An Ocean Between Us

Amazon.com It didn't take long for the once exciting sounds of metalcore to devolve into metalsnore but, thankfully, a few bands have lead the charge toward keeping the (sub)genre's lifeblood flowing with enthusiasm and even ingenuity. Among them? As I Lay Dying. The San Diego-based outfit returns with the kind of killer guitar hooks (courtesy of Phil Sgrosso and Nick Hipa), dynamic vocals, and a drum and bass attack that creates an aftershock bound to be felt for the remainder of the decade and long into the next. The radio-friendly title cut stands as an exemplar of the unit's true strengths, while "Comfort Betrays" and "Within Destruction" are pure metal mayhem that will inspire the listener to wield a healthy sense of righteous indignation. Among the other fascinating cuts are "Forsaken," "I Never Wanted," and the soaring "The Sound of Truth." The band may try a little too hard during moments of "Wrath Upon Ourselves" and "This is Who We Are," but on the whole, An Ocean Between Us proves that As I Lay Dying is an unstoppable force worthy of sustained attention and capable of transforming and transcending the musical parameters in which it was born. --Jedd Beaudoin Product Description As I Lay Dying releases their latest album, AN OCEAN BETWEEN US, which was produced by Killswitch Engage guitarisst Adam Dutkiewicz. About the Artist The members of AS I LAY DYING are the kind of musicians that refuse to be measured solely by their most recent accomplishments. The new album, An Ocean Between Us, is evidence of this fact, proving once again that these guys are not afraid to push the limits of their sound and always keep things moving. The music grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go until the album's finish. Building upon the foundation that AILD has laid over the past several years, growing from a small San Diego outfit slowly and deliberately into a priority national act, the band has become Metal Blade Records' biggest sellers with an extremely devoted following. AS I LAY DYING has the goods to take it all the way and stake their claim as the metal band " you need to know about" in 2007 and beyond. A brief history lesson: AILD's Metal Blade debut, 2003's Frail Words Collapse, effectively introduced this indie band to the world on the strength of the catchy but brutal songs, "94 Hours" and "Forever." The album went on to be a label best-seller, surpassing 210,000 units sold. The follow up, Shadows Are Security, further spotlighted AILD as one of most influential bands to break out of the underground metal scene. Their high-profile, marathon tour cycle found the band as one of the featured attractions on the Ozzfest 2005 side stage, then as part of the second annual Taste Of Chaos trek in winter 2006 along with Deftones and Thrice, culminating in the headlining slot on the 2006 Sounds Of The Underground tour in front of 3000-5000 people per night. Shadows has sold nearly 275,000 records to date as word of the album and the band's electrifying live show continues to spread through their ever growing fan base, fans that simply put are in it for the long haul. Now, with An Ocean Between Us, the stakes have been raised, the ante upped. "It may have been comfortable for us to write a similar sounding record," admits vocalist and founding member Tim Lambesis. "The basic elements of AS I LAY DYING are there, but on the whole, we took certain songs in a new direction. We can't always do what's comfortable or just do more of what our fans expect. We wanted to have more depth." To achieve the desired depth, the band wrote and recorded as though their very lives depended on it. Lambesis says, "Everything was performed more spot-on than any of our previous records. The biggest focus was the songwriting. It's more dynamic than previous records, and that helped the production sound bigger because there are ups and downs." The band recruited noted producer (friend and Killswitch Engage guitarist) Adam Dutkiewicz, who has worked with Underoath and Unearth, to man the boards. Colin Richardson's mixing skills also helped create the album's bigger, fuller, crisper, and more dynamic sound. On An Ocean Between Us, driving melodic choruses are set to a backdrop of breakdowns, the kind that ignite moshpits to the apex of fury. Richardson named the record among his favorite, telling fans "It is brilliant, people! Amazing songs all over the place. It's a truly special album and Jordan [Mancino] has to be one the THE best drummers in metal. Seriously. It was a real honor to mix this album." Musically, the core four -Lambesis, drummer and fellow founding member Jordan Mancino, guitarists Nick Hipa and Phil Sgrosso- wrote the album, and recruited bassist Josh Gilbert to record and fill the vacant bass position. Lambesis admits that on this album, the foursome where able to commingle all of their strengths. "From the start of this band Jordan and I were always the solid two members. Together we wrote a majority of the songs an
ASIN: B000SR0T3I
VSKU: DBV.B000SR0T3I.G
Condition: Good
Author/Artist:As I Lay Dying
Binding: Audio CD
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