Following the explosive acclaim and surprise release of their first new single in five years, “Burden”, Grammy nominated metal legends AS I LAY DYING return with another brand-new single. Coinciding with today’s kick off of their USA headline tour in northern California, the new single, “The Cave We Fear To Enter”, is available to stream now via Napalm Records and impacts with a new music video directed by Tom Flynn.
The lyrical concept behind “The Cave We Fear To Enter” began with an idea from bass player/vocalist Ryan Neff, inspiring vocalist Tim Lambesis to develop the lyrical message further. The balladic track begins pensively before charging into an emotive melodic metalcore opus. Like “Burden”, the new track was co-produced by guitarist Phil Sgrosso and Hiram Hernandez, mixed by Aaron Chaparian and mastered by Ted Jensen.
Frontman Tim Lambesis offers about the lyrical process behind “The Cave We Fear To Enter”:
“This is the first time I’ve written lyrics based on an idea started by someone else in the band. Sometimes, when we try out different melodies, we’ll temporarily use words that just happen to fit as a placeholder. But on this song, Ryan chose words that he felt represented what he had been processing leading up to the demo. It felt right for me to leave that therapeutic expression in place. So, when I took over, the imagery of a cave where you face your fears came to mind. While I only know a little of Joseph Campbell’s work, the imagery brought to mind a quote of his that I remembered and used for inspiration as well.”
Guitarist Phil Sgrosso chimes in on the development of the song musically and working with video director Tom Flynn again:
“‘The Cave We Fear To Enter’ may be one of our most adventurous songs to date. We broke out of a lot of old habits and formulaic moves to create something that touches on a lot of emotional elements we haven’t explored so deeply before. From its inception, it was instantly a favorite for all of us.
We really enjoyed collaborating with Tom Flynn on the video to combine the storylines between ‘Burden’ and ‘The Cave We Fear to Enter’, continuing the journey of the character through new environments and circumstances. It was a lot of fun to take new creative risks to tell this story visually alongside the somber and uplifting nature of the song.”
