The Muffinless Rise

I'd like to start this review by commanding all of you to go buy this album. Right now.

I'm waiting.

Go get it! You don't even need to leave your computer to get it. You don't even need to put on pants!

What are you waiting for?

"The Powerless Rise" is the fourth studio release from metal maestros As I Lay Dying, and it appears that Tim's work in Austrian Death Machine (his side project - an Arnold Schwarzenegger tribute band) has greatly increased both the band's appeal and talent.

The guitar work in this album is miles beyond AILD's previous work, which is saying quite a lot. They've taken it up a notch in this release, not just on one or two songs. The entire album got a tune up in the key of BRUTAL. Aside from the phenomenal guitars, the drums have a depth that truly compliments the music. As if that wasn't enough, Tim's screams, growls, and all out roars have gained an added ferocity not seen until now. And to top it all off, bassist Josh Gilbert's clean vocals mesh seamlessly to create a brilliant musical creation.

"The Powerless Rise" boasts 11 tracks of pure metal. It opens with "Beyond Our Suffering" - a pummeling onslaught of guitars, growls, and double-kick. However, it was the fourth track "Parallels" that truly impressed me. Tim holds nothing back when he screams "In the parallels we struggle... struggle to upkeep, there is a better way for us to be set free. / From all it is we crave, there must be more to life than to simply stay alive... to simply stay alive." And Josh's voice carries above the guitars as he sings "We are not the same as I hope to show. There is a better way if we just let go. / We are not... we are not the same. We are not... we are not the same. Let go..."

As I Lay Dying has always held their music to a higher standard, but this album far exceeds the previous efforts by the band. I highly recommend this album to all metal fans. Especially if you ignored my instructions at the beginning of this post.

>Pawn