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As I Lay Dying - Shadows Are Security

 

	RELEASED: June 14th, 2005 PRODUCER: Steve Russel, Tim Lambesis, Phil Sgrosso LABEL:Metal Blade Records BAND:Nick Hipa Tim Lambesis Jordan Mancino Clint Norris Phil Sgross
+ Chunky production, vastly improved songwriting, infectious hooks - Some repetition, nothing entirely original	TRACKS: 1.Meaning In Tragedy 2.Confined 3.Losing Sight 4.The Darkest Nights 5.Empty Hearts 6.Reflection 7.Repeating Yesterday 8.Through Struggle 9.The Truth Of My Perception 10.Control Is Dead 11.Morning Waits 12.Illusions

OVERVIEW

As I Lay Dying’s 2003 metalcore barn-burner “Frail Words Collapse” was kind of like opening a bag of Jelly Bellys.  About half the time, you’d reach in and grab a handful of the good stuff, a few would be that “Buttered Popcorn” or “Coconut” crap, and every so often you’d get that awesome combo that made all the junk worthwhile. That’s quite possibly the dumbest allusion I’ve ever made on this website. Anyways, the point is that what we have here is a serious overhaul of AILD’s style, a full-on revamping that cuts out all the crap and leaves everything they were doing right on Frail Words Collapse.  They’ve hit the production gym and come back leaner, crunchier, more focused, more melodic, more tasteful, and less scattered and off-the-cuff than in years past.  The guitars sing and slam equally well, Jordan Mancino’s surgically precise drums sound TONS better (seriously, if the drum sounds on on FWC didn’t make you want to shoot yourself, I don’t know what would), and vocalist Tim Lambesis roars with a renewed ferocity and musical maturity, not to mention his lyrics are much more thoughtful and deep than most metalcore can claim *coughatreyucough*.  The songs themselves are, by and large, catchy, melodic, and well-done, but they’re sure as heck still pummeling and retain that hardcore edge.

SONGS

AILD kick off Shadows are Security with my personal favorite track on the record – Meaning in Tragedy features some of the best guitar work on the CD, not because it’s exceptionally fast or technical, but because it manages to do a brilliant job carrying the entire melody of the song.  Things keep rolling with the 1st single Confined, which features an absurdly catchy melodic chorus and some great blastbeat drumming, and Losing Sight is quite percussive and makes for a trio of hard-hitting tracks.  Perhaps the biggest surprise on the record is The Darkest Nights, a twin-guitar lead extravaganza with a dual-harmony melodic chorus that’s surprisingly mellow and just begs for a sing-along. Empty Hearts kick things right back into crunch mode with one of AILD’s first real guitar solos (which is pretty darn good, I think), but unfortunately, I find the next track Reflection to be pretty dull, with the exception of the huge breakdown in the middle of the song. Repeating Yesterday slows things down considerably, very much like Behind Me Lays Another Fallen Soldier from Frail Words Collapse, and that brings us to the excellent, almost groovy Through Struggle, another one of the best tracks to be found here.  The Truth of My Perception takes off weak, but redeems itself with another respectable guitar solo, and Control is Dead almost falls flat, except for the legendary pipes of Zao’s Dan Weyandt keeping things interesting.  Lest you think the album is on a downward spiral, Morning Waits is yet another excellent lead-driven track, and the closer Illusion” ends the record with a slamming authority that lets you know that AILD will end the record when they’re good and ready, thank you very much.

CONCLUSION

While AILD, like peers Killswitch Engage, take a lot of crap from a lot of people that seem to think that anything that’s remotely popular sucks, there’s a reason they’ve landed themselves at the top of the metalcore heap, and it’s pretty much due to this album.  It’s heavy, it’s tight, it’s melodic, and comes highly recommended for fans of the genre and newbies alike.  At this rate of improvement, their next record is shaping up to be a real knockout.

Review by Matt Rewinski

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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