METAL BLADE RECORDS Very much alive: Tim Lambesis, center, fronts the intense musical group As I Lay Dying.

Guitar, drum mix puts
life into Dying

While it seems that we get more than our fair share of mainland indie punk and reggae bands playing here, it's the rare occasion that we get a metal band.

In concert As I Lay Dying with local opening band Push the Pedal Where: Pipeline Cafe, 805 Pohukaina St. When: 7:30 p.m. Friday Tickets: $12 Info: 591-2211, 877-750-4400, or online at www.ticketmaster.com

Or, in the case of As I Lay Dying, a "metalcore" band from San Diego, hitting its stride as one of the best up-and-comers, thanks to its jackhammer syncopated sound and the roaring vocals of Tim Lambesis.

When we spoke to Lambesis by phone as he and his bandmates waited in a Melbourne, Australia, airport -- our conversation interrupted at times by the occasional PA announcement blaring from a horn near the pay phone he was using -- he was in normal society mode, quietly talking about how the band continues to hone its pure attack.

"Actually, the sound of our music is more metal than hardcore. Overall, I think it's more diverse sounding, and even though we have guitar melodies, it still has the energy and aggression. ... We really try to make it a point to syncopate the guitars and drums. I think other bands are more guitar-driven and, because of that, more limited in their sound.

"We keep progressing as a band, and because we're young, ranging in age from 19 to 26, we're always growing."

As I Lay Dying (the band's name is taken from the title of a 1930 William Faulkner novel of rural America) broke out nationwide with their 2003 Metal Blade release "Frail Words Collapse," getting video airplay on shows like MTV2's "Headbanger's Ball" for the album's focus tracks "94 Hours" and the particularly fierce "Forever."

The latter was shot in their SoCal hometown, a city with an equally growing metal scene, according to Lambesis. "It was very underground when we first started (in early 2001), and we always played hardcore shows. ... All of us are into other kinds of music, and Swedish-influenced death metal is not a major one, although you can hear some of it in my vocal style. But our music is very passionate, and the lyrics I write are very real to me."

After Friday's gig at Pipeline Cafe, the group heads back home to complete work on their new album.

"We're in the mixing stage right now, and we'll finish that as soon as we get home. All the tracking is done."

As I Lay Dying plan to mix in two of the new songs in their set list. "The songs, overall, are more complex," Lambesis said. "The guitar lines are a lot more melodic, because we've grown as musicians, and you'll hear more guitar harmonies," courtesy of guitarists Phil Sgrosso and Nick Hipa. The group is rounded out by bassist Clint Noris and the phenomenal Jordan Mancino on drums.

The band toured the states and Europe for a year straight, ending in June of last year. They wrap up their current Japan and Australia tour with the Honolulu show, and Lambesis said, "This coming year, we'll probably do only eight months.

"Sure, it gets tiresome when you have to do all-night drives between concert stops, but as a whole, we've learned from our touring mistakes, and it's getting more comfortable."

The band will be able to enjoy two days of downtime here after arriving here the day of the concert. In fact, Hipa's family is from here, and some time will be spent with them.

That'll give Lambesis some time to rest his searing Vocal of Extreme Despair. "But for some strange reason, my voice holds up fine. While others usually put out around 60 to 80 percent while touring so they can ... prolong their careers, every time I'm on stage, I'm able to let out a hundred percent all at once."