As I Lay Dying — This Is Who We Are

Love them or hate them, metalcore purveyors As I Lay Dying are here to stay. Their hardcore-influenced heavy metal has become one of the most popular sub-genres, and the band's ability to render it with equal parts precision and spirit is impressive.

Moreover, their attention to detail is stunning, especially in regards to this latest DVD. The collection is comprehensive and insightful and still retains enthusiastic spirit. It's separated into three elements with their own discs: biography, shows and music videos/bonus material.

This Is Who We Are kicks off with the in-depth bio and follows the band from conception to present, tracing their humble origins and eventual ascension to popularity amongst the metallic masses. While this proves interesting in some aspects, the lineup changes are over-analyzed, which becomes tedious to anyone other than a diehard AILD fan.

Even those of us with a modest interest in the band should be compelled by the remaining discs. The live collection, while recorded in 2008, is meant to document the band's various states during particular albums. Therefore, 2003's Frail Words Collapse is performed in a small church, 2005's Shadows Are Security is represented with a bar show and so on until we see them playing for 10,000-person crowds.

It's a unique take that works well, with the band executing tracks perfectly and with great enthusiasm, even though there's a bit of a staged history vibe to revisiting the older material.

The third disc rounds things out with music videos, lyrical discussions, jibes at their own stage presence and praising of fans and their Christianity.

This Is Who We Are is quite comprehensive and offers something for everyone from life-long fans to the mildly curious. A lot of bands could learn a lesson from the all-in mentality of As I Lay Dying.

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