As I Lay Dying vocalist Tim Lambesis isn't getting another redemption arc. At least not here.
To recap – Lambesis was arrested in Oceanside, CA on May 7, 2013 for trying to hire a hitman to kill his estranged wife Meggan Murphy. The San Diego County Sheriff's Department specifically charged Lambesis with solicitation of an undercover detective to kill Murphy. On May 9, Lambesis pled not guilty to the felony charge and was held on $3 million bail. Lambesis ultimately changed his plea to "guilty" on February 25, 2014 and was sentenced to six years in prison on May 16, 2014.
Lambesis was released from prison on parole on December 17, 2016. On June 8, 2018, As I Lay Dying returned with their first new single "My Own Grave". The band's lineup at that point was the same as when As I Lay Dying ended upon Lambesis' arrest – Lambesis, guitarists Nick Hipa and Phil Sgrosso, bassist Josh Gilbert, and drummer Jordan Mancino. Hipa would ultimately quit in 2020, followed by Gilbert and Mancino in 2022.
As I Lay Dying would then go on to recruit guitarist Ken Susi, bassist Ryan Neff, and drummer Nick Pierce. All three alongside Sgrosso would quit the band in 2024 under mysterious circumstances that seemed to point a finger directly at Lambesis. As I Lay Dying cancelled all their tour dates due to Lambesis being the only person in the band, though he's since vowed to carry on with at least one show this year. That's where this editorial begins.
Repentance is important. Lambesis did something horrible and served his time in prison. Lambesis got out of jail, seemed to be doing well, and was rejoined by his former bandmates. I'm not saying I agree with Lambesis' decision even in the slightest, but the man served the sentence dealt to him and was welcomed back by his bandmates and fans – that's news, that's something worth reporting on and conversing about in a public forum. News anchors on TV surely don't take pleasure in reporting on horrific things ad nauseam, but that's the job to an extent.
But Lambesis has now suffered two mass exoduses of bandmates within the past four years, and is currently on the path to rebuild As I Lay Dying once again. Lambesis even spoke to fitness coach Justin Wenzel on his podcast about anxiety, issues with his wife Dany, and how that all affected his bandmates and life within the band overall. It's the first interview Lambesis gave since As I Lay Dying's second implosion, and clearly the start of another march back toward "redemption." There's also been graphic video of Lambesis getting into a heated altercation with his wife, as well as being shitty to a dog. It's mixed signals about what's going on behind the scenes, to say the least.
A single redemption arc is fine. A second one feels like a stretch that frankly, I have no interest in participating in. Best of luck to Lambesis and whatever musicians decide they want to be in that band at this point, but I think I'll sit the next news cycle out. There has been too many questionable things to arise regarding Lambesis over the past year (the band mates leaving, the videos). I'm sure there will be droves of fans at the upcoming As I Lay Dying show, and supporters of whatever music he puts out next. But this is the end of Lambesis on Metal Injection.
Update – Hours after all the above was published, Lambesis' ex-wife Dany has issued a statement saying in part that "Tim has continuously tried to intimidate me, bribe me, and beg me to sign an NDA in our marriage settlement stating that I will never publicly talk about him, so that the truth will be buried when our divorce is finalized." She later adds that Lambesis is a "abusive, cheating, narcissist [that] will try to destroy your life & your name with lies before you can shine light on the truth."
