Earlier today, a statement was posted on As I Lay Dying’s website about the band essentially going on hiatus in light of Tim Lambesis’ guilty plea. However, though Lambesis’ band mates have been teasing plans of a new project, the band is as shocked as we are about the statement.
Guitarist Nick Hipa took to his Facebook page to reveal that neither he, his bandmates, management or Metal Blade had anything to do with this morning’s post [UPDATE: bassist Josh Gilbert and guitarist Phil Sgrosso have also posted the same message on their own pages]. Furthermore, he further suggests that the statement came from Lambesis himself (stating that the singer is the only person who has access to the band’s website). Here’s Hipa’s statement in full:
“Good day friends,
This morning an update was posted over at www.asilaydying.com on the current happenings and individual futures of all the bands’ members. For Jordan, Josh, Nick, Phil, management, and record label, this was an interesting first time read as all parties were oblivious to its construction, intent, and release.
Though Tim is the only one with access to the As I Lay Dying site, the rest of us have been releasing content through our personal social media accounts to reveal that we are carrying on in a new band. Our truest intentions were to make this unveiling interesting and exciting for anyone who has supported us over the past year. With information so instantaneous and disposable these days, we had hoped to show you how things were coming together rather than simply tell you.
We never want to capture attention dramatically, which is precisely why we’ve been off the radar for close to a year. Though the third-person statement released earlier compromises a lot of how we had hoped to unroll things, we remain positive in our outlooks and look forward to sharing new music soon.
With love and gratitude,
Jordan, Josh, Phil, Nick”
Well, this is definitely a surprise turn in what’s already been a bizarre year-long story. However, to those who thought the statement came a bit suddenly as the remaining As I Lay Dying members were subtly revealing plans for a new group, this somewhat makes sense. What inspired Lambesis to suddenly post this statement (in third-person nonetheless) after almost a year of keeping quiet (for the most part) is unclear. One thing remains clear, though, As I Lay Dying isn’t coming back from that “sleep” anytime soon.
