As I Lay Dying – Jordan Mancino

As I Lay Dying will soon be converting the non believers with a string of national shows throughout Australia and New Zealand which will kick off later this month. Metal Obsession recently had the pleasure to speak with Jordan Mancino about the band’s upcoming new album”The Powerless Rise” and their upcoming tour of Australia and New Zealand.

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Metal Obsession: Welcome to Metal Obsession, Jordan.

Jordan Mancino: Thank you!

MO: As I Lay Dying are currently working on their forthcoming album “The Powerless Rise”. Could you give us an update on how the album is going so far and how many songs we can expect on the final product?

JM: The album is coming along nicely. We can’t wait for everyone to hear it!  We are currently mixing all of the tracks with Colin Richardson and his assistant Martyn Ford, and it couldn’t be sounding any better.

There will be 11 songs on the initial release of The Powerless Rise, and we will have one bonus track that will be released at a later date.  We are not sure yet when or where this bonus track will end up though, so more info to come on that in the near future.

MO: Is there a main concept or story behind the new album?

JM: There’s quite a few topics within the lyrics for this album, but the main concept of the record is the “rise” of all of the people that have been forgotten or neglected by society.

MO: Most of As I Lay Dying’s music is directed towards human emotions and life in general. It’s quite clear when listening to AILD that not everyone who is Christian has a good life or is completely happy with themselves. Have you found music to be a good outlet to exercise your feelings, or do you think its harder due to being under a magnifying glass from the general population?

JM: I think it’s very important to be honest with others and ourselves about the struggles and imperfections of life.  You are right in saying that being a Christian doesn’t always mean ‘life is good’.  I do find our music to be a great outlet for my frustrations, struggles, emotions, etc., however, at times it can be hard to really feel comfortable opening up to the general population when you aren’t feeling up to getting an unknown reaction.

MO: The effect of the band’s religious beliefs have manifested into the music, yet its not seen as “preachy”. Do you find it hard sometimes to be taken seriously in a genre such as heavy metal where everyone is welcomed to be open minded and skeptical, even though the genre’s conception was based around a somewhat Satanic or “evil” upbringing?

JM: Surprisingly, there have only been a few occasions where individuals (not crowds) haven’t taken us seriously because of our beliefs.  Those occasions usually involve people that are very close-minded and stubborn when it comes others that might not agree with them or have different views on life.  Interestingly enough, the individuals that seem to have a problem with us only talk about it behind our backs, not to our faces; and that, to me, shows their insecurities about their beliefs and what they might represent.

MO: Have you had many incidents at live shows where people put you and your fellow band mates down for your religious beliefs?

JM: Not at all.  If there are any issues it always an individual off-stage.

MO: Since the band are heavily influenced by Christian views, do you ever find yourself asking questions which may go against your belief system. For example, the age old debate of faith verses science?

JM: All of us enjoy debating or talking about issues of that nature, because it challenges old and new ideas.  I think it’s very important in all areas of life to ask questions and always seek answers.

MO: Will there be a chance of you guys playing some of the new material on the upcoming Australian and New Zealand tour in late March?

JM: Maybe…. Haha.  It depends on when decide to leak a song our two on the Internet.  As rule, we don’t like to play songs live that people haven’t heard yet on the original recordings.  You never what can happen during a show (e.g. bad sound, malfunctioning instruments, etc.) and we want people’s first impression of a song to be the good one.

MO: For many skeptical metal fans who are unfamiliar with the As I Lay Dying’s live shows, could you give us a bit of insight into what we can expect from this upcoming tour?

JM: Well, this tour is going to be quite different from the last tour we did in Australia, the Soundwave Festival.  These are going to be really small clubs with little or no production, and will essentially be our instruments and the crowd.  There will lots of blood, lots of sweat, and lots of tears… Guaranteed! Haha! I can’t wait.

MO: Earlier this week As I Lay Dying were announced for this year’s Easterfest in Toowooba, Queensland which is a Christian based festival. How were you brought on board to be apart of this festival?

JM: I’m not really sure how we came about playing this festival, but we are all excited to see what’s in store for us.  We’ve never done a “Christian” Fest before in Australia, so we really have no idea what they are like.  We play fests like this quite often in the states and they are always amazing.  Should be fun.

MO: What’s one of the main attractions of Australia and its people that you enjoy the most when you come here to tour?

JM: It’s hard to just pick one!  We love Australia and I consider it to be my second home, meaning if I had to live anywhere else in the world besides San Diego, California I would want to live there.  Our fans there are great and we have developed some awesome friends over the years that we get to catch up with whenever we are there.

MO: Do you follow the Australian metal scene. Have you any favorite well know or underground Australian bands at the moment?

JM: MINDSNARE!  You rule Nigel!  Haha! Our old tour manager Nigel has this awesome band called Mindsnare. It’s epic. I can’t say I’m in tune with the underground metal scene, but I will have a chance to hear some of those underground bands on our upcoming tour since all of the support bands on the tour will be local.

MO: Before we finish up is there anything you wish to say to the Australian and NZ fans?

JM: Can’t wait to be in Australia again and can’t wait to see New Zealand for the first time!

MO: Cheers for speaking with us at Metal Obsession. We wish you the best of luck on the upcoming tour.

JB: Take Care!

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Make sure to  catch As I Lay Dying this March in Australia and New Zealand.

Revised Dates:

Friday 26th March Transmission Room Auckland, NZ
Sunday 28th March Amplifier Perth
Monday 29th March Enigma Adelaide
Tuesday 30th March Corner Hotel Melbourne
Wednesday 31st March Annandale Hotel Sydney
Thursday 1st April Cambridge Hotel Newcastle
Saturday 3rd April Easterfest (Christian festival) Toowoomba

Tickets on sales now through respected outlets!

For more information go to: www.asilaydying.com www.easterfest.com.au