As I Lay Dying offshoot Wovenwar was started weeks after Tim Lambesis was arrested for trying to have his wife killed, guitarist Nick Hipa has revealed.
The new outfit features fellow AILD men Jordan Mancino, Phil Sgrosso and Josh Gilbert plus Shane Blay of Oh Sleeper fame. They revealed their existence in April, weeks before Lambesis was sentenced to six years in jail.
Now they’ve confirmed the launch of self-titled debut album via Metal Blade on August 4, plus a string of European tour dates – and Hipa has revealed the project was underway months before Lambesis’ jail term was confirmed.
He tells The Weeklings: “Last May, the fourth or fifth, we played our last As I Lay Dying show, and Tim was arrested on the seventh. As the facts unfolded it became apparent that Tim was in very serious trouble. There were a lot of feelings there because we were personally involved with everyone that was related to the situation.”
Hipa says the band asked themselves three questions: “What are we going to do? What is our job? What are we going to do to survive after all of this?”
They very quickly decided not to continue under the AILD title because “Tim, in spite of the things that he was found guilty for, and some of the things he was wrestling with personally, was a great frontman and he was the face of As I Lay Dying.”
While the new name wasn’t confirmed until earlier this year, Hipa notes: “We pretty much started writing heavily in June.”
And it’s not just the title that’s changed. “One of the things we were really excited about doing was creating more rhythmic dynamics within a song,” the guitarist reports. “As I Lay Dying songs would all be one thing – ‘This is the thrashy one,’ or ‘This is the melodic one.’
“With Wovenwar we wanted to try to include the ebb and flows and highs and lows within the same song. That works well with a guy like Shane because his voice can fit over a driving, aggressive rhythm, or something that’s a little more subdued. It just felt like we could have more ups and downs within a song, and create more of a mood within a song than we could with As I Lay Dying.”
Wovenwar will tour the UK in August, then return as support act for In Flames in October:
Aug 21: London Barfly
Aug 22: Bramham Park
Aug 23: Reading festival
Aug 24: Leeds festival
Oct 16: Manchester Ritz (with In Flames)
Oct 17: Glasgow O2 ABC (with In Flames)
Oct 18: London O2 Shepherds Bush Empire (with In Flames)
Tracklist
- Foreword 2. All Rise 3. Death to Rights 4. Tempest 5. The Mason 6. Moving Up 7. Sight of Shore 8. Father / Son 9. Profane 10. 10 Archers 11. Ruined Ends 12. Identity 13. Matter of Time 14. Prophets 15. Onward
