12 Best Screamo Metal Bands Of All Time

Starting out at the turn of the millennium, the band were quickly signed to Pluto Records and got to work on their first album. Frontman Tim Lambesis and drummer Jordan Mancino recorded 'Beneath The Encasing Of Ashes' as a two-piece before recruiting additional members to be able to tour.

The groups early work received a mixed response, with praise given to the technicality and hyper-precise performance rather than the music itself. It was only with the release of their third album ‘Shadows Are Security’ that the As I Lay Dying finally found success. The addition of current guitarists Phil Sgrosso and Nick Hipa finally gave the band a unique sound and set them apart from the other bands in the genre at the time.

Sadly, the group will forever be tarnished by the shocking story of Lambesis’ arrest. In May of 2013, the frontman was arrested by California police, putting the future of the band in jeopardy. A report was filed to San Diego County Sheriff’s Department which accused Lambesis of being involved in a murder-for-hire situation. As if that wasn’t shocking enough, it was revealed that he had placed a hit on his own wife. He had attempted to hire a hitman for the job, who turned out to be an undercover police officer.

During his incarceration, the rest of the band had formed a new band – Wovenwar – but struggled to make a name for themselves. After serving just two years in prison, Lambesis immediately reached out to his former bandmates to try and rebuild relationships. It took another two years before As I Lay Dying released any new music, with the band marking their return with 2019’s ‘Shaped By Fire’.