UPDATE: See Below for the statement released by other band members; Jordan, Phil, Nick and Josh.
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We are excited to share with you the news of Jordan Mancino‘s new project but first we wanted to release the statement that As I Lay Dying gave which might give you some answers or information that you have been looking for.
UPDATE: Please note that the following statement though released on the As I Lay Dying website was put out only on Tim’s behalf.
Here is the statement in entirety that was posted to their website www.asilaydying.com
There have been a lot of questions from fans over the past year and we’ll hopefully be able to provide more answers over time. However, this update is only to address things related to AILD’s future.
Originally, we said we’d update fans as soon as we knew more. We apologize for not sticking to that. It seemed best to wait until definitive news came in with a specific timeline. However, in light of speculation on other sites, an official update from As I Lay Dying seems to be the best way to clarify some things.
A good starting point is to clarify some things that have often been falsely reported. Tim was not a Christian at the time of his arrest, nor was As I Lay Dying a Christian band in 2013. It hadn’t been for some time and, to the best of my knowledge, only one of the people playing in the band even claimed to be a Christian at that time. The changed view had been written about it in a handful of As I Lay Dying songs and Tim’s later atheistic view had even been documented in court records. However, it doesn’t make as sensational of a headline to refer to the arrest of the “Ex-Christian Metal Sub-Genre Independent Artist” as it does the “Grammy Nominated Top 10 Selling Christian Rockstar” of the past.
With all that said, we don’t know how each musician from the previous era of As I Lay Dying will think about these topics in the future. For example, Tim has spent much of the last year reevaluating what originally convinced him to abandon belief in God. I have gathered that after much brokenness and repentance he sees things differently, considers himself a follower of Jesus, someone submitted to the will of God, or whatever you want to call it. That’s for him to talk about when he’s comfortable and only time will tell if he is sincere. What is certain though is that it’s impossible to face the events of last year without being changed in some way. Let’s let the guys focus on future music and hopefully the headline driven press will leave this issue alone for a while given some clarification.
Uncertainty ahead…
As I Lay Dying was originally founded/owned by Tim and then eventually the ownership was shared with Jordan about six years later. As the only official members, neither would like to move forward at the moment regardless off the upcoming sentencing time (which is still yet to be determined / not 9 years). There has been enough communication to establish some differences in opinion about what to do in the distant future. That keeps AILD’s future in limbo. The hibernating version of the band is just the official band owners, which means As I Lay Dying is Tim & Jordan. This is based on the uncertainty of the future, including who will be performing with the band when/if that time comes. There have been nearly 20 guys who filled the vacant bass or guitar positions in As I Lay Dying history. The current setup is definitely not a closed door on some of the ex-members talking in the future, but it just makes sense for now that AILD is only Tim and Jordan.
Two opinions…
Tim has acknowledged his guilt and clearly made some bad decisions in a period of time where he acted contrary to the person he’s been most of his life. He believes AILD should only pick back up if it’s in a form restored to its roots. For Tim, the potential of pursuing AILD again means working on a lot of other more important things in his personal life first.
On the other hand, Jordan feels differently about the future. Even if more discussions were to take place, he would rather take time to pursue other things. That includes releasing new music with three of the guys from the most recent As I Lay Dying lineup. It’s a chance for Jordan to be more involved in the songwriting process and enjoy other styles he’d rather play. In fact, they’ve already recorded their debut album and I’m sure it’ll be awesome. It’s not meant to replace As I Lay Dying because it is something stylistically different under a different name. Interestingly enough, their vocalist is also a former Christian like his new bandmates and was/is the guitar player for Oh Sleeper (Shane Blay). They’ll have stuff to release through Metal Blade relatively soon, which will be an exciting/interesting combination given the band’s more radio friendly sound.
In terms of music, Tim doesn’t want to pursue performing live music full time regardless of what length his sentence ends up being. His sentence certainly won’t be forever, but even so, touring full time doesn’t seem healthy or practical given his new outlook and goals. Creating new music is the part Tim loves most and he will always continue to release albums. That includes a bunch of stuff he has recorded in the past six months that he will announce a project name for soon as well. As an occasional ear behind the scenes, it is good hear him playing guitar again and writing lots of riffs again like he did across the first five As I Lay Dying releases.
