Last Friday, As I Lay Dying made headlines when they offered their first teaser of new music in six years. But who else was in the band?
Lambesis has been teasing new music under the "As I Lay Dying" moniker last year, after news got out that he was released from prison at the end of 2016, two afters after being sentenced on a felony charge of solicitation of murder after attempting to hire a hitman to kill his then-wife.
In late 2016, drummer Jordan Mancino said in an interview that he held "no ill will" towards Lambesis over the entire incident. It even seemed like guitarist Nick Hipa had a change in heart in recent months.
But now, that appears not to be the case. All weekend, I would watch the teaser and pay attention to the motion and features of the other members of the band. It became more and more evident to me that the classic lineup of the band may have reunited. That includes guitarists Nick Hipa & Phil Sgrosso, bassist Josh Gilbert and drummer Jordan Mancino.
We weren't the only ones to think this, as our friends at Rock Feed have compiled a video with stills from the teaser pointing to very obvious similarities between the mysterious figures in the video and the members of AILD:
[youtube=https://youtu.be/kfWbPLsaItI][/youtube]
Our friends at Lambgoat posted their own independent analysis noting that the instruments used match the ones the members are endorsed by, as do certain tattoos:
“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”
MetalSucks reached out to Metal Blade records and they declined to comment, which, while not confirming the news, certainly makes it more plausible than if the label were to flat out deny it.
Wovenwar, the band featuring the classic lineup minus Lambesis, never really got much traction. Phil Sgrosso ended up leaving the band in late 2016, to focus on another, excellent project, Poison Headache, although that band hadn't been active in over a year. Wovenwar have also been inactive lately.
Too many things are lining up here, leading us to safely assume this is the case. Confirmation will likely arrive in the next few days.
Ultimately, it seems that As I Lay Dying fans are ready to forgive Lambesis and hear new music. As of this writing, over 5,000 people voted in our poll saying they were ready to hear new music from AILD, over 80% of those polled. That would imply to me that they've either forgiven Lambesis or are separating personal matters from the music. Cast your vote below.
