In 2013 Tim Lambesis was arrested for essentially hiring a hitman to murder his wife. He served just over two years after suing the detention center for medical negligence.
On June 7th, 2018, As I Lay Dying released their new music video entitled My Own Grave.
The metal community has been up in arms ever since.
There is two points of view on As I Lay Dying as of now –
Fuck them. Their vocalist was willing to murder his wife, leaving his kids motherless. They do not deserve a single ounce of press nor do they deserve to play in front of any crowd.
The music is always going to be more perfect than the musicians who write it. He fucked up but served his time and good music is still good music.
I am on board with the second point of view.
I am a firm believer that once a debt has been paid the anger towards the person who had to pay the debt should be lifted. Lambesis’s debt was serving a prison sentence, albeit one he did not fully complete, but he did serve two years and is on probation today because of his actions. As far as I know he has not broken his probation.
What he did was horrible but at what point do we forgive people for their wrongdoings? No one is perfect and we all make mistakes. I know the counter argument is that if he had gone through with it a woman would be dead and kids would be motherless but it didn’t happen. His ex-wife is still alive. The kids still have their mother. Those same kids probably rarely, if ever, see their father. They also have to live knowing what he tried to do to their mother.
One of my best friends is an ex-convict. He served nearly a decade for his crimes. He is a smart and careful businessman and treats his clients with respect and dignity. I have never once thought of him as my ex-convict friend, he is just my friend.
We have to look past a persons isolated actions and look at them as a whole. We have to see them as they typically are, not as they once were.
On top of that simply listening to a band doesn’t mean you support their actions. I listen to Mayhem but I don’t support murder. I listen to Christian metal but I am not a Christian. We can enjoy art without being influenced by it.
P.S. I know I haven’t updated my blog in forever. I had to deal with a personal issue that was weighing on me. Anyway, I am back in full force and have some amazing shows coming up!