Review of Decas by As I Lay Dying

1. Paralyzed

2. From Shapeless to Breakable

3. Moving Forward

4. War Ensemble (originally by Slayer)

5. Hellion (originally by Judas Priest

6. Electric Eye (originally by Judas Priest)

7. Coffee Mug (originally by Descendents)

8. Beneath the Encasing of Ashes (re-recorded medley)

9. The Blinding of False Light (Innerpartysystem remix)

10. Wrath Upon Ourselves (Ben Weinman remix)

11. Confined (Kelly “Carnage” Cairns remix)

12. Elegy (Big Chocolate remix)

iTunes bonus track

13. Upside Down Kingdom (Iron Krill remix)

Decas is As I Lay Dying’s ten year anniversary album. It includes three new tracks; Paralyzed, From Shapeless to Breakable, and Moving Forward. These songs brought classic As I Lay Dying as well as a little bit of their new stuff. There are four covers which include War Ensemble by Slayer, Hellion and Electric Eye by Judas Priest and Coffee Mug by Descendents. It also include a medley called Beneath the Encasing of Ashes and four remixes of The Blinding of False Light, Wrath Upon Ourselves, Confined, and Elegy. All of which are made into electronica and dubstep style.

As I Lay Dying is a hit and miss with me, but I still enjoy them. Frail Words Collapse was one of the first metal albums I ever had. After that album I kind of drifted away from the band, but I also like Shadows Are Security. Paralyzed and From Shapeless remind me how heavy As I Lay Dying can be. The songs brought death metal riffs and good vocals, with bearable clean vocals. Moving Forward at first bugged me, but after a while it grew on me and it kind of pumps me up. It also feels as if they are trying to say, “we’ve been a band for ten years and we’re moving forward to a new ten years.” War Ensemble and Electric Eye were better than expected, they did a very good job being true to the original song but also using their own style of vocals. That type of cover is the best kind to produce. Coffee Mug was a very entertaining cover, although I have not heard the original. The Beneath the Encasing medley is very heavy. The remixes were alright, but with the overuse of dubstep and electronica in general I kind of just avoided them.