5 Band: As I Lay Dying
Title: The Powerless Rise
Label: Metal Blade Records
Release Date: May 11, 2010
Review By: Steve
Track Listing:
- Beyond Our Suffering
- Anodyne Sea
- Without Conclusion
- Parallels
- The Plague
- Anger And Apathy
- Condemned
- Upside Down Kingdom
- Vacancy
- The Only Constant Is Change
- The Blinding Of False Light
Oh, my goodness is all I can say about The Powerless Rise! Can you say “Flawless”? Can you say this almost makes An Ocean Between Us seem amateur? Well maybe the last one is a bit of a stretch. Tim and company were not just goofing off the three years between albums. Tim’s side project, Austrian Death Machine, was a good appetizer for this album although it did rather seem like an eternity in between albums. I read an interview with As I Lay Dying and they said something to the effect of they were blessed enough to be able to make enough money that they did not have to rush an album so that they could hit the road to try and support themselves. This gave them extra time to really put forth the best album possible. That is exactly what they did.
Where do you even start with this album? The music is extremely technical and the songs are structured extremely well. There does not seem to be a note, chord, riff, or breakdown that is out of place. Every instrument is in the perfect place at the perfect time and woven together as masterfully as possible. This album has a dump truck full of double bass pedal (A good friend of mine has always used that analogy for metalcore). I like a lot of metalcore (obviously) but you have to admit that this is one of the most oversaturated genres on the harder side of the music industry. However, As I Lay Dying is by far the band that is at the top of the food chain in metalcore. Often I have wondered what makes some of the upper echelon bands better than others. Is it the vocals, production, mixing, technicality, brutality, structure, the list is endless? Well I guess you can say it is a combination of all of them. Some bands get one or two right but may lack in the other areas. Not As I Lay Dying! They hit on all cylinders all the time on every song. They do not need to add filler tracks. I am sure their b-sides are better than most bands best a-sides.
Vocally, Tim has a little extra “umph” behind his vocals on this album. They seem to be a little bit deeper and lower than on previous albums. Do not worry the clean vocals are still there and are quite impressive. The Powerless Rise appears to have brought out a little extra something out of Tim. It almost seems like he is screaming directly at me as I listen to this album. As usual with the lyrics, there is no mention of Christ but their lyrics do have a core Christian principal of not holding on to the things of this world but instead striving for that which is eternal.
It is hard to imagine where metalcore would be without As I Lay Dying. These titans continue to set the bar so high that I cannot image any band coming close to them anytime soon. I always wonder how are they going to continue to out do themselves. I never thought they could top An Ocean Between Us but this is exactly what they have done. This album is so good that I love every song; however, “Anodyne Sea” may be my favorite if you had to pin me down due to its sheer brutality. Each track is amazing. I knew this was going to be a good album but I am completely blown away with how awesome this album is. This may sound a like a “fan-boy” review but I promise you that it is not.
Overall: This album is about as good as it gets, hands down. The Powerless Rise is in a league of its own. As I Lay Dying continues to be the trendsetter in the metalcore genre and not the copycat. As I Lay Dying has honed their craft so well in their three-year hiatus that they have almost become untouchable to their peers. If you love metalcore then you need to go out and buy this album and listen to it until your ears bleed it is that good.
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Originally, from Albuquerque, NM but now I live in the Minneapolis area. I love Metal and Hardcore but I can tolerate pretty much anything. Albums I couldn't live without: Any Living Sacrifice album with Bruce on vocals, INXS - Kick, and AC/DC - Back in Black 
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i so i agree. the album is just completely insane and is the album of 2010 for sure!
comments now open
Bought this tonight at their concert in Nashville. They played “Vacancy” and “Beyond Our Suffering”. Can’t wait to hear the rest.
This album is a 10 out of 10. I am gonna be at Best Buy at 10 am in the morning to buy this for 7.99 in matter of fact I probably would paid 12.99 for it. Don’t tell Best Buy that or As I Lay Dying okay. Be very quiet!!! LOL
Musicaly, this is 1 of ther best. Lyricaly, its not, lol.
I can see that. It’s a little vague at times.
Loving it! great album, i agree with everything on this review! pick it up today!
I think “flawless” is an overstatement, but this is a solid album. Musically it’s solid, not amazing but not bad, but lyrically it’s deeper than previous AILD stuff. I like it.
This review and your comments all make me very excited to buy this today. I’ll be hitting my favorite store, Best Buy, to pick it up. Are there any other NEW releases I should pick up while i’m in the store? Any recommendations? It doesnt have to be just “Christian” bands. It can be anything.
I pre-ordered it on iTunes last night and and am listening to it right now! It’s really quite an amazing album…actually stands out among the hundreds of other metalcore bands. Another good album that came out today is High Violet by The National, equally amazing. You should definitley check them out.
Who does The National sound like?
Um…they are similar to Frightened Rabbit, The Antlers, Interpol or maybe Band of Horses? Kind of mellow indie rock…really beautiful and moving stuff. The lead singer has a really distinctive deep baritone voice. Kind of hard to pin exactly how they sound until you listen to them..haha.
I love Band of Horses! Not too big of a fan of Interpol and I haven’t heard the other two bands you mentioned. Maybe I’ll check them out.
Ya they are a pretty awesome band. I don’t particularly like Interpol either, I was just trying to find some similar bands. Band of Horses is probably the closest though…
Picked this up today, and it is awesome, definitely in the running for metal album of the year.
That being said, I think I still prefer An Ocean Between Us, but I probably need to give this one a few more listens.
Wow! This review could not be any better! I’m willing to bet you’d said this without listening to it.
Ok, bout the cd. It is very good. I agree about the musicianship and firing on all cylinders. One of the things that makes AILD so enjoyable is that all contributions to the cd are noticeable and top notch. Very good cd!
However, upon my first rotation, it isn’t as triumphal as An Ocean Between Us. Ocean set the standard, in my opinion. This cd has Ocean tendencies all the way through it, as it should. But, Ocean was more original. Upon my first rotation of Ocean, I was floored.
Secondly, I’m not sure I agree about the original sound. Yes, they have an abundance of originality, don’t get me wrong. Yet, the first few songs reminded me of Nodes of Ranvier. Then a few song later I thought I was listening to Devil Wears Prada.
I am hoping, and anticipate, this cd gets better with age. As for the best of 2010, that spot is occupied by Demon Hunter, World Is A Thorn.
Thanks for the review. You should get paid by the band.
@Angry Fan I saw DH tonight with AILD, btf, & WoA. It was the best show I have ever seen. DH had one of the best sets. They seemed a lot more polished then when I saw them a few years ago. They definitely killed it tonight.
haha Angry Fan, I wish we got paid by bands. not that i’d want the money or anything ;) or would I? lol. Steve did listen to this album several times since he got a prereleased copy from Metal Blade. This is just simply HIS opinion of “The Powerless Rise” and no one elses.
This was better than I expected. Still doesn’t top Living Sacrifice, IMHO.
I am torn between the The Infinite Order and The Powerless Rise. Living Sacrifice is my favorite band but I think The Powerless Rise is just a little bit better but not that much better
Has anyone heard how many albums they sold for their opening week?
Saw their first show since recording and they didn’t play any new stuff which was kinda dumb. But i have it now and it rules! Metal isn’t really my thing but wow sooo good! And as far as the lyrics go, i think they are the most upfront in terms of faith yet. Anger and Apathy and Upside Down Kingdom as stunning examples.