Track Attack: As I Lay Dying - Roots Below (english)
“Roots Below” is the first single of As I Lay Dying, since the release of “Shaped By Fire” the album that marked the bands' return in 2019.
This is the first bands' record without the participation of the guitarist Nick Hipa who unfortunately left As I Lay Dying and one can tell his absence in this song.
Listening to this single, I can really tell the influences of this last work of the band and I cannot tell any major innovation. The band decided to opt for a sonority that is familiar to us and this is a song that would easily get well integrated in a Delux Edition of “Shaped By Fire”.
“Roots Below” is a pretty contagious song, with an immense guitar power by the hand of Phil Sgrosso who introduces us to amazing riffs and solos, full of contagious technic, weight, and melody and which along with the drums, heavy enough by Jordan Mancino make the instrumental section of the song memorable.
Emphasis on the vocalizations done by the bassist Josh Gilbert in the refrain as well, with a melody and clean vocals that contrast with the aggressiveness and harsh vocals of Tim Lambesis.
As I lay Dying remain faithful to the origins of the classical Metalcore, a genre which they helped building and in which they no doubt are a reference and one of the most influential bands in the history of the genre.
"The wounds that we’re left with
We cannot control
The curse of the pain
Feels like all we know
Until we find the strength
Drawn from the roots below
In blackened soil new power grows"
The lyrics talk about how we must go to the source of the problem to be able to find the strength to proceed since there are moments in which we lose our way and it is at those moments that we must go deep down our being to get the strength to decide our next step.
It makes perfect sense that As I Lay Dying released a song like this and we have already seen the band approaching similar subjects in “Shaped By Fire”.
This is a band that has already gone through a few hardship moments, change and they are an example of perseverance and resiliency. Whether one likes it or not, the legacy of As I Lay Dying is inquestionable and “Roots Below” is a great song done by these OG’s of Metalcore.
