AS I LAY DYING – THROUGH STORMS AHEAD ALBUM REVIEW

Released on November 15, 2024, “Through Storms Ahead” is the latest studio release album from As I Lay Dying. I’ll be honest I was shocked to hear about this release due to the current ongoing fiasco with frontman Tim Lambesis and his seemingly strong desire for a solo career and complete band rearrangement(with the current confirmed original lineup being only Tim Lambesis and him remaining a controversial figure, as the whole band have quit). With the controversy surrounding Lambesis alongside his previous convictions, I am going to approach this album mindfully, respectfully, and of course with a level of demurity (is that even a word? If not, once again I’m making this a word). 

 

Jokes aside although lone ranger Lambesis powers on, for the album involvement was seen from Phil Sgrosso (Guitarist and producer) who shared the producing and recording of the album with Hiram Hernandez (with Tim, Joseph McQueen and Gigi Zimmer assisting on the production process as well). Aaron Chaparian (mixing) and Mike Kalajian (mastering) led to the completion of what has come to be “Through Storms Ahead”.

The line up for As I Lay Dying going forward at this moment in time stands to be Tim Lambesis  (Vocals), Phil Sgrosso (Guitar), Gordon McPherson  (Bass), and Yusef Johnson (Drums) – Is this pending a reshuffle soon? Who can tell?

Getting back to the album and getting stuck into this review highlighted tracks on this album for me were “Burden”, “We Are The Dead” and “Gears The Never Stop”. Gears The Never Stop is a strong track for me, giving me that old feeling of what As I Lay Dying brings to the table, absolutely adored this track. The album in full showcases the talent of the musicians involved including high-intensity tracks, intense riffs, explosive drum work, and just the right balance between melodic and brutality which gives the music a crisp sound yet still offers that high level of engagement fans want to enjoy.

Two months ago As I Lay Dying dropped the music video for their latest single  “We Are The Dead” featuring Alex Terrible (SLAUGHTER TO PREVAIL) and Tom Barber (CHELSEA GRIN, DARKO) and I have to say I was very impressed with this, this is the sort of stuff I adore As I Lay Dying for and the collaboration choice for this track was simply divine with both Alex and Tom bringing their a-game to this release.

Overall, “Through Storms Ahead” is a testament and a bold statement that even though the lineup changes, drama, and the general stigma that seems to be hovering around As I Lay Dying that musically they are still superb when it comes to releasing strong, hard-hitting metalcore tracks. This album is an absolute banger, therefore, I would rate this 9/10, the only reason it did not score a 10/10 is down to the fact although it has a lot of elements and character of the previous As I Lay Dying it just misses out slightly in comparison to some of the older releases they have thrown out into the world, however, all-in-all a really good listen.
Score 9/10

Track List

 

01. Permanence
02. A Broken Reflection
03. Burden
04. We Are The Dead (feat. Alex Terrible, Tom Barber)
05. Whitewashed Tomb
06. Through Storms Ahead
07. The Void Within
08. Strength To Survive
09. Gears That Never Stop
10. The Cave We Fear To Enter
11. Taken From Nothing

Label: Napalm Records

Release: November 15, 2024.

For all things As I Lay Dying, click HERE and to purchase the album, click HERE

To the surprise of many As I Lay Dying have announced a 2025 show at Welcome to Rockville – North America’s largest rock festival, happening May 15–18, 2025, at the iconic Daytona International Speedway. The band will be sharing the spot light with Killswitch Engage, Jinjer, August Burns Red, All That Remains, It Dies Today, Bleed from Within and Butcher Babies.

The announcement brought multiple opinions to surface but I do have to say reading the comment from one guy stating “Aww man we getting a Tim Lambesis DJ set!!” made me howl. If I had the opportunity to though, I’m not going to lie I’d be checking their set out. I would love to see them again live regardless of the shit that’s been happening. (** Hint hint – Welcome to Rockville? I’m free if you want to throw us an invite” **)