AS I LAY DYING Frontman: 'What's Gotten Us To This Point Is Being True To Ourselves'

Metal Insider recently conducted an interview with AS I LAY DYING frontman Tim Lambesis. An excerpt from the chat follows below.

Metal Insider: A three-disc DVD is a pretty ambitious undertaking.

Tim: We wanted a history of the band from our perspective. It's been such a long journey to get where we are. The second disc is all live performances, and the third disc is music videos and all the behind-the-scenes-type of stuff. Those were all the things we wanted to include , but we never thought that each section would turn out to be as long as it did, but we've been a band for eight years, and [director] Denise [Korycki] has been collecting footage of us for at least five years.

Metal Insider: You've been touring behind "An Ocean Between Us" for two years now. Is this finally the end of the touring cycle?

Tim: Yes. That was the timing of releasing the DVD, as something to hold people over until we finish writing songs when this tour's over. Once we get into the writing process, we get pretty intense and do everything within a few months, so we're hoping to record before the end of the year for an early 2010 release.

Metal Insider: You've done a variety of different tours over the past few years. Is that diversity intentional?

Tim: We're very calculated about it. We did Ozzfest one year, and we wanted to do something that was a little more part of our scene, so we did Sounds of the Underground the next year. Then we figured that Warped Tour would reach a new audience, so we did that the following summer. Now we're out with the LAMB OF GOD tour, and we realized that with all the Warped Tour-like stuff we've done, even though we're a metal band, we surprisingly forgot to play for the true die-hard metal fans. Everyone on this tour is very clearly a metal band.

Metal Insider: Do you notice a difference in playing for those audiences?

Tim: The Warped Tour crowd is a little younger, which reminds me of where I was at when I wanted to play in a band. I was younger, and really liked heavier music, but wasn't exposed to a lot of it yet. I think it's a good way to open the door for our genre, and particularly for our band, for new fans.

Metal Insider: Your last album debuted in the Billboard Top Ten sales chart. Is there any pressure to try to improve on that?

Tim: There is pressure, and I know it exists, but I try my best to ignore it. What's gotten us to this point is being true to ourselves as far as what keeps us passionate and excited about playing this music. As long as we keep that passion and keep writing songs that all five of us like, I assume our fans will like it as well.

Read the entire interview from Metal Insider.