Listen Up: Wednesday, August 17, 2005
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
As I Lay Dying

Shadows Are Security\r\n(Metal Blade)

By Justin Press

By taking the power of Europe’s epic metal and marrying it to America’s love for hard, fast, and loud — and occasionally catchy — music, some of today’s popular hardcore acts, including Shadows Fall and Killswitch Engage, have essentially created a new sub-sub-genre. With a sound that could be described in the simplest terms as melodic riffage paired with mercurial drumming, the California-based As I Lay Dying is masterful, especially now on the band’s fourth full-length, Shadows Are Security.

The disc explodes out of the gate with “Confined” and “Losing Sight,” two gems that succeed in the manner of Soilwork’s Natural Born Chaos, where extreme tempos are met with choir-rich choruses. Everything is held together by a tight rhythm section and slice-and-dice guitar fury.

As a calling card, “Empty Hearts” is highly effective — double-bass rolls, a hard-charging riff heralded by the ping of a plucked harmonic, and wrecked vocals. Rock ’n’ roll may be staring at the noose, “Empty Hearts” seems to say, but hardcore is still wringing necks.

Though melodic, As I Lay Dying isn’t afraid to flex its musical chops. Certain tracks go from hyper-speed to creepy crawl to all points in between, without ever really disorienting the listener. Just check out the first breakdown in “The Truth,” and you’ll hear every arrangement that Metallica has overlooked since Master of Puppets. Unlike every subsequent Metallica album, Shadows Are Security contains not one ounce of filler.


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