First, let me say something that I feel pretty strongly about. Artists demand to be understood; that is the essential demand of any artistic creation. Therefore all a musician needs is ears to listen; ears he dares to decode his work properly and to understand it in the way it was meant to be understood. Now, being at least somewhat involved in the heavy music scene, you have these giants who no longer need to worry about ears, such as As I Lay Dying, and you find thousands of people eagerly anticipating the release of their next work of art- people who will go to great lengths to get their hands on it. This tells me one thing- regardless of what I say, As I Lay Dying must be doing or has done something right.
Unfortunately, maybe I have some kind of grudge against the band, but I find myself incredibly disappointed at every release... I've never really been a fan I guess. And I'm also jealous, because they have the ears; all they have to do is speak and play and people will listen and give the music everything they have to understand it. I just feel like a position such as that requires a great amount of attention and thought. Some people save lives literally every day in their profession, and that's what they are paid to do. As I Lay Dying is paid to make music- paid to tour, and do things that people dream of doing.
Anyway, on to the album. It's not terrible but its the same old crap as far as I'm concerned. I just don't care. I don't care about the message or purpose; I don't care to decode or understand because I don't care about the music; it doesn't draw me in. Riff-based metal-core, perhaps a little more on the metal side this time around- there is some growth here, I just don't care enough to figure it out. A perfect example of this is "Forsaken," which begins beautifully enough to almost make want to listen carefully, but the second it drops the melodic, chord based introduction and hits that riff- man, I just don't care anymore. I'm not one of these elitist pricks that wont shut up about abandoning metalcore, but seriously, something new needs to be done. As I Lay Dying are doing what they've always done, which is great for their fans... eh... not so much for me.
The guitar work on this album is a little more technically challenging and mature on this record, and they've taken that route that seems to be plan A or B for bands trying to jump the sinking metalcore ship- it's where you add lots more solos. I don't know why they do it, but whatever. There's also quite a bit more effects usage, which is cool- I'm always into that.
Their drummer is a machine as usual, lacking any sort of real feel or human touch-
Production wise, it definitely doesn't sound bad, but I feel like they've gone for a little more of a "raw" slant. The vocals are further back than in the previous two releases, and the guitar tone seems a little more gritty with some of the noise and distorted mess still left in. Overall, I'm not really feeling it, but it's not like I hated it or anything. If you like the band, I'm sure you'll like it. If you want something new, you're stupid for looking to As I Lay Dying anyway.
For Fans Of: As I Lay Dying, retard.
