I have no clever title. This is really just a grip it and rip it blog, so there may be points during the reading of it that you might get confused at the grammatical structure. I will try to keep it above Stephenie Meyer’s apparent gramatical prowess, but there are no promises here.
I’ve never understood the draw of celebrity. The pull to see and hear about what someone who has no connection to your life in any direct manner has never been something that’s been part of my experience. I have, however, come to admire and respect certain bands and people who have been influences in my life for the better. They’ve almost all been creatives who have made some sort of impact on my way of thinking. One of the biggest bands that have done this by releasing albums that immediately shoot up to the top of my “Most Listened to” playlist on iTunes is As I Lay Dying. It’s been this way since I heard “Forever”. That song hit my iPod and was immediately the first thing I went to when I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to hear. “Frail Words Collapse” may as well be considered my soundtrack in high school. Well, that and all things Thrice and a few others. So I guess, then, there is a cult of personality that I do subscribe to.
Tim Lambesis has been the driving force behind this band since it’s inception. His lyrics and choice of vocal style set the tone for the album. Nick Hippa and Phil Sgrosso both shape the tone as well, but as the front man, Lambesis is one of the first things that I ever associated with the act. Especially when I first started listening to them, I couldn’t understand how someone so skinny had such a brutally heavy sound come out of him. I still don’t. People who are just hearing them for the first time are seeing him post pump. Seriously, he was crazy skinny and making that sound.
He’s been the first artist who gave a crap about Africa that I saw it impact how he wrote and viewed the world. Bono, sure, he cares. But he still wears designer sunglasses that could pay for a village’s water supply for a year and a half. Lambesis visited Africa, became horrible affected by what he saw and started a clothing company that provides funds for orphanages in Africa. And then he adopted three kids. Sure, there are plenty of US kids and whatnot that need homes. I am the first person who says that, and I’m an ass for it. He put his money where his mouth was.
His lyrics have been a constant presence in my life in a way that is rather unlike anyone else. Yes, anyone who stands around me and talks about music for longer than five minutes is going to know the first thing I talk about is Thrice. The close seconds are As I Lay Dying and Haste the Day. If there are three bands that can be said to be close to my heart and have never left whatever music player I have nearby, it’s these three, and probably always will be.
I don’t understand what is going on. I mean, I literally know the facts of the situation. Tim Lambesis was allegedly caught in a sting operation to catch him in a murder for hire and his arraignment is tomorrow. What I mean is, it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever to me that this is happening. It’s just a shock to the system. For those who don’t see it because of how his band is portrayed in the press, it’d be like finding out Henri Nouwen was a Nazi. The fact of that situation would hit you and there’d be no real way of making sense of it.
His lyrics are very much a part of why I am still alive today. There’s very few people in this world who you can point to directly and say “this guy, because of him I’m still alive”. And this band and their message very much hit me at a time when I needed to know there were more people out there like me who felt like I did and that it gets better. And it did.
Tim Lambesis has always been an inspiration to me through his lyrics, and his recent fitness choices have also influenced me. I work out because if a skinny guy like him can be that huge, then a fat bastard like me can get into great shape too.
Regardless of the outcome of this situation, I’ll never stop listening to As I Lay Dying. The messages of his lyrics and the songs that group has written are too important and positive to me to ever let go of it. I sincerely hope that this whole thing is a horrible misunderstanding. Or at least a nightmare from which I’m still trying to awake.
WiZ 
Wow, this is exactly how i feel. well said man. Im hoping and praying as well that he’s honestly not guilty and acquitted of the charges. I talked with many people about this today. So many texts from people i’ve known and met through bands i’ve been in or just fans of metal in general. If it weren’t for bands like As I Lay Dying, i dont think i’d have got to meet so many unquie, awesome, caring people that i have in my life. Its amazing on their range of fans from people our age, older metal heads, to young teens, all of which i have heard from today or last night about this sitituion. Listening to nothing but As I Lay Dying in support. Even though going to their shows and buying their cd’s and merch is the best way to support the band, also if you listen to their songs on spotify (they only have their live dvd/cd up) they get a small amount of money for every stream. if you listen and just keep repeating, it adds up. This is my plan š (sorry for the all over the place comment to your blog. Im just thinking outloud with nothing planned out. im honestly a mess about this) Side note: Haste The Day is in my top 4 favorite bands as well!! I miss those dudes so much.
I’m listening to “Awakened” again. The deluxe version has the demo for “Unwound” which has the incredibly relevant line of “these songs have helped me through my greatest pain, unwound within in me the disorder of my life.”