The Powerless Rise

The Powerless Rise
Studio album by As I Lay Dying
Released	May 11, 2010
Recorded	October 2009 – February 2010
Studio	Lambesis Studio, San Diego, CA
Genre	Metalcore
Length	44:08
Label	Metal Blade
Producer	Adam Dutkiewicz, As I Lay Dying
As I Lay Dying chronology
This Is Who We Are (2009) The Powerless Rise (2010) Decas (2011)

The Powerless Rise is the fifth studio album by American metalcore band As I Lay Dying. The album was released on May 7, 2010 in Europe and was released on May 11, 2010 in the United States. The Powerless Rise debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 with sales of 38,000. The album features three singles: "Beyond Our Suffering", "Parallels", and "Anodyne Sea". Music videos have been released for all three, with the latest one ("Beyond Our Suffering") consisting of live footage.

Writing and recording

As I Lay Dying began writing songs for The Powerless Rise in mid-2009 following two years of touring for the band's 2007 album An Ocean Between Us.^[1] By the end of September, the group had finished "about 6-7" songs and was scheduled to enter the studio on October 17, 2009 where they would continue to write new songs. This is in contrast to previous albums by As I Lay Dying that had been written over the course of only a few months.^[2][3] The three years between the release of An Ocean Between Us and The Powerless Rise has been the largest gap between releases from the band to date. Frontman Tim Lambesis stated that while some bands "need to rush out a crappy record so they can start touring again to pay their bills," As I Lay Dying had been working hard to "make a record worth listening to (hopefully), and start touring again when we're done."^[4][5]

The Powerless Rise was produced by Killswitch Engage lead guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz and Daniel Castelman, and was mixed by Colin Richardson and Martyn Ford.^[5][6] Adam Dutkiewicz also produced As I Lay Dying's An Ocean Between Us. According to guitarist Phil Sgrosso, Dutkiewicz was chosen over ten other producers the band had talked with after "realizing that Adam understands our sound better than most."^[7] Castelman and Richardson were also audio engineers on An Ocean Between Us.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	81/100[8]
Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	[9]
AbsolutePunk	88%[10]
Allmusic	[11]
Blabbermouth.net	[12]
Cross Rhythms	[13]
Exclaim!	"most accomplished record yet"[14]
Jesus Freak Hideout	[15]
PopMatters	[16]
Rock Sound	[17]
Sputnikmusic	[18]

The record was released on May 11, 2010, to generally positive acclaim. The Powerless Rise currently holds "universal acclaim" status for generally good reviews on Metacritic with an 81 out of 100.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Tim Lambesis, all music composed by As I Lay Dying.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Beyond Our Suffering"	2:50
2.	"Anodyne Sea"	4:35
3.	"Without Conclusion"	3:15
4.	"Parallels"	4:57
5.	"The Plague"	3:42
6.	"Anger and Apathy"	4:26
7.	"Condemned"	2:50
8.	"Upside Down Kingdom"	4:00
9.	"Vacancy"	4:27
10.	"The Only Constant Is Change"	4:08
11.	"The Blinding of False Light"	5:05
Total length:		44:08

iTunes bonus track[19]
No.	Title	Length
12.	"Condemned" (Gunfight Mix [Pre-Order Only])	3:56

Personnel

Production and performance credits are adapted from the album liner notes.

As I Lay Dying

• Tim Lambesis – lead vocals
• Nick Hipa – lead guitar
• Phil Sgrosso – guitars
• Josh Gilbert – bass, clean vocals
• Jordan Mancino – drums

Production

• Adam Dutkiewicz – production, engineering
• Daniel Castleman – engineering, pre-production
• Joseph McQueen – vocal engineering
• Colin Richardson – mixing
• Martyn "Ginge" Ford – mix engineer
• Ten Jensen – mastering
• Kelly Cairns – pre-production
• Joey St. Lucas – guitar tech
• Mike Catalano – drum tech, additional percussions
• Jacob Bannon – artwork, design

Charts

Chart (2010)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[20]	21
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[21]	11
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22]	22
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[23]	69
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[24]	39
UK Albums (OCC)[25]	172
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[26]	19
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[27]	14
US Billboard 200[28]	10
US Digital Albums (Billboard)[29]	5
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[30]	2
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[31]	3
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[32]	5
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[33]	5

References

1. "As I Lay Dying: In Writing Mode". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner. September 1, 2009. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
2. "As I Lay Dying To Enter Studio Next Month". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner. September 28, 2009. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
3. Harris, Chris (September 29, 2009). "White Noise: News on As I Lay Dying, AC/DC, Immortal, Limp Bizkit, Throwdown and More". Noisecreep. AOL Music. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
4. "As I Lay Dying Frontman Issues Studio Update". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner. November 11, 2009. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
5. Guyre, Jen (November 16, 2009). "As I Lay Dying Offer Studio Update". Noisecreep. AOL Music. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
6. "As I Lay Dying Nearly Done Tracking New Album". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner. March 2, 2010. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
7. "Interview: As I Lay Dying". Killyourstereo.com. March 5, 2010. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
8. "As I Lay Dying - The Powerless Rise". Metacritic.com. March 5, 2010. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
9. Bowar, Chad. "As I Lay Dying - 'The Powerless Rise'". About.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
10. "Absolutepunk review".
11. "allmusic review".
12. Ogle, Ryan. "AS I LAY DYING The Powerless Rise (Metal Blade)". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
13. Young, Tom (September 5, 2010). "As I Lay Dying - The Powerless Rise". Cross Rhythms. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
14. Persaud, Travis (June 2010). "As I Lay Dying - The Powerless Rise". Exclaim!. Ian Danzig. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
15. "Jesus Freak Hideout review".
16. Begrand, Adrien (May 12, 2010). "As I Lay Dying: The Powerless Rise". PopMatters. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
17. Cartey, Richard (May 13, 2010). "As I Lay Dying - The Powerless Rise". Rock Sound. Freeway Press Inc. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
18. "Sputnik Music review".
19. "As I Lay Dying to debut new track tonight". The Gauntlet. April 20, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
20. "Austriancharts.at – As I Lay Dying – The Powerless Rise" (in German). Hung Medien.
21. "As I Lay Dying – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for As I Lay Dying.
22. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
23. "アズ・アイ・レイ・ダイイングのCDアルバムランキング、アズ・アイ・レイ・ダイイングのプロフィールならオリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE". Oricon.co.jp.
24. "Swisscharts.com – As I Lay Dying – The Powerless Rise". Hung Medien.
25. Chart Log UK: "A - Azzido Da Bass". UK Albums Chart. Zobble.de.
26. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company.
27. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
28. "As I Lay Dying – Chart history" Billboard 200 for As I Lay Dying.
29. "As I Lay Dying – Chart history" Billboard Digital Albums for As I Lay Dying.
30. "As I Lay Dying – Chart history" Billboard Independent Albums for As I Lay Dying.
31. "As I Lay Dying – Chart history" Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums for As I Lay Dying.
32. "As I Lay Dying – Chart history" Billboard Top Rock Albums for As I Lay Dying.
33. "As I Lay Dying – Chart history" Billboard Top Tastemaker Albums for As I Lay Dying.