My proper introduction to As I Lay Dying was live on Sounds of the Underground 2006. I was enamored by the reactions they were evoking from the rabid crowd, largely their fan base, even though In Flames and others were featured on the strong bill. As I Lay Dying has used this to their advantage, giving their fans what they want and expect over the course of four studio albums. Number five, The Powerless Rise, continues this, and as a whole the album is a manifestation of everything As I Lay Dying does best, except now they have the tools, experience and financial security to basically do anything they want.

Produced by Adam Dutkiewicz (Killswitch Engage, countless other credits), The Powerless Rise is metalcore if there ever was metalcore. It makes sense since As I Lay Dying was one of the bands that originally helped define the subgenre. But this is metalcore at its finest, even if some of the nuances may seem tired and repeated at this point; the clean/harsh singing trade off, building breakdowns and almost every song with a similar structure.

But immediately on a song like “Anodyne Sea ,” you’ll notice a presence of melody and a timeless feel like they’ve yet to accomplish with other albums. The closest they’ve come is with “Nothing Left” from 2007’s An Ocean Between Us. “Parellels” continues the trend and has one of the most accessible choruses the band has ever done. Same goes for “Anger and Apathy.” This is a great example of effectively combining melody and brutality. Vocalist Tim Lambesis’ distinctive roar is all over the disc, and the newest band member, bassist Josh Gilbert, provides the clean vocals, which are also in abundance.

All this doesn’t mean that The Powerless Rise isn’t a heavy album. Songs like “Beyond Our Suffering” and “The Plague” are about as heavy as it gets for any metalcore band. Like I said, it has all of the elements that fans love about As I Lay Dying. It has a similar sound and production to All That Remains' The Fall of Ideals or Killswitch Engage’s The End of Heartache. But As I Lay Dying also owes a lot more to Swedish melodic death metal legends In Flames than anyone ever admits.

As I Lay Dying isn’t going to lose any fans with The Powerless Rise; whether they gain any new ones remains to be seen. Don’t expect any huge singles or FM radio play. This is a great album, but I still have a feeling that As I Lay Dying’s best is yet to come. I do, however, expect a high chart debut, probably their best yet—the fans just eat this shit up.