As I Lay Dying Announce New Album "Shaped by Fire" with Music Video

As I Lay Dying celebrated their signing to Nuclear Blast by announcing a new album and releasing the first official single and video. "Shaped by Fire" will be the band's seventh studio album and their first since 2012's "Awakened." The new record is scheduled to be released on September 21st and will be supported by a headlining tour featuring After the Burial and Emmure supporting. You can read some more of my rantings and watch the new video after the jump.

As I Lay Dying's video for "Shaped by Fire" shows the band rocking out in what appears to be a warehouse or airplane hanger surrounded by shooting flames. A younger boy, a bearded middle-aged man, and elderly gentleman are shown crawling or walking through water. It appears they're trying to escape the flames and get to safety. It almost feels like the men are all the same person at different times in his life. All I can say is it's an intense three minutes that is obviously projecting the group's intent to push forward and rise above each of the members' own inner struggles.

As a song, "Shaped by Fire" digs deep into the psyche of singer Tim Lambesis. He seems eager to encourage us all to look inside ourselves and get rid of the negative chains that pull us all down and cause us emotional and physical pain and agony.

I'll let the lyrics speak for themselves:

"The wise before me chose to refine themselves
Melt away their shortcomings by enduring trials
A process we will all undertake
Even if we try to prevent change.

Face it before you are pulled in
Face it while it's still within

Like iron shaped by fire
We aren't born this way
Shaped by fire
We are reborn through pain
We aren't born this way
We are reborn through pain

Though I too have endured fire
I wasn't wise enough to ignite the flame myself
But carried enough fuel for a flicker to excel

Face it before you are pulled in
Face it while it's still within

Shaped by fire
We aren't born this way
Shaped by fire
We are reborn through pain
We aren't born this way
We are reborn through pain

The time has come to watch the fire grow
Find new things to throw in don't let the flames get low
I've grown used to the heat
That makes me reevaluate
What I carry with me
And what should be thrown away

Face it before you are pulled in
Face it while it's still within

Shaped by fire
We aren't born this way
Shaped by fire
We are reborn through pain
We aren't born this way
We are reborn through pain"

You can read the full press release below.

"We are tremendously grateful to have found positive resolve from the worst moments of our history. The previous chapter of our journey was one of pervasive hurt and pain. Subsequent years found us on varied paths—all of which slowly led towards resolutions of growth, healing, and reconciliation. AS I LAY DYING's collective purpose is to share a message of hope for everyone through the empowering outlet of music, and we are humbled by the overwhelming support we have received from family, friends, and fans so far.

We are honored to join forces with Nuclear Blast Worldwide in releasing our new album 'Shaped By Fire.' Their legacy and contribution to the heavy music scene is undeniably incredible and we are proud to call their label home. We are thankful for their support and enthusiasm and together we look forward to sharing the best AILD record yet!

In conjunction with our new album announcement, we are excited to share a music video for the title track 'Shaped by Fire.' While lyrically akin to the other Shaped By Fire single releases 'My Own Grave' and 'Redefined', we explored some different musical territory to incorporate within our established sound. We’d like to thank our director Mathis Arnell, all of the crew, and actors that contributed to making this video with us under the very hot conditions!

We look forward to seeing our fans out on the road as we embark on the Latin American, European, and US tours before closing the book on 2019."

For more information on the album and tour, go to As I Lay Dying's official website right here.

Posted by Eric Shirey