As I Lay Dying's 'Decas' record is a capsule of the band's successful, decade-long career. The release includes three new songs sprinkled with retooled versions of catalog cuts and covers. It's a snapshot of the band from the early days through the current incarnation. While frontman Tim Lambesis has cycled through at least 20 members since the band's inception, he's older, wiser and happy to be providing for his family by doing what he loves.

In a chat with About.com's always quality heavy metal page, Lambesis considered what the 2011 version of Tim would give the 2001 version of Tim, since hindsight is 20/20. "Whatever advice I could give myself might actually mess up the motivating factors of what made As I Lay Dying become what it was," he joked. "Our work ethic certainly is something that cannot be handed down through advice, but other than that I would tell my younger self to try stupid things and take chances. I mean that within reason and in context of course. When it comes to recording music, some of my favorite ideas are things I wasn’t entirely comfortable with right away." Indeed from discomfort comes the best art.

While Lambesis might wish he had been a little more "reckless" when the band was starting out, the fact that he can raise a family and be an adult while fronting a metalcore band is his proudest accomplishment. He mused, "I’m proud that I can provide for my family while doing something that I love. A lot of people I know are unhappy with their daily lives, and that translates into how they interact with the people they love."

Lambesis explained that the reason the band assembled 'Decas' was to tide fans over in between AILD releases and to highlight the tenth anniversary. "We wanted to create something new for our fans while still covering our 10-year career," Lambesis said. "The first three songs represent where we’re at in our career now. Those new songs include the diversity of our sound from the really heavy side to one of the most melodic songs we’ve ever done. Then we pay tribute to what influenced us to play metal in the first place, so the cover songs come up next and include Judas Priest guitar melody, thrash from Slayer, and simple raw energy from Descendents 'Coffee Mug.' Lastly, we cover the previous five albums."

The singer also wants the band's fans to eventually dip into their personal archives, even if it's just memories. He said, "At some point I want to start collecting fans' stories of any way we’ve inspired them in the last 10 years. Without them we wouldn’t be where we are, so I want to include them as much as possible in the 10-year celebration!"

We love a metal band that appreciates its fans in unconventional and unpredictable ways.

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