As I Lay Dying recently released the compilation 'Decas,' which celebrates the 10-year anniversary of the metalcore band's formation when they began cranking out the tunes that has made an impact on music. Among the tracks on the album is a cover of Slayer's 'War Ensemble.'

The concept behind the new album was much thought about, as the band decided to include a handful of covers and remixes, as well as three brand new tracks -- 'Paralyzed,' 'From Shapeless to Breakable' and 'Moving Forward.' In a new interview, AILD guitarist Nick Hipa explains how the Slayer cover came about.

"We originally recorded that song per the request of a video gamer," Hipa tells Ultimate Guitar. "It was called Homefront and they had reached out to all these bands [Misery Signals, Acacia Strain, Periphery, The Ghost Inside] to do war themes covers and we were one of the bands they reached out to. And they’re like, 'Yeah, anything that’s war-themed.' We could have done 'Helter Skelter' by the Beatles or a Bob Dylan song but we were like, 'You know what? We might as well just do Slayer because it fits.' You don’t want to do a cover that’s that random."

"Slayer, for any metal band, [is] the ultimate purveyor of the fast and pissed off riff, and we have a lot of those in our band," continues Hipa. "That was one of my favorite Slayer songs just based on the riffs and the aggression alone and I think we all felt that way. So we recorded it for that and when we were putting 'Decas' together, we just thought like, 'Hey, why don’t we just do a few more covers and throw the Slayer on in there? If Slayer represents the brutal and more aggressive side of the band, let’s do something that represents the melodic twin-guitar vibe of the band.'"

For those few who haven't gotten their hands on 'Decas' yet, the collection can be purchased through iTunes by clicking here.

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