Shaped By Fire

''Shaped by Fire'' is the seventh studio album by American metalcore band As I Lay Dying. It was released on September 20, 2019, through Nuclear Blast. The album was produced by the band themselves and is the follow-up to the group's sixth album, '' Awakened'' (2012). It is the first album in seven years after the band went on hiatus in 2014 when Tim Lambesis was incarcerated and sentenced to six years in prison for soliciting the murder of his estranged wife. It is also the last album to feature lead guitarist Nick Hipa, who left the band in 2020, and drummer Jordan Mancino and bassist/clean vocalist Josh Gilbert, both of whom left the band in 2022. ''Loudwire'' named it one of the 50 best metal albums of 2019.

On October 25, 2024, ''Shaped by Fire'' got pulled off all streaming sources Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon Music, and Tidal, among others. The band subsequently stated that it would only be temporary, as the rights to the album have reverted to them. The album was restored in those sites a week after its removal.

Background and promotion

After Lambesis was released from prison on probation in December 2016 for attempting to hire a contract killer to murder his ex-wife, he began reaching out to the other members of the band looking to apologize in person starting with Mancino and Gilbert. After that he attempted to reconnect with Sgrosso and Hipa and eventually all four of them forgave him.

On June 8, 2018, the band released the music video for " My Own Grave". On April 12, 2019, the band released a music video for "Redefined", including a guest appearance by August Burns Red frontman Jake Luhrs. Two days later, the band announced the "Shaped by Fire" tour of Europe with support from Chelsea Grin, Unearth and Fit for a King running from September 2019 and concluding in October. On July 15, the band announced the North American dates of the "Shaped by Fire" Tour with direct support from After the Burial and Emmure to begin on November 15 at the House of Blues in Las Vegas and conclude on December 14 with a hometown show at the Soma San Diego. Details of the album, ''Shaped by Fire'', were leaked through Nuclear Blast's European website with a projected release date. On August 9, the band officially announced their album, ''Shaped by Fire'', would be released through Nuclear Blast, along with releasing the album's title track. On September 13, the band released "Blinded" as the album's fourth single along with an accompanying music video.

In March 2020, as a way of supporting their crew during the COVID-19 pandemic, they released an additional song, "Destruction or Strength", a B-side from this album's sessions. Two months later, in May, a music video for the song "Torn Between" was released.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits retrieved from AllMusic.

As I Lay Dying
* Tim Lambesis – harsh vocals
* Nick Hipa – guitars, backing vocals
* Phil Sgrosso – guitars, backing vocals
* Josh Gilbert – bass, clean vocals
* Jordan Mancino – drums

Additional musicians
* Jake Luhrs – additional vocals on track 10
* Dominic Estes, Andrew Perez and Kevin Rowe – background vocals

Additional personnel
* As I Lay Dying – production, composition
* Drew Fulk – co-production (track 8 only)
* Adam Dutkiewicz – additional production, drum engineering
* Tim Lambesis – vocal engineering
* Nick Hipa – guitar engineering
* Phil Sgrosso – guitar engineering
* Josh Gilbert – bass engineering, mixing assistance
* Christian Cummings and Eoghan Ryan – assisting engineering
* Joseph McQueen – mixing, bass engineering, drum engineering, vocal engineering, percussion
* Adam "Nolly" Getgood – mixing (track 8 only)
* Ted Jensen – mastering
* Corey Meyers – artwork, layout

Charts

References

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2019 albums
As I Lay Dying (band) albums
Nuclear Blast albums