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As I Lay Dying have reached the very pinnacle of the American metal underground, to the point where they're not an underground band anymore - their videos are played on MTV, they've toured the world with the support of one of the biggest metal labels out there, and their breakout album Frail Words Collapse (Metal Blade Records) has sold over a hundred thousand copies since its release in 2003. Just before the release of their newest, Shadows Are Security, the band rolled through Ottawa with Throwdown and Winter Solstice in tow, and sweetdisaster caught up with vocalist/lyricist Tim Lambesis in the dark, filthy alley behind the club to talk about record sales, musical growth, member changes, the Christian retail market and being lucky enough to tour with your wife (Tim's wife Meg is their de facto 'merch girl') . Maybe as a surprise to some, the tall, black-clad figure who commands the front of the stage for a set is kind of shy and humbly soft-spoken away from the lights. A back alley - how metal is that? Let's do this!
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sd: Did you expect any of this? The signing with Metal Blade, and getting as big as you have?
Tim: Well, we knew that was gonna be a step up for us, but we didn't place any expectations on ourselves; we just wrote what we wanted to write, and ultimately we're playing music that we love and that we're passionate about, and it came out in the songs. So yeah, we were a little surprised - we had set a goal of selling maybe thirty thousand records, because at the time, all the bands I looked up to and had grown up listening to all sold about thirty thousand records.
sd: How many copies has Frail Words Collapse sold now?
Tim: About a hundred and twenty thousand. Four times what we'd hoped. But I don't think any band, as competitive as music is right now, can record an album and say "this is definitely gonna do well", because I've seen some of the most amazing bands never go anywhere, while some horrible bands get all kinds of radio play.
sd: What was the biggest difference between 2001's Beneath The Encasing of Ashes and Frail Words, aside from the fact that the first was on a small label? What happened to make the songs so much more vibrant?
Tim: The older stuff was going for a darker sound that generally called for more melodies in order to stay dark. We just said, "You know what? Let's just write music with a lot of energy that we can have a blast playing live", and the melodies came in and everything picked up energy-wise, and they became better songs. I think with the guitars, there was a drastic different in melody between [the two albums], and drumwise, because there was more energy to the songs we were able to add a lot more double bass, and Jordan (Mancino), being such a young drummer at the time, progressed a lot, and still has - the drumming on the new record is phenomenal.
sd: Guitarist/co-producer Evan White is no longer with the band - what did he bring that you guys maybe missed this time around, self-producing again?
Tim: We're all still on good terms, but in terms of songwriting, we're not really missing anything. He was a tight guitar player, but he wasn't a songwriting guitar player. He just enjoyed playing music, and when we recorded Frail Words we didn't have a bass player, so Evan played bass and we kinda hid it in the mix a little bit.
sd: There were a couple of breakdowns that were just begging for bass, and it wasn't there.
Tim: So we didn't lose anything in songwriting. With the new record we definitely gained a lot - Phil writes a lot, and we have a steady bass player, so bass lines were coming in and everything.
sd: This is a stable lineup?
Tim: Yeah. Ever since we started writing this record, every single person has been in the band. We've been almost two years with the same lineup, and for us that's a really big deal. *laughter*
sd: Lyrically you guys still focus in on a lot of Christian issues - does that kick in on the new record as well?
Tim: I definitely write about other issues, but beneath all those is my worldview, and the new album's a little more focused.
sd: Any themes running through this one?
Tim: Yeah - Frail Words Collapse was more a collection of different points that I was at in my life. Each song was a great song, but collectively, they were just not [cohesive]. With the new one, you can read the lyrics start to finish and feel like you just read one really long song.
sd: You haven't gone Coheed & Cambria, have you?
Tim: I'd say it's a non-fruity version of a concept album. *laughter*
sd: I wasn't implying anything.
Tim: No, no, Coheed & Cambria's actually a great band; I'm not saying they're fruity or anything, but a lot of concept albums are a little over the top, and with this one each song has its individuality to it. It's about daily life, the struggles that we go through - anyone can relate to it, but the direction of the whole record's focus starts with questioning what we believe, and challenging people to question what they've been taught.
sd: Is that why you think a lot of Christian record retailers won't carry it? Especially now that you're on Metal Blade? I originally found Frail Words in a Christian store, but I bet I won't find the new one there this time around.
Tim: We actually pulled the record out of Christian bookstores after the first few months because we didn't like what they were doing with the list price. Our list price everywhere else was $9.98, and they were charging like $17.99 or something. And that's in US dollars, so up here...
sd: I think I paid $21.99 for it.
Tim: So the Christian bookstores were putting it at over twenty, and we don't disagree with having our CD in Christian bookstores, but we do disagree, ironically, with the business ethics of Christian distributors and bookstores, and how they won't sell something unless there's a very, very noticeable "God content".
sd: Do you still play the Christian festivals and the Christian circuit at all?
Tim: This year we'll only be able to play Cornerstone, because we'll be on Ozzfest as the first headliner on the side stage, but we haven't given up at all [on the Christian scene]. As a band we don't live in a bubble - we know this is real life, and that Jesus lived in real life, and He hung out in places much like where we are right now. He definitely wouldn't think it was immoral to hang out where regular people are hanging out, you know? Some of the bands we take out don't believe the things that we believe, and there are opportunities to share what we believe not just with our fans, but with the other bands on tour.
sd: [Rapper] Pigeon John was here last night, who's a Christian, with the Living Legends, who aren't a Christian crew or anything, and I was watching him at his merch table by himself, and I could almost feel the loneliness coming from the guy - do you ever get like that when you're wandering in a crowd?
Tim: I lean on my wife Meg a lot. She's an incredible support to me, and she's much more disciplined as a person than I am when it comes to just spending time in daily devotions.
sd: Is she like the band mother at this point?
Tim: More like my mother. *laughter* She doesn't wanna overstep her bounds. As a whole everybody in the band wants to grow as well, so naturally being surrounded by a bunch of people with the same vision in mind is a lot like church, actually.
sd: I've gone on little mini-tours with a friend of mine's band here and there, and I've seen a lot of things that happen on the road, and I just wondered if the temptations wears on you after a while?
Tim: Well, we've seen a lot of bands make complete idiots of themselves, or ruin their careers doing things. Obviously, there's temptation, but...I mean, last year, we were on tour and saw a couple guys - in the same band - get into a fistfight because they were really drunk, and it just makes you see, like, why would you wanna be a drunk, or be in a band if that was your day-to-day lifestyle?
sd: What's the most rewarding thing about this band so far?
Tim: Just the simple, very honest conversations I'm able to have with people after the shows. Our music has helped some of them get through difficult times in their lives. Just...the appreciation that a lot our fans have shown.
sd: Is there anyone you look up to as a lyricist?
Tim: Thrice have very tasteful lyrics. The band isn't a Christian band, but the lyricist is [Dustin Kensrue], and he takes an approach where he really makes you think through his lyrics; instead of just saying, "Hey, I want you to believe what I believe", he challenges you.
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AILD's Shadows Are Security is in stores everywhere, and the band's incessant touring schedule means they're everywhere to boot. Catch 'em if you can.
- Mike Postma