Ever since signing with Metal Blade, As I Lay Dying have seemed to be an unstoppable juggernaut, selling more than 100,000 copies of "Frail Words Collapse" and now breaking Metal Blade's initial sales record by selling over 47,000 copies of their newest album, "Shadows Are Security", in the first two weeks of it's release. Now co-headlining the second stage at Ozzfest alongside Rob Zombie and Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying are gaining more momentum than most bands could ever hope for.

Tim: It's a fun time. Everybody that plays the second stage is always hanging out and when the second stage closes at four o' clock, it leaves a lot of time for hanging out, so it's just been a lot of fun. It's been more hanging out than it has been a show because it's a festival atmosphere.

Tim: Yeah, but in those days… I think they're some of our best memories as well. I don't think we'd appreciate Ozzfest as much as we do if it wouldn't have played those kind of shows.

Tim: We've been keeping it pretty consistent, but we've been thinking of changing it. Funny you ask, we're thinking of changing it starting tomorrow to just include some different old songs. Because the new record's out, we're focusing on the new songs, but I think there's still some old songs we can incorporate.

Tim: I think this is the perfect year for us to play, I think we're having a great time; I can see bitterness coming from some of the rotating bands, feeling like they didn't really get their money's worth. It's different for us, because we're actually getting paid to play. If we were rotating, I personally wouldn't want to play Ozzfest. If we got asked to play again it would have to be on the side stage again, being that we're one of the three side stage headliners this year, it would be unlikely that we'd be back as a side stage headliner again any time soon, because they try to keep it diverse. So I don't have any problems with playing Ozzfest, but I definitely see why some of the rotating bands feel like it wasn't worth their time and money.

Tim: Actually, immediately after that tour, we do a headlining tour through all major cities that leaves November 25th through December 20th.

Tim: It'll be Norma Jean, Madball and A Life Once Lost.

Tim: There's obviously more money and more distribution with Metal Blade, but not that much changed for us other than size because Pluto was very personable and we were a big priority there and we're a big priority and Metal Blade and they're just as personable. I talk to the people at the Metal Blade office at least a couple times a week and I would consider everybody there friends of mine, which is very rare for bands our size in the music industry. Usually they're fighting with their labels or talk to them only when they absolutely need to, but we really enjoy the working relationship we have there, similarly with Pluto. So it's mainly just an issue with funding and the size of the label and I guess the strategy; the people at Metal Blade have been around the industry much longer and they really know creative ways to promote a record.

Tim: Not any more. I think at first there was a lot of prejudice against us or just the stereotypes of what Christians are like, especially in metal, as metal is traditionally very opposite Christianity. But metal as a whole has changed and we have worked very hard to gain the respect that we have now, so over the last two years, I'd say it's become less and less of an issue. I also know that people are looking for lyrics that are a little more personal and a little more down to earth. Whether you're a Christian or not, I think the struggles that we face in this band and the lyrics we're writing about are just challenging us to change and become better people, they're not these fantasy based traditional metal lyrics that I think people are really moving away from now.

Tim: I think that's very far from the truth. We're much more focused now than we ever have been. If somebody was to dig into the new record and truly understand the lyrics, the lyrics to the new record are as much about spiritual growth as any songs we've ever written in the past. The overall concept of this record is that, as a culture, we've accepted what we've been taught, and this is questioning those things that we've been taught and then trying to find what is meaningful, that meaning not just based on how we feel in our emotions, but an actual commitment and sacrifice and it's taking our love and our faith personally to the next level and not just calling ourselves Christians because we felt like it at one point, but calling ourselves Christians because this is a commitment and this is something that we know to be truth and that we've researched and taken the time to dig into the issues, this is something more concrete than a momentary feeling. Ultimately, we're trying to live with that same sense of sacrifice that Jesus himself taught us to live by.

Tim: No, not any time soon. (laughs)

Tim: Um… I would be a little unqualified to answer that question. (laughter) I never actually read the book from start to finish, the band doesn't really have any correlation to the novel other than that we thought the name sounded great. Nick would best be able to answer that question, but I couldn't give you a good answer.

Tim: A lot of bands sound the same and a lot of bands have lost their sense of identity, they're just trying to play the style of music that's popular right now. It's taken the passion and art out of it. There's definitely a cluster of bands that will survive the trend right now, but metalcore clearly a trend when you look at what's going on right now and what labels are trying to sign and all those kinds of things. Metalcore is a bit of a trend; that doesn't mean that all the metalcore bands are bad or that they're playing music for the wrong reasons, it's just that I think it's a little bit watered down right now.

Tim: I've always been a person who's very driven in everything I do and I moved out to Texas to play in Society's Finest and just felt like they didn't have the same work ethic that I had. I also felt like they weren't as focused and determined to go in the direction that I wanted to go with the music. Some of that had to do with how I felt spiritually at the time, but I'd say the biggest factor was that they were content being a weekend band and I wanted to play in a band that was full time, so I moved back home to California and decided that I would do it myself. I've been very ambitious ever since and now it's obviously been much easier with the help of a full band.

Tim: I think my newest tattoo will soon be my favorite. It's currently only outlined. It's like with any band, when they write a new song, they always like the new stuff the most and with tattoos, I think you always like the newest one, so I'm biased. I like this one because it represents the idea that love never dies or "until death do us part". If you have a true grasp of love and what that entails, it's not something that cannot just die tomorrow and be gone like another emotion; that's why there's two skeletons still in their wedding clothes holding eachother in the grave.

Tim: Thanks a lot.