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As I Lay Dying > Awakened > Reviews
As I Lay Dying - Awakened

Finally Awakened - 75%

Petrus_Steele, October 5th, 2019
Written based on this version: 2012, CD + DVD, Metal Blade Records (Deluxe edition, Digibook)

I'm thinking to myself at this point, As I Lay Dying is just another repetitive metalcore band with nothing refreshing but radio-quality music and something that isn't mind-blowing or impressive, let alone memorable. However, maybe after seven years since Shadows Are Security they finally managed to put together something that's better than their last three full-lengths, or should I say... awakened. Maybe that's the meaning of this album.

Already talking about refreshment, Cauterize is heavy in the metalcore sense and not blending any thrash metal or death growls (which aren't bad). It's melodically great, surprisingly has a great breakdown, and the vocals all-around sound good and that's the quality the band should maintain. A Greater Foundation isn't any different but more prominent with the clean vocals, as well as a strong bass tone. Also, the extended version of this song isn't really extended, so ignore that. Resiliently groovy, Resilience mostly has catchy guitar melodies and a powerful chorus when it comes to the vocals. Wasted Words sounds like a thrash metal behind the kit, but still managed to keep that influence away for original metalcore sound. Overcome is yet another melodic track with heavy riffs. Defender is widely melodic when it comes to the guitars, yet also very groovy. I don't know why Unwound didn't just end up as the 11th track and instead labeled as a b-side demo, but it's clearly one of the better tracks. Tim's unclean vocals sound explosive, the guitars vary when the melodies are exposed, and the drums are quite blasting.

Whispering Silence is one of the easier songs, in terms of the lack of heaviness and more melodic. Not the best I've heard. No Lungs to Breathe has a very triggering chorus, while the rest of the track sounds forgettable. Washed Away is the interlude to My Only Home, which is just a minute of a slow guitar melody. As for the actual song, it's also more around that radio-quality of musical substance. Same can be said for Tear Out My Eyes. It's surely heavy and fast, but not in the caliber of throwing you away from whatever awesome music was created.

It looks like a long record considering the portion for the songs is above four minutes. I'm not sure if it was a length thing, but Awakened is a great record and the band literally woke the fuck up. Of course, had Tim not been on the incident he created there could've been at least three more records (including the recent Shaped by Fire. Didn't end in a bang, but this record, before the band's hiatus due to what happened with Tim, was fresh and fun to listen to. The best songs are Cauterize, Wasted Words, Overcome, and Defender.

Just keeps getting better. - 99%

ArnoldHablewitz, November 12th, 2012

Do you remember the last time where a band has put out six albums and every single album was better than all the albums before it? I mean, I can think of Death, and... that's it actually. When you think about it, even classic bands by album six have had at least one misstep somewhere along the way. I mean, even Megadeth had “Youthanasia.”

As I Lay Dying is a band that came into their own amidst the metalcore scene around the turn of the decade. A handful of great songs on their Metal Blade debut (and second album altogether) hinted at promise, and when next disc “Shadows Are Security” came out, the first real example of where the band was headed was already here. When “An Ocean Between Us” came out, it was heralded as a bonafide metalcore classic and truly established the band as a group that had staying power and that was evolving further from it's -core roots and embracing the heaviness. “The Powerless Rise” was a full-on blasting blitz through it's eleven tracks and is easily the band's most “metal” disc. So now the question is where can the band evolve to now?

