November 6, 2001 - As I Lay Dying and Beneath The Encasing Of Ashes

Two weeks after my last release a new band joins my library when As I Lay Dying released their debut album "Beneath The Encasing Of Ashes" on November 6, 2001. But who is As I Lay Dying? They are a four-piece metalcore band from San Diego, California consisting of lead singer Tim Lambesis, guitarist Evan White, bassist Noah Chase and drummer Jordan Mancino. As I Lay Dying are part of the budding metalcore scene and they play a very heavy style of metal and Lambesis does all screaming vocals. Let's see what AILD is all about!

The album begins with the title track "Beneath The Encasing Of Ashes" and things start off with a pretty fast pace led by some heavy, chugging guitars and bass. They break things down not long after getting started and most of the song is at this slower, very brutal sounding pace. Chase's bass is super heavy, White plays some cool guitar that ranges from super low, all the way to super high, and Lambesis can hardly be understood he sounds so gnarly and heavy. He has a nice high scream most of the time as well as hitting a couple nice really low screams. Things sound pretty noisy and distorted and I can see why this would turn a lot of people off, but I thought it was a fittingly heavy intro into what AILD are all about. Up next is "Torn Within" and they kick right into a heavy but repetitive riff to start with Lambesis providing some nice low growls. Things shift into a faster and cool new riff that gets you headbanging quickly and they once again break things down nicely into a slower, super heavy riff that sounds great. This song is under two minutes long, but it had a few different parts that were all pretty heavy and cool still. The end leads right into track 3 "Forced To Die" and White plays a slow guitar riff that is very quiet to start. Lambesis screams slowly to match the pace and the guitars and bass get louder, but stay at a very slow pace the whole time. Lambesis sounds pretty great to me screaming slowly and heavily, but the music is just very basic and bland compared to the heaviness of the first two songs. A decent but not great song. The next track is "A Breath In The Eyes Of Eternity" and Lambesis screams the first verse over a very quiet main riff, then everybody comes nicely slamming in for the next verse as White plays some cool guitar and Chase and Mancino provide the heavy rhythm section. White switches to a cool new guitar riff that is fast and catchy and everyone then builds around that for a solid and heavy new riff. They end the song with a pretty awesome breakdown that has one really nice low scream by Lambesis and White playing a bunch of epic guitar that all sounds pretty sweet. Probably my favourite song so far! Track 5 is another short song called "Blood Turned To Tears" and they dive right into a distorted and heavy main riff with White playing some dirty guitars that sound great and Lambesis screaming nicely overtop. It's got a cool stop-and-start beat and for just a minute and a half, this was a solid song for sure! Up next is "The Voices That Betray Me" and it's got an upbeat yet plenty heavy verse and a dirty and heavy chorus, both with Lambesis just snapping at you with some great screams. After a couple solid rounds they shift nicely into a fast and cool new riff and this heavily jams us to the end of the song. Very heavy and nicely done! Track 7 is "When This World Fades" and it's a very slow and quiet song for AILD with a quiet guitar riff and some cool slow bass. Lambesis still screams overtop and his super heavy screams actually go pretty well with this main riff and give things an interesting contrast. Things finally get loud towards the end as the guitar shifts to a metal version of the main riff, but then the song is quickly over. The next track is "A Long March" and they kick right into a typically solid and heavy main riff in this song that's under two minutes long. They manage to back in not one, but two more really cool riffs: the first with some great low bass by Chase and some pretty cool high guitar by White. They packed a lot of metal goodness into this short song! Track 9 is called "Surrounded" and it's even shorter at just 50 seconds long! It's got a bit of an R&B drum beat which is very out of place, and White plays a decent guitar riff while Lambesis screams a nice verse, and then it's over! It rolls right into "Refined By Your Embrace" and it's another under two minute song, and honestly they could have (and should have) combined these two songs. White plays some cool guitar that keeps reverting between as low and as high on the fretboard as you can get and this is another typical AILD song, but that's not a bad thing! Track 11 is "The Innocence Spilled" and White leads another very heavy main riff with some cool guitar and Lambesis continues to sound very heavy as well with some more solid screaming, high and low. It's got a bit of a slower pace but things still sound solid, until they shift into a quiet acoustic riff. This is breaking up the heaviness some, but it's a pretty bland acoustic part and I don't want the heaviness broken up with these guys! They do return for a heavy finish to things, but this wasn't one of the better songs. The final song on the album is "Behind Me Lies Another Fallen Soldier" and White plays a quietly epic guitar riff to start and Lambesis speaks a verse, just talking overtop the music until they nicely slam into a slow and heavy main riff. Chase's bass is loud and echoing, White plays some cool slow guitar and Lambesis sounds like his usual heavy self. After three minutes the song appears to be over, but there is one more minute of strange noises that is very trippy and unlike their metalcore style. It's a bit unsettling and it's a very weird way to finish off the song and the album.

That is the end of "Beneath The Encasing Of Ashes" and I thought it was a good, but very raw debut album by As I Lay Dying. They play lots of heavy music and Tim Lambesis is a really good screamer, but a lot of the songs on this album blend together and the overall sound and quality is very raw. It's a decent debut and I look forward to As I Lay Dying honing their metal craft in the future!