Band: As I Lay Dying Album: An Ocean Between Us Label: Metal Blade Rating: 7/10 Website: http://www.asilaydying.com BUY NOW!

Another one of the big American Metalcore bands, this time round it's the turn of As I lay Dying and their new album "An Ocean Between Us". As I Lay Dying are not just your typical Metalcore band, they can actually hold my attention for longer then 5 minutes, and they even had me rather impressed at times. The problem I had with AILD is that when they are good, they are excellent… but there are also times when they just lose my attention completely and just drag things out. I have to admit that I found "An Ocean Between Us" to be somewhat of a frustrating listen, mainly because there are some fantastic moments throughout the album, that are broken up by the not so good. Taking the finest elements of the NWOAHM and combining with a more European Thrash/Melodic Death Metal style, you can definitely hear the technical and exciting side to AILD. They'll be pounding away one minute at thrash speeds, in the middle of a dual-guitar melody, or they'll be slowing things down completely with a heavy breakdown, and then they'll just stop with some half-assed, wimpy and bordering on an Emo style interlude that completely ruins the flow of the track. Whilst Metalcore may well be on its way out, it's bands such as AILD that may well keep it alive that little bit longer. Chris Rogers Back to Reviews