Hopefully that addresses the major questions related to As I Lay Dying. AILD is sleeping rather than dead, and there are two separate projects to hold you over whether or not it is awakened again.
UPDATE: HERE IS THE STATEMENT RELEASED BY JORDAN, PHIL, NICK AND JOSH:
This morning an update was posted over at www.asilaydying.comon the current happenings and individual futures of all the bands’ members. For Jordan, Josh, Nick, Phil, management, and record label, this was an interesting first time read as all parties were oblivious to its construction, intent, and release.
Though Tim is the only one with access to the As I Lay Dying site, the rest of us have been releasing content through our personal social media accounts to reveal that we are carrying on in a new band. Our truest intentions were to make this unveiling interesting and exciting for anyone who has supported us over the past year. With information so instantaneous and disposable these days, we had hoped to show you how things were coming together rather than simply tell you.
We never want to capture attention dramatically, which is precisely why we’ve been off the radar for close to a year. Though the third-person statement released earlier compromises a lot of how we had hoped to unroll things, we remain positive in our outlooks and look forward to sharing new music soon.
With love and gratitude,
Jordan, Josh, Phil, Nick
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So now let me share with you some great news. Jordan Mancino is currently working with three of the guys from the AILD lineup and will be releasing new music soon via Metal Blade. There has not been a formal announcement as to the band name but they have released some great quick videos on Instagram that show them playing.
Jordan Mancino Instagram Post: http://instagram.com/p/mifipMysQL/
Phil Sgrosso Instagram Post: http://instagram.com/p/mifeHLANQm/
Nick Hipa Instagram Post: http://instagram.com/p/mifbP6tBLh/
Josh Gilbert Instagram Post: http://instagram.com/p/mf5FsPwC8s/
One thing is for sure, they sound awesome and we are looking forward to their new music! We will continue to keep you updated with the latest news on their new band.
~ Marisol
Information & Links:
- Website: http://asilaydying.com/
- Twitter Jordan Mancino: https://twitter.com/jordanmancino
- Instagram Jordan Mancino: http://instagram.com/jordanmancino
- Twitter Nick Hipa: https://twitter.com/yesTHEnickhipa
- Instagram Nick Hipa: http://instagram.com/nickhipa
- Twitter Phil Sgrosso: https://twitter.com/philsgrosso
- Instagram Phil Sgrosso: http://instagram.com/philsgrosso
- Twitter Josh Gilbert: https://twitter.com/Josh_Gilbert
- Instagram Josh Gilbert: http://instagram.com/josh_gilbert
Man, how can you be a Christian Metal band one day, then denounce it on another day? It’s almost as if AILD “used” the Christian Metal “branding” and that’s about it. This entire debacle only should serve as a template for other veteran and upcoming bands as: How NOT to treat your loyal fan base. I honestly feel sorry for ALL the christian fans that followed and believed in AILD all those years. Shame.
I updated the post since the original statement was not from the band!!
I still wish the remaining members of AILD would have addressed the dissolving of being a Christian Metal band. I’ve heard of non-christians becoming christian, yet a christian(s) becoming non-believers or disconnected to the faith is quite a rarity. TONS of articles, interviews and the like, over the years, regarding AILD, always contained a positive reference or two to the Christian faith.
What Tim Lambesis wrote on the AILD website is so narcissistic that I want to vomit. I will never listen to his “new” crap of music he releases, however, I will follow the remaining band members’ careers. I have been so turned off by the evil actions of Tim Lambesis, that I traded away my entire AILD and Austrian Death Machine CD collection, cause I don’t want to hear Tim’s voice ever again.
I always support people who have addictions, personal problems or have served time. However, (with religious faith put aside), murder, torture, rape and in this case, murder for hire, is just against my principles as a human being! I apologize, Marisol, for getting long winded. I just feel passionate about it all! Thank you for the news and update on this important matter to the world of Metal. You are one of the very best at what you do, Marisol. – Stone
So well said Stone! I will definitely support the other members but in no way Tim. It is very damaging to fans ad can make such a dramatic impact on them. You said it great! Thank you for your passion. Marisol
Thank you, Marisol! m/m/