Answer: they can slightly devolve and make it sound fresh again! The downright brutal aggression is still here, and so are the thrashy sections that Tim Lambesis has gotten so great at writing and Phil Sgrosso at refining and performing over the years. What came back are the breakdowns, for starters. And we're not talking some weak-willed, deathcore/pseudo-djent breakdowns like the de rigueur as of late...no, we're talking about brick-to-your-face drum and guitar synchronicity, riding that crash cymbal with the sickest groove you can imagine, getting a slow headbang going, and for the listener hoping to god you don't put your fist through a wall before you realize “it's only a song...it's only a song.” Another element adding to this excitement is the band's seeming commitment to utilizing the ever-improving voice of one Josh Gilbert, the band's bassist since 2006. Possibly due to input from new producer Bill Stevenson (producer for Rise Against, ex-drummer for Black Flag and The Descendants) there's far more and far catchier chorus parts on this disc than ever before, and they are friggin' golden. You can't help but sing along with Tim and Josh on tunes like the powerhouse “No Lungs to Breathe” where that awesome call-and-response toughguy vocal phrasing of “With no lungs to breathe – I had almost lost everything!!!” come in and just layers over that sick groove so perfectly. Jordan is still a drummer that is almost inhumanly tight and versatile in all styles metal, and thus provides the perfect counterpoint to the sometime straightforward, all guns blazing riffage being spewed out. Speaking of guitarists, I really have to say that Nick Hipa has become the perfect guitar hero that all metal kids of this era should aspire to be. It's totally the trend these days for some 22-year-old to get up there on a 7-string and rip the same sweep arpeggio 8 times before going to a different sweep arpeggio for another 8 times and call it a solo. Meanwhile, we have Nick...who has so many weapons in his arsenal as a guitarists ranging from the sweeping, the tapping, the spot-on and fluid legato, and even some cool whammy tricks, but all those merely serve a purpose to add flair to MELODIC solos...solos that you can sing along to just as much as those awesome chorus parts.

What's next for As I Lay Dying? I'll be over here, on the edge of my seat, patiently waiting. At this point I can be really sure that my mind will continue to be blown.

As I Lay Dying - Awakened - 70%

tcgjarhead, October 16th, 2012

I have listened to Awakened 4 or 5 times through and this is a difficult review to write. Not because the album is complex and difficult to explain, no its much worse than that. As I Lay Dying's album Awakened just...isn't that good. As a big fan of this band it is just hard to admit, but there it is. Awakened isn't by any means a bad album but the band made what I would say are a few mistakes in the process of its creation and they stick out like a sore thumb.

On a review I read of the album on another site someone mentioned how AILD has created the first "retro metalcore" album. I think that description is apt, and I also believe that is what takes this from what could be a great album, to just ok. The riffing is a lot more choppy reminiscent of your generic metalcore band. It contains a lot of the stop start guitar parts which sap the riffs of their strength and just makes thing a tad boring. Still the fellas can still shred and Wasted Words is a thrashy tune for the most part. Another track that stands out and being good is A Greater Foundation which has probably the most memorable chorus of the album.

Vocally Tim Lambesis even sounds like he kind of phoned it in this time around. His performance on Awakened almost reminds me of the vocalist for another christian metalcore band, Mychildren Mybride. In fact the album holds more than that in common with said band. And you know, Josh Gilbert's clean vocals never really bothered me too much. But on Awakened they annoy the living hell out of me. I'm not sure if he sings more on this album than the previous two or what. But it seems to rub me the wrong way, like how when he sings it just pops out above everything else.

One of the highlights of the album has to be listening to Jordan Mancino's drumming. It's always a treat to hear him behind the kit. The album seems to even be pretty much driven by the drumming, perhaps a little higher in the mix than the other instruments. Mr. Gilbert's Bass is of course back in the mix, its there but barely discernible. The production is well done at least. Its clear and clean without any noticeable sonic blemishes.

On Awakened AILD have seemed to of mixed their style on An Ocean Between Us and the Powerless Rise with their older more generic metalcore style. This hurts the album. As soon as I heard the breakdown on Cauterize I knew something strange was up. Like I said before, Awakened is not bad by any means but it is not up to par with the last two albums. There is too much whiny singing, and the riffing at times can be a pain. Musically this album may have more melodies, but it is somehow less memorable overall. If you are a diehard AILD fan you may be on the fence about this album like me, otherwise if you are new to the band just pick up The Powerless Rise or the seminal An Ocean Between Us. Hopefully Awakened is a grower.