Metalcore band As I Lay Dying have shared a tell-all "discussion" video explaining their controversial return. The clip, which is over 30 minutes long, features all members of the band's "classic" lineup, including vocalist Tim Lambesis, guitarists Nick Hipa and Phil Sgrosso, bassist Josh Gilbert and drummer Jordan Mancino. They go back and forth through conversation, detailing each member's life, experiences and personal stances since Lambesis' sentencing. It was announced on Monday that a statement explaining the context behind their return would come by the end of the week.

Lambesis opened the video, saying, "So, there’s a lot of awareness of things that happened very recently in music and stuff. And then last year there was an awareness of the public apology in my expression of remorse. But behind all that, there [were] the individual conversations we had and it was, for me, expressing remorse publicly… it’s one thing that will be shown very slowly over time, people have to kind of get to know and see if they can trust that I was sincere or not. But in terms of the individual conversations, those went back even a year-and-a-half before the public apology—almost two years before that. And those conversations were much more in-depth than anything we could ever [explain]—even this discussion or a written public statement or anything like that."

A tearful Hipa explained his personal trials over the last four years, and how it affected him in significantly negative ways. Speaking on how the media was the reporting the trial and, in his eyes, using him to get comments on Lambesis, he said, "For whatever reasons people may have, perpetuating the sensationalism of our lives was destroying me. Because I couldn’t work past the hate I had, and I couldn’t be free [from] being reminded of it. So, I was like, ‘Dude, I’m done. I’m not gonna do any more interviews,’ and I never did."

Lambesis was incarcerated in 2014 for attempting to hire a hitman to kill his estranged wife. Ultimately, he served three years of his six-year sentence and was released near the beginning of 2017. Earlier this month As I Lay Dying released their first new song in nearly six years, titled "My Own Grave." The accompanying music video confirmed the return of their "classic" lineup. Tonight, June 16, they performed their first comeback show at Soma Sidestage in San Diego, California.

For obvious reasons, the act's return has been controversial. We penned an op-ed discussing the moral implications and dilemmas behind the entire situation. We also compiled a list of musicians who have come forth with comments of their own.

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