AS I LAY DYING Parts Ways With Longtime Bassist/Vocalist JOSH GILBERT

AS I LAY DYING's longtime bassist/vocalist Josh Gilbert has announced his departure from the band.

Earlier today (Monday, May 16),Gilbert issued the following statement via social media: "Hello, friends. After 15 years (almost half my life),I've decided to part ways with AS I LAY DYING. Despite the ups and downs inherent, I'll always be grateful for the profound privilege of being to able to grow up traveling the world playing music with the band. None of that would be possible without the fans of the band, so for that I sincerely thank you all so much for allowing me the opportunity. I wish the best for AILD moving forward, and I hope to see all of you sooner rather than later."

In a separate statement, the remaining members of AS I LAY DYING said: "As we have been nearing our first tour back since the beginning of 2020, there have been several developments within AILD that we'd like to share with our fans. The past couple years off from the road with the uncertainty of how or when touring would pick up again has provided time to consider new endeavors in life apart from AILD.

"Josh Gilbert has decided to exit AILD to pursue other musical opportunities. Josh has been a strong contributor musically for AILD since joining in 2007 so we are grateful for all his contributions and his friendship over the years. We wish him all the best and are excited to see where this new path takes him in life.

"AS I LAY DYING will honor our touring commitments for the remainder of 2022 with the Two Decades of Destruction US Tour (June 10 - July 17) then European festival season in August.

"We are thankful to have Ryan Neff, of MISS MAY I taking on bass and vocal duties for our upcoming tours. We first met Ryan down in Mexico City, playing together back in 2012, so we're stoked to be sharing the stage with a familiar face and talented musician.

"Joining us on second guitar for these two tours will be our good friend Ken Susi of UNEARTH. We have known Ken for almost 20 years, coming up in the scene and playing many tours together. Ken's style of guitar playing is closely related to AILD so we are excited to have a close friend and ripper of a guitar player joining us.

"We are grateful for our fans' continued support as we enter a new chapter of the band with newfound energy and enthusiasm. There's been a lot of moving parts but what has and will always be the main priority of AILD is creating new music. We plan to have a new song out to you shortly before completing our full length by the end of the year.

"We look forward to seeing many familiar faces on our upcoming tours and thank you for believing in us at every step of this band's journey."

Josh is the second AS I LAY DYING member to leave the band in less than a year. Last August, guitarist Nick Hipa confirmed his exit from AS I LAY DYING, explaining that he could no longer justify being part of "a superficial pursuit" of the "story and meaning" that the band's 2018 reunion was built upon.

AS I LAY DYING frontman Tim Lambesis was famously convicted in 2014 for his role in a murder-for-hire plot against his estranged wife.

In May 2014, Lambesis was sentenced to six years in jail after pleading guilty to paying a San Diego police officer posing as a hitman $1,000 to kill his wife. Approximately two and a half years later — on December 17, 2016 — he was discharged from a California detention facility and was transferred to the Division of Adult Parole Operations.

In June 2018, AS I LAY DYING played its first show with Lambesis in five years and released a new single. Lambesis also owned up to his crimes in a long apology on the band's Facebook page after his release.

In September 2019, AS I LAY DYING released its seventh full-length album, "Shaped By Fire", via Nuclear Blast.

The return of AS I LAY DYING raised some questions, particularly since Hipa categorically denounced the band's disgraced frontman as a "sociopathic narcissist in definite need of rehabilitation" in a social-media post back in 2014.

Last September, AS I LAY DYING released a new song called "Roots Below" which was originally a B-side leftover from when the sessions for "Shaped By Fire".

This past March, AS I LAY DYING announced the "Two Decades Of Destruction" tour. The U.S. leg of the trek will kick off on June 10 in Las Vegas. Joining the band for the 30 dates will WHITECHAPEL, SHADOW OF INTENT, BRAND OF SACRIFICE (June 24-July 17),and OV SULFUR (June 10-23) The tour will conclude on July 17 in Oklahoma.