…And it was over before it even began. Tim Lambesis just cannot keep it together, and it’s such a shame because this is my favorite As I Lay Dying album since ‘An Ocean Between Us’ from 2007.
I’m going to skip over explaining that Lambesis tried to hire a hitman to kill his ex-wife in 2013. It’s old news at this point. I’ll just briefly mention that after spending a few years in prison, he got out, did an apology tour, and got the band back together. As I Lay Dying started off as a Christian band so the idea of “second chances” seemed fitting.
The problem was that the other members couldn’t seem to get past it. Nick Hipa, the band’s guitarist since 2003, was the first to exit in 2021. Then, founding member Jordan Mancino (the drummer since 2000) and Josh Gilbert (the bassist since 2006) both quit a few months apart in 2022. The only remaining longtime member other than Tim Lambesis was Phil Sgrosso, who joined the band as a guitarist in 2003.
The vague statements surrounding the departures didn’t reveal much, and As I Lay Dying began filling the positions. First, they pulled Ryan Neff from Miss May I to sing and play bass. Afterwards, guitarist Ken Susi was recruited from Unearth, and Unearth’s former drummer, Nick Pierce, was also selected.
The injection of new personnel gave As I Lay Dying a much needed shot in the arm. Unearth is a highly respected metalcore band that plays straight up, classic metalcore, and its members elevated AILD’s music. Even Ryan Neff, who I don’t typically think is a strong part of Miss May I, has some real highlights on this album. The choruses are solid, and a few moments remind me of the style of singing from ‘An Ocean Between Us’ that I have missed for a long time.
Most importantly, it feels like ‘Through Storms Ahead’ has some real teeth. Tim Lambesis unleashed some of his inner darkness, and when combined with the proactive instrumentals, it results in a more substantive sound than ‘Shaped By Fire’ gave us in 2019.
Despite the appearance of success, fans praising the singles, and a lot of hype for the album, Ryan Neff, Ken Susi, Nick Pierce, and Phil Sgrosso quit the band over the span of two weeks in October 2024. Even the band’s touring manager quit. Tim Lambesis was left as the only remaining member. And then the album was released 16 days later.
Shortly after that, videos of Tim Lambesis acting like a psycho towards his wife were leaked. Which, I didn’t realize that he’s had two different wives since being released from prison. Dude must have a way with words to convince two different women to marry him after trying to have his first wife killed. So with the videos of him being crazy and aggressive with wife number three, everyone assumed that the members of the band left because they knew what was happening behind the scenes. In a crazy turn of events, Lambesis said the videos were leaked in retaliation to make him look bad because HE filed for divorce, initiated a domestic violence investigation against his wife, and filed for a restraining order against her after enduring years of being verbally and mentally abused by her.
I mean, what can I even say about that. I guess it’s possible – the wife was obviously crazy enough to marry him in the first place. She either has a penchant for trying to rehabilitate felons or has a screw loose herself (or maybe that’s the same thing).
Obviously, we’ve strayed quite a ways from talking about the actual music. Look, I love AILD and Tim is a great musician. Probably not a good person, but if he can stay out of jail and find some talented musicians to tolerate his antics, he might be able to keep this AILD thing going. It’s a shame that things turned out the way they did – I was genuinely excited about this iteration of the band. No doubt we are going to continue getting lyrics about overcoming adversity, taking on the world, and conquering the past. It’s a terrible situation, but I wish Tim the best. He’s definitely got some storms ahead (been waiting to make that pun for this whole review).
As I Lay Dying // Through Storms Ahead
Categories: Reviews
