying. A band not unfamiliar with scandal, AILD stands at a precipice with the exodus of the “new” lineup save their industrious leader, Tim Lambesis. With a title like “Through Storms Ahead,” it feels like Tim had an inkling of what was coming. With only the harsh vocalist of this talented band remaining, this release is a bittersweet look into what AILD could have been.
Named after the 1930 William Faulkner novel, As I Lay Dying has been one of the foremost voices in melodic metalcore, garnering accolades and success such as a Grammy nomination and Loudwire’s metal band of the year in 2012. Things looked pretty good until Tim’s arrest for solicitation to murder his estranged wife. After his release on probation, the band reformed with the classic lineup and released a new album, “Shaped by Fire,” in 2019. However, from 2020 to 2022 the classic lineup broke up citing internal struggles, leaving Phil Sgrosso and Tim as the only members remaining from the last album. They backfilled with some great talent in Ryan Neff on bass, Nick Pierce on drums, and Ken Susi on guitar. This was short lived because as of this writing, the lineup of AILD consists only of Tim as every other member quit in October 2024 citing unhealthy and morally challenging work conditions within the band. So what is here is likely not what AILD will sound like in the future.
It is sad to say AILD shows a lot of talent on “Through Storms Ahead.” The precision and panache that the band has in delivering high quality melodic metalcore that oscillates between raging and yearning is hard to top. Every musician on this album turns in really great work with production that makes the hard work crystal clear. The pain points for me on this album are that it is too much of a metalcore album, lacking variety in other elements to keep me engaged. It is great for workouts or playing video games though.
The highlight of this album are the great performances, particularly by Phil Sgrosso on guitars and Ryan Neff on clean vocals. The rhythm guitar work is pretty standard to above average, but the lead and solo work really shines, demonstrating a great handle of precise technical displays that don’t overstay their welcome. Ryan fills in on clean vocal duties and delivers well. Most of the songs make use a clean chorus and his delivery really shows an emotive edge beyond pitch, a great pairing with the heaviness of Tim’s harsh vocals.
The songwriting for the most part feels quite predictable, like variations on a small sample of riffs and melodies all blended together without any room to breathe. That said, four songs are worth noting. “Burden” is the mothership, where all of the riffs and melodies come together just right. Many of the filler tracks bear a strong resemblance. “We Are The Dead” is a high energy harsh beat down with nary a sweet melody to be found and “The Cave We Fear To Enter” is a great emotionally-driven song that showcases Ryan’s vocals well. My favorite track is “Strength to Survive” with its bouncy drum rhythm and different melodic shape than the rest of the songs.
The lyrics sound like someone struggling with people and circumstances that are hard to grapple with. I can’t imagine the difficulty, but I have a hard time taking any of the positive messaging seriously given exiting band member’s citing the reason for leaving is being pushed to their moral limit. That said, there are some cathartic lyrics that fit well with metalcore.
This album is the picture of a great metalcore band performing at top speed before they derail…again. If you care about the music over the current state of the band, ask yourself if you like metalcore. If yes, pursue. If not, stay away. Pray for Tim as he tries to rebuild AILD and his life. There is no doubt that he has talent and drive, and I can imagine that if that got rekindled towards sharing a positive, Christ-centered message from a restored life that the impact would be immense. At least that’s my hope for AILD.
Rating: 6.5/10
Written by Sean Bailey
Tracklist
1 – Permanence
2 – A Broken Reflection
3 – Burden
4 – We Are The Dead
5 – Whitewashed Tomb
6 – Through Storms Ahead
7 – The Void Within
8 – Strength to Survive
9 – Gears That Never Stop
10 – The Cave We Fear To Enter
11 – Taken From Nothing
As I Lay Dying is:
Tim Lambesis – harsh vocals
Phil Sgrosso – guitars
Ken Susi – guitar solo on “Burden”
Ryan Neff – bass, clean vocals
Nick Pierce – drums
Guests:
Alex Terrible – additional vocals on “We Are The Dead”
Tom Barber – additional vocals on “We Are The Dead”
Release Date: November 15, 2024
Record Label: Napalm Records
Discography:
Beneath the Encasing of Ashes (2001)
Frail Words Collapse (2003)
Shadows Are Security (2005)
An Ocean Between Us (2007)
The Powerless Rise (2010)
Awakened (2012) [review]
Shaped by Fire (2019) [review]
Through Storms Ahead (2024)
Social Media: Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify | Bandcamp
Video for Burden
Video for We Are The Dead
Video for The Cave We Fear To Enter