As I Lay Dying - Awakened
Rating
RIYL
CalibanAugust Burns Red
Killswitch Engage
Shadows Fall
Release Date
09/25/2012
Label
Metal BladeTracklist
1. "Cauterize"2. "A Greater Foundation"
3. "Resilience"
4. "Wasted Words"
5. "Whispering Silence"
6. "Overcome"
7. "No Lungs to Breathe"
8. "Defender"
9. "Washed Away"
10. "My Only Home"
11. "Tear Out My Eyes"
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As I Lay Dying have been a staple of my metalcore playlists since discovering Beneath the Encasing of Ashes in college, late 2001. And since 2005, they've been a perennial favorite, once they became laser-focused on their cultivation of slick, aggressive, melody-infused, modern metalcore. From then to now we've seen them getting slightly more refined with each release, demonstrating an evolving maturity and the ability to hold off stagnation. From Shadows Are Security to An Ocean Between Us to The Powerless Rise As I Lay Dying grew stronger with each album, setting the bar for high-quality metalcore a bit further up each time. And when we were treated to 3 new tracks on the compilation album Decas, each of them pointed to their next full length, Awakened, being a further progression forward for the band. Listeners were given a small taste of Awakened a couple of weeks back with the track "Cauterize," which was a song that, uncharacteristically, took a few spins to sink in and catch on. Because of this, I began to feel a bit wary for Awakened.
With the full album finally in hand and numerous listens put in, that wariness was warranted. Before I get lambasted by As I Lay Dying fans everywhere, let me point out that this is a very solid album. If it was released by any other metalcore band, it could be a career-maker. However, we're talking about As I Lay Dying, one of the reigning kings of the metalcore realm, so the bar is set a bit higher for them. As mentioned previously, "Cauterize" turned out to be a very catchy track after multiple listens and it, in fact, turns out to be one of the catchiest songs on the album… which is the album's main problem.
Unlike past albums where there were at least 3 or 4 songs that stood head and shoulders above the rest (think "Confined" or "Nothing Left" or "Vacancy" for examples), Awakened almost completely lacks standout songs. Yes, this leads to a very level and consistent album, but it also treads dangerously close to "forgettable" territory as well. Knowing that this album was very quickly written and recorded, that may be what ultimately held the band back.
Let's be clear, however, that if you are an As I Lay Dying fan, you will definitely love this album, maybe just not as much as their other efforts. There are some classic AILD moments that will stand out, such as the breakdowns on "Defender," the always well done combination of melodic vocals mixed with aggressive instrumentation as seen on "A Greater Foundation," and "My Only Home," which is as close to a standard AILD song template as you'll find. There are great moments, for sure, which I don't want to go unmentioned, but that's really the expectation for As I Lay Dying, so when they aren't firing on all cylinders all of the time, it's noticeable.
Beyond the general feeling of being unmemorable, a few songs stand out as being particularly weak (again, by As I Lay Dying standards). "Resilience," being the 3rd track of the album right after 2 relatively great songs, is somewhat generic and feels a bit phoned in with some slightly forced cleans and a couple of repetitive sections. "Whispering Silence" sees the band being their most radio-rock-friendly. Outside of the interjection of some harsh vocals, this song is primed for radio play, which may come across to long time fans as a softening of the band. Lastly, "Overcome" takes a little bit too long to really get moving. The intro section could have been cut or beefed up a bit to make it a stronger start to the song.
As a whole, Awakened is still a very competent album, but it is a bit of a side-step for As I Lay Dying. I wouldn't say they've taken a step backwards, but they are shuffling their feet as they figure out how to keep stepping forward. Given time, this may grow on many, but it may also lead to a growing desire in fans for another new album sooner rather than later.
--Rick Gebhardt
Comments
Salt Lake City, UT
WHY ARE YOU ON THIS WEBSITE, YOU HATE EVERYTHING. EVEN PUPPIES.
http://www.sonnambulanaut.com/
^ Blogthing.
Reno, NV
Some of your nonsense is worse than the spammers. I'm sure there would be more people on this website participating had the website not been infected with your retarded comments.
Top Weekly Artists Last.fm
Lehigh Valley, PA
BUCKY!
And I don't hate everything. You and Mike D are 10x's worse than I am. You just trendy hate, which is trendy. Trendster.
West Haven, CT
I had written this lengthy post directed towards the both of you but somehow it didn't save?
Fuckings Greatest Hits: 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008
El Paso, TX
I used to like this band, at least their first two albums, before it became apparent that it would remain highly formulaic, albeit very competent, metalcore that would be copied by countless other bands. It's still quite good and ridiculously catchy as far as that genre goes, but the fact that it's been heard half a gazillion times before makes it completely uninteresting to me at this point.
Reno, NV
Ya, so did I. It was great, you should have read it. It was awesome. But ya, it didn't save.
Top Weekly Artists Last.fm
Salt Lake City, UT
Nice Buck, blaming me for the low population of this great site. Probably the most uniformed conclusion of 2012.
http://www.sonnambulanaut.com/
^ Blogthing.
I can't say I've seen a uniformed conclusion before!
As for everyone giving the album a shitty rating without actually listening to the FULL album. You are shit.
I've be keen to hear this. "Shadows are Security" is still one of my favourite metalcore albums.
Minnesota
I honestly figured this would have leaked by now.
Find me EVERYWHERE:
Reno, NV
I do what I can. And honestly, I don't know how popular the website is. It probably gets a lot more visitors than I think. And yes, it is a great website. Millions of lurkers in the dark may be laughing disgustingly at the elephant named Adjective. But part of what makes it so great is the shit talk commenting that goes on daily. haha
Top Weekly Artists Last.fm
Minnesota
If full disclosure of Decoy's traffic, for the sake of argument, we're usually seeing about 600-1,500 unique pageviews per day. That's not a ton, obviously, but it's also not tiny. A couple of years ago we were seeing double to triple that traffic or more, but things have tapered off over time. We've been pretty even at these levels for the last 4-6 months or so.
Find me EVERYWHERE:
Salt Lake City, UT
I just read both your comments at the same time and it didn't make sense.
http://www.sonnambulanaut.com/
^ Blogthing.
Reno, NV
Basically Rick's comment says that traffic has died off quite a bit since you joined the site.
Top Weekly Artists Last.fm
Minneapolis, MN
I've loved As I Lay Dying from the moment I heard 94 Hours. None of their albums have ever been a letdown to me. This one included. Like what you like and don't be embarrassed about it.
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Lehigh Valley, PA
Bucky is my hero
Reno, NV
Everyone needs to calm down and go watch Lone Wolf McQuade clips on youtube
Top Weekly Artists Last.fm
West Haven, CT
Everyone needs to calm down and go listen to http://shelsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/individuation
Fuckings Greatest Hits: 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008
Baton Rouge
Both Lone Wolf McQuade clips and the Latitudes album are satisfactory alternatives to the direction of this thread. In fact, if an album could be made combining the soundtrack of Lone Wolf McQuade and Individuation with the sound of Chuck Norris pouring a beer over his head on top, Decoy and all other music websites could simply cease to exist because the perfect record would have occurred, and the production of music could halt forever, therefore destroying the need for music journalism.
Get me a beer, kid.
Boobs
http://thenicsperiment.blogspot.com/
Reno, NV
Well said Nicholas, well said. Haha. Myself = Chuck Norris, Adjective = David Carradine
Top Weekly Artists Last.fm
Baton Rouge
Haha! The way Carradine slaps that woman in the face in the final fight made me spit out my Gatorade.
Boobs
http://thenicsperiment.blogspot.com/
Reno, NV
It made me pour my warm Olympia all over my face.
Top Weekly Artists Last.fm
Baton Rouge
Damn, I want an Olympia! Do they still make that stuff?
Boobs
http://thenicsperiment.blogspot.com/
Salt Lake City, UT
Some of you just need to learn how to relax.
http://www.sonnambulanaut.com/
^ Blogthing.
Salt Lake City, UT
^ True story.
http://www.sonnambulanaut.com/
^ Blogthing.
Staunton, Va
It seems to me that stepping outside the music box for a band only works half the time, and if As I Lay Dying did that they would either be "sellouts" or "they suck now". If it isn't broke, why fix it? Are they the most original band ever? no, have they been doing metalcore better than most bands since 2001? yes. So, whether you like them or not you kinda have to respect them for sticking around this long. This album will sell well, and life will go on...If anything you should hate the band for producing so many copycats.
Rocking:
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