Band:	As I Lay Dying
Album:	Through Storms Ahead
Style:	Melodic metalcore
Release date:	November 15, 2024
A review by:	omne metallum

01. Permanence
02. A Broken Reflection
03. Burden
04. We Are The Dead [feat. Alex Terrible & Tom Barber]
05. Whitewashed Tomb
06. Through Storms Ahead
07. The Void Within
08. Strength To Survive
09. Gears That Never Stop
10. The Cave We Fear To Enter
11. Taken From Nothing

As I Lay Dying is... well... Dying.

As a music critic, it's important to remember that the delicate topics that surround bands and albums like this require professionalism, poise and an empathic understanding of the situation at hand, so as to treat the situation in as unbiased manner as possible... now if you excuse me, I was just given the aux cable, and I'm feeling Killer Be Killed... ah dammit!

Truth be told, I had little interest in listening to As I Lay Dying's latest effort when it was first announced, but ever since the drama and member upheaval in recent weeks, I've been like a rubbernecker at a car crash: holding a mug out in an outstretched hand in the hopes that someone spills the tea. Heck, while I'm here, I might as well bite the bullet and listen to the new album... ah crap!

It is perhaps ironic, then, that Through Storms Ahead is a surprisingly good album, given it is (currently) the swansong of this incarnation of the band, so any chance of carrying this quality through a tour and next album is all but dead and buried... ah dingleberries! It possesses solid performances and a quality of songwriting that, while not pushing the genre forward, makes for a guilty pleasure... ah noodles!

While the likes of "Through Storms Ahead" and "Whitewashed Tomb" are pretty generic-sounding in 2024, they are still enjoyable to listen to if you were a fan of metalcore during its commercial peak. The quality of musicianship on "Strength To Survive" (...awkward) and "The Cave We Fear To Enter" does elevate the tracks to hard-hitters that leave a strong impression beyond standard melodic metalcore. The guitar work on "Gears That Never Stop" and "Strength To Survive" in particular adds a quality to the tracks to raise them above the rest and show they are more than just hired guns... ah Jiminy cricket!

The lack of consistency across the album is its downfall, as I did however find myself bored listening to "Burden", with my attention drifting to the TV I had on in the background that was playing Making A Murderer... ah nuts! When you add to this that As I Lay Dying already aren't reinventing the wheel, you are sometimes left listening to average-at-best metalcore that you've heard done better before.

The soundtrack to self-destruction is an OK one, all in all, but will it go down as anything remarkable? No, but I'm sure there will be several obituaries.... I mean, reviews that will hype it beyond its quality because of the name on the cover.