Oh boy, are you guys ready for this? 🤯 AS I LAY DYING has finished recording their ninth studio album, and I’m not sure if I should be excited or concerned for my sanity. I mean, it’s not like they’ve been through a few lineup changes or anything (spoiler alert: they have). The new album is tentatively set to drop in early 2027 via Napalm Records, because who doesn’t love a good metalcore album to start the year off right? 🎉
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The band’s vocalist, Tim Lambesis, released a video message (because, you know, that’s what all the cool kids are doing these days) where he explained that they’ve recorded 12 songs, but they’re only keeping 10. Because, you know, quality control and all that jazz. He also mentioned that they’re going to release two new songs, “Polarized” and “Retribution”, on September 15th, and they want fans to weigh in on whether these songs should make the cut. Because, you know, the fans always know best (just ask the guys from Nickelback).
The New Lineup: A Breath of Fresh Air or a Recipe for Disaster?
So, let’s talk about the new lineup. We’ve got Tim Lambesis on vocals, Chris Clancy on bass and clean vocals, Bill Hudson on guitar, Don Vedda on guitar, and Tim Yeung on drums. That’s a lot of new faces, and I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. I mean, on the one hand, it’s always exciting to see new talent brought into a band. On the other hand, it’s like trying to put together a puzzle with missing pieces – it might look good on the surface, but it’s still a mess underneath.
Lambesis has said that the new lineup brings a “renewed vitality and artistic momentum” to the band, which is just a fancy way of saying “we’re not old and boring yet”. And hey, who can blame them? The band’s been through a lot, including a few lineup changes (okay, more than a few), and it’s not like they’ve had any controversy surrounding them (oh wait, they have).
A Look Back at the Past: Because We Clearly Haven’t Learned from Our Mistakes
Let’s take a walk down memory lane, shall we? AS I LAY DYING has been around for a while, and they’ve had their fair share of ups and downs. They released their breakthrough album “Shadows Are Security” back in 2005, and it’s still a fan favorite to this day. But, you know, with great success comes great drama. The band’s gone through a series of lineup changes, and Lambesis has been in the news for all the wrong reasons (more on that later).
In 2014, Lambesis was sentenced to six years in jail for his role in a murder-for-hire plot against his estranged first wife. Yeah, that’s a thing that happened. And, you know, it’s not like he’s tried to spin this as a “redemption story” or anything (oh wait, he has). In fact, former guitarist Nick Hipa called him out as a “sociopathic narcissist in definite need of rehabilitation” back in 2014. Yikes.
So, what’s next for AS I LAY DYING? Will their new album be a hit or a miss? Will they finally put their drama-filled past behind them and make some decent music? Only time will tell, folks. But hey, at least we can all agree that their music is still better than Nickelback’s 🎸.
Chord F. Discord, the Beethoven of Buffoonery, is a self-taught expert in music who once claimed he could “play the kazoo in four languages.”
Born in Crescendo, Indiana, Chord’s first brush with fame came when he accidentally entered a yodeling contest thinking it was a pie-eating competition—and won both categories.
Chord F. Discord: proving that laughter, much like a poorly tuned ukulele, is truly universal.
