Tim Lambesis [As I Lay Dying/Austrian Death Machine] answers questions from fans about the just released album Decas. Read them below.
Decas, the new album from San Diego, California metallers As I Lay Dying, was released on november 8th. sold 9,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 61 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band’s previous CD, 2010′s The Powerless Rise, opened with 38,000 units to land at No. 10. This was roughly in line with the first-week tally of An Ocean Between Us, which premiered with 39,500 copies back in August 2007.
Decas, which contains 12 tracks, celebrates the band’s accomplishments by offering three brand new songs, cover songs that pay homage to just a few of the bands that have influenced As I Lay Dying, and remixes by Innerpartysystem.
(Katy Perry, Ladyhawke, Thursday, Good Charlotte and many others), Benjamin Weinman (The Dillinger Escape Plan), Kelly “Carnage” Cairns (Austrian Death Machine, War of Ages), and Big Chocolate (Asking Alexandria, iwrestledabearonce, Suicide Silence).
What does the new CD “Decas” mean to you? Tell me a little bit more, why you picked these songs for the record!
Decas literally means ten, and to me it is a collection of songs to celebrate our ten-year anniversary a band. We wanted to at least do an EP when the idea first came up but we were touring at the time and knew we wouldn’t have time to put together an entire album of new material. We were still able to round up three new songs that we felt represented the different sides to our band. There’s a song you’d generally expect from us, one on the heavier side, and then one of the most melodic songs we’ve ever done. We took a similar approach on the cover songs. We wanted one song that represented a thrashier, heavier influence. Interestingly enough we were asked to do a Slayer cover song with an anti-war theme for a video game months earlier, so that worked out perfectly. Next, we represented the melodic guitar influence with Judas Priest who is responsible for starting much of that within metal. Lastly, I came up with the idea to do a simple, raw, energetic song that was outside of our genre but still influential in some of our musical upbringing.
The remixes seem to be the biggest point of controversy with many AILD fans. The first song started because I always wanted to re-record at least one song from our first recording. We were rushed by a limited budget and time back in 2001 and the original is pretty rough. Jordan and I bounced some ideas back and forth and created what I think is a very fluid sounding medley with our favorite parts. Just the two of use recorded it as well which was kind of cool in a way since were the only two in the band back then. However, that song stirs the least controversy in that section of the release.
We could have just left the release as an EP, but we already had a remix submitted back when we didThe Powerless Rise that all of us in the band thought was interesting and different. When we decided to include that song along side the medley it seemed strange to have only two of five albums represented in a ten-year celebration. The remixes were almost like bonus material at that point and we assumed our fans would be open minded enough to understand they would sound different since they were not being performed by As I Lay Dying.
You’re next upcoming record is named “Decas”. Whose idea was it to make a new song, cover, remix album?
We fairly recently release a full length, so we didn’t have the songs to release all new stuff. It was important for us to celebrate our ten-year anniversary though. The cover songs were a good way to add newly recorded material given our circumstances. The remixes were added because we wanted to find a way to represent each older album.
The remixes on “Decas” are very special. Whose idea was it to put this remixes on “Decas”?
The first remix was submitted to us by another artist that we respect. After we got that remix and decided to include on from each album. As submissions came in, we chose our favorites. It was a pretty simple process.
Are the bands, you’ve covered on “Decas”, a big influence for you’re nowadays style?
It’s difficult to get all five of us in the band to agree on something. The bands we covered aren’t necessarily our favorites, but they are bands that represent at least one side of our sound. We wanted something thrashy and heavy like Slayer, something melodic and epic like Judas Priest, and something raw and energetic like the Descendents.
Amon Amarth + As I Lay Dying + Sceptic Flesh
18/11/11 – BG – Sofia – Yubilena Hall
19/11/11 – RO – Bucharest – Arenele Romane
21/11/11 – HU – Budapest – Club 202
22/11/11 – SK – Bratislava – Majestic Music Club
23/11/11 – AT – Linz – Posthof
24/11/11 – AT – Wien – Gasometer
25/11/11 – PL – Cracow – Studio
26/11/11 – CZ – Prague – Masters Of Rock
* shows without As I Lay Dying
As I Lay Dying will be heading out on A Decade of Destruction Tour November 30th-December 16th with guests Of Mice & Men, The Ghost Inside, IWrestledaBearOnce, and Sylosis. Dates are below.
A Decade of Destruction Tour Dates:
11/30 Long Island, NY The Paramount
12/01 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero Theatre
12/02 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom
12/03 Worcester, MA Palladium
12/04 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
12/05 Nashville, TN Rocketown
12/06 Chicago, IL House of Blues
12/07 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
12/08 Kansas City, MO Beaumont
12/09 Dallas, TX The Door
12/10 San Antonio, TX Backstage Live
12/11 Lubbock, TX Lonestar Center
12/13 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theater
12/14 Scottsdale, AZ Venue Of Scottsdale
12/16 San Diego, CA SOMA
12/17 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues
*Tickets on sale now
Related articles:
As I Lay Dying – The Powerless Rise (album review)
New video interview with ‘Nick Hipa’ (As I Lay Dying) (Aug. 2011)