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 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. The album title is taken from their lyric of the song ("Upside Down Kingdom").

The Powerless Rise
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 7, 2010 (2010-05-07)
RecordedOctober 2009 – February 2010
StudioLambesis Studio, San Diego, CA
Genre
Length44:08
LabelMetal Blade
ProducerAdam Dutkiewicz, As I Lay Dying
As I Lay Dying chronology
This Is Who We Are
(2009)
The Powerless Rise
(2010)
Decas
(2011)

Writing and recording

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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.[2] 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.[3][4] The three years between the release of An Ocean Between Us and The Powerless Rise previously was the largest gap between releases from the band at that time. 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."[5][6]

The Powerless Rise was produced by Killswitch Engage lead guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz and Daniel Castelman, and was mixed by Colin Richardson and Martyn Ford.[6][7] 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."[8] Castelman and Richardson were also audio engineers on An Ocean Between Us.

Reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic81/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com     [10]
AbsolutePunk88%[11]
Allmusic     [12]
Blabbermouth.net          [13]
Cross Rhythms          [14]
Exclaim!"most accomplished record yet"[15]
Jesus Freak Hideout     [16]
PopMatters          [17]
Rock Sound          [18]
Sputnikmusic     [19]

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

Track listing

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All lyrics are written by Tim Lambesis; all music is composed by As I Lay Dying

No.TitleLength
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[20]
No.TitleLength
12."Condemned" (Gunfight Mix [Pre-Order Only])3:56

Personnel

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

As I Lay Dying[21]

Production

Charts

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Chart (2010) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA Charts)[22] 53
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[23] 21
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[24] 11
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[25] 22
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[26] 69
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[27] 39
UK Albums (OCC)[28] 172
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[29] 19
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[30] 14
US Billboard 200[31] 10
US Digital Albums (Billboard)[32] 5
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[33] 2
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[34] 3
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[35] 5
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[36] 5

References

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  1. ^ "As I Lay Dying - The Powerless Rise - CD". Nuclear Blast Records.
  2. ^ "As I Lay Dying: In Writing Mode". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner. September 1, 2009. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
  3. ^ "As I Lay Dying To Enter Studio Next Month". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner. September 28, 2009. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "As I Lay Dying Frontman Issues Studio Update". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner. November 11, 2009. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
  6. ^ a b Guyre, Jen (November 16, 2009). "As I Lay Dying Offer Studio Update". Noisecreep. AOL Music. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
  7. ^ "As I Lay Dying Nearly Done Tracking New Album". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner. March 2, 2010. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
  8. ^ "Interview: As I Lay Dying". Killyourstereo.com. March 5, 2010. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
  9. ^ "As I Lay Dying - The Powerless Rise". Metacritic.com. March 5, 2010. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
  10. ^ Bowar, Chad. "As I Lay Dying - 'The Powerless Rise'". About.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  11. ^ "Absolutepunk review". August 16, 2023.
  12. ^ "allmusic review". AllMusic.
  13. ^ Ogle, Ryan. "AS I LAY DYING The Powerless Rise (Metal Blade)". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  14. ^ Young, Tom (September 5, 2010). "As I Lay Dying - The Powerless Rise". Cross Rhythms. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  15. ^ Persaud, Travis (June 2010). "As I Lay Dying - The Powerless Rise". Exclaim!. Ian Danzig. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  16. ^ "Jesus Freak Hideout review".
  17. ^ Begrand, Adrien (May 12, 2010). "As I Lay Dying: The Powerless Rise". PopMatters. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  18. ^ Cartey, Richard (May 13, 2010). "As I Lay Dying - The Powerless Rise". Rock Sound. Freeway Press Inc. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  19. ^ "Sputnik Music review".
  20. ^ "As I Lay Dying to debut new track tonight". The Gauntlet. April 20, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
  21. ^ (2012), Bosso, Joe: https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/interview-as-i-lay-dyings-nick-hipa-talks-new-album-awakened-561421, Retrieved September 19, 2021
  22. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 19.
  23. ^ "Austriancharts.at – As I Lay Dying – The Powerless Rise" (in German). Hung Medien.
  24. ^ "As I Lay Dying Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard.
  25. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – As I Lay Dying – The Powerless Rise" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  26. ^ "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.
  27. ^ "Swisscharts.com – As I Lay Dying – The Powerless Rise". Hung Medien.
  28. ^ Chart Log UK: "A - Azzido Da Bass". UK Albums Chart. Zobbel.de.
  29. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company.
  30. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  31. ^ "As I Lay Dying Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  32. ^ "As I Lay Dying Chart History (Digital Albums)".[dead link] Billboard.
  33. ^ "As I Lay Dying Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard.
  34. ^ "As I Lay Dying Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard.
  35. ^ "As I Lay Dying Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
  36. ^ "As I Lay Dying Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard.