San Diego's As I Lay Dying hits you pretty hard with their third album SHADOWS AND SECURITY The very first track on this album seems to jump up and smack you in the face with melodic guitar riffs and heavy vocals ripping through. One of the biggest pluses I found was the balance of aggression and melody that is apparent throughout. Similar to Kill Switch Engage's 'My Last Serenade,' there is onslaught of thrash vocals and emo style choruses. The influences that this band started with and sticks with can be heard with early thrash and Gothenburg death metal style, especially with the first song 'Meaning in Tragedy.' SHADOWS ARE SECURITY is an album that really hits you hard with new sound styles, especially when compared to their previous releases. For example, this is very apparent with the track 'Empty Hearts' with musical drums doubling the guitar parts giving a breakneck like tempo. The diversity of this album can be seen with 'Repeating Yesterday.' The piano accented ending really gives it a different feel to the thrash metal throughout the album. The personal favorite here at the Hidden Agenda has to be the final track 'Illusions.' Not to sound generic but this has to be the most hardcore song on the album. The in your face guitars and dissonant toned vocals really are a great culmination for this album. The final fade out of guitar also gives almost some sort of a symbolic ending to the album.So overall what can be expected from this album? Solid Metal: Expect plenty of double bass, dueling guitars, a singer with a well developed hardcore growl, and sweet melodic backups here and there. This album should add to As I Lay Dying's already growing fan base.
