As I Lay Dying -ThePowerless Rise

Wed 7th Jul, 2010 in Music Reviews

They key to a good metal core album? Knowing when to use your breakdowns, which is something that As I Lay Dying have mastered with their fifth album The Powerless Rise. The song structures have improved greatly from their last record, 2007’s An Ocean Between Us, and include a balance of brutally heavy guitars and melodic chorus lines. The production, by Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz, has finally captured the band’s most cohesive sound to date in their most interesting batch of songs.

Arguably one of the more popular bands of the genre, the five piece act from San Diego have slowly progressed with every new release, battling the usual problems of lost members and heavy touring schedules along the way. The band purposely left such a large space between releases so as to “make a record worth listening to,” and they have certainly achieved that.

The album begins with a couple of its heavier numbers Beyond Our Suffering and Without Conclusion which are reminiscent of their earlier sound. Anodyne Sea is wedged in between these two tracks to break up the brutality with its lighter vocal styles. This is the first hint of a change in AILD’s sound, which is followed up by Parallels, the most user friendly song on the record. It seems as though the band are making a slight attempt at moving away from the metal genre and closer to a hard rock sound with cleaner vocals in this track.

The singing element is used much like the breakdowns, sparingly, and just enough to provide colour without sacrificing the signature sound. The guitars are the standout feature of this record and there are many blistering solos present, such as the one in punk influenced Anger And Apathy. Things slow down for the closing track The Blinding Of False Light, which drags out a little too long, unfortunately ending the album on a low point.

As I Lay Dying have finally nailed the formula with this, their best record, which should cement their title as one of the genre’s finest.