Review: As I Lay Dying “Frail Words Collapse”

As I Lay Dying
“Frail Words Collapse”
(Metal Blade)

Brutally tight metalcore. Vocals are a singular bark, but are done with intense passion. The real draw here is in the guitars. Lead runs thread themselves through crushing riffage to give a “guitar attacking guitars” feel often. Every track here is a brutal meld of metal with firm nods to hardcore breakdowns. Spasms of double kick drums punctuate the speedy break. “Song 10” is the sole melodic track that works quite well. AILD shouldn’t shy away from softer approaches when they do it this well. The rest of “Frail Words Collapse” is an exercise in hardcore metal brutality. While not re-defining the metal/hardcore hybrid, As I Lay Dying certainly offer an aggressive and impressive contribution to the genre.