Theory: The Classic As I Lay Dying Line-Up is Reuniting
We’re obligated to advise you to take this with a grain of salt until it’s confirmed. Having said that… it’s pretty convincing.
As you’re no doubt aware, last week, As I Lay Dying teased new music. The assumption/rumor up until now has been that frontman Tim Lambesis, fresh out of prison for attempting to hire a hitman to murder his wife, would recruit new musicians for the b(r)and, since his split with his former colleagues was less-than-amicable (for understandable reasons). In fact, although drummer Jordan Mancino told us in 2016 that there was “no ill will” towards Lambesis, guitarist Nick Hipa seemed ambivalent at best about the idea of an AILD reunion as recently as this past fall.
But now our bud Brian Storm at Rock Feed has suggested that the group’s classic line-up may be getting back together after all, and the argument behind his conjecture is persuasive indeed. Specifically, he points out, in the below video, that brief glimpses of the various musicians in the new As I Lay Dying video suggest it’s the old band — the drummer has long blonde hair, as Mancino does, and the tattoo placements on the bassist and one of the guitarists match those of AILD members Josh Gilbert and Phil Sgrosso, respectively. He also points out that Wovenwar, the band formed by the members of AILD who aren’t Lambesis, hasn’t been as commercially well-received as its predecessor, and seems to have gone quiet altogether in the past few months. And finally, he theorizes that having the classic line-up back together would go a long way towards Lambesis being accepted back into the metal community after his heinous transgressions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfWbPLsaItI
And if you’re still not sold, well, Lambgoat took the investigation a step further:
“Jordan Mancino (drums): the drums (DW, etc.) look to be more or less identical to those recently used by Mancino; the kit set-up is quite similar to his; the drumsticks appear to be the same kind Mancino typically uses; the end of the video shows the drummer having long blonde hair
“Josh Gilbert (bass): the tattoos on both arms match almost perfectly; the bassist is wearing Gilbert’s favorite jean vest (if that’s not Gilbert, than somebody is deliberately making it look like it is)
“Nick Hipa (lead guitar): the tattoos and lack thereof match; the fretting and picking posture look quite similar
“Phil Sgrosso (rhythm guitar): the tattos and lack thereof match; fretting and fingers are nearly identical; appears to be a guitar he’s used in the past”
When contacted by MetalSucks, Metal Blade, the label to which both As I Lay Dying and Wovenwar were most recently signed, declined to comment. Which actually makes us feel more confident that Mr. Storm has hit the nail on the head.
So what do you think? Is the classic line-up of As I Lay Dying getting back together? And if they are, are you ready to forgive Tim Lambesis and get behind the band, or does the whole thing just make you feel yucky? Debate in the comments section below. We’ll let you know as soon as the reunion has been confirmed or denied.
