Diogenes Hot damn, it’s amazing how a couple of riffs here and some experimentation there can turn something ordinary into something, um…a little above ordinary. That’s more or less what happened on As I Lay Dying’s fourth album, An Ocean Between Us. The band shows a more mature songwriting style and a willingness to try new things here, which would probably appeal to new fans as well as their…unique fanbase.

Before I go any further, let’s get some things out of the way. This is still a metalcore record, so if you don’t like metalcore, then go ahead and leave now. Also, this is not a total reinvention of the As I Lay Dying sound, as there are still plenty of flaws that plagued this band on earlier records. Namely, the vocals of Tim Lambesis still aren’t anything to write home about, especially the autotuned clean vocals. There are still religious lyrics, so if that’s not your thing, then take a hike. And, there are still those pesky breakdowns, infecting your brain with rotten goo and horridness.

However, if you’re still reading, then you might be happy to know that no combination of the above flaws makes this album unlistenable, as might have been the case for their previous efforts. In fact, this album as a whole is actually decent and enjoyable. Why? Well my friend, I’m glad you asked!

First, the guitar work. Now, the guitarists themselves have never been the weak point in this band, as both Nick Hipa and Phil Sgrosso wield their instruments with skill and precision. Rather, the problem had been that the guitars were often chugging along with no aim, being used as the forefront of the band’s sound but giving off more of a background effect. An Ocean Between Us puts this firmly in the past, with more guitar harmonies and less pointless noodling in the lead department. Oh, and another thing…listen to Within Destruction. Is that a…? WOAHMYGOD! THRASH! It’s a thrash riff! Yep, on this album As I Lay Dying finally stopped fooling around with half-thrash riffs, and upgraded to, er, full-thrash riffs. Granted, this album isn’t a full-out thrash assault, but there are still plenty of great riffs here. Check the title track, Bury Us All, and Comfort Betrays for more thrashcore fun. To top it off, there are actually a few guitar solos that are, you know, part of the songs. This is opposed to “Gosh, this song is awfully short. Hey, why don’t you throw in some shreddy shreddy here to make it sound cooler?” Cohesion, man. It’s actually there this time.

If you take a look at the tracklist, you’ll probably notice that there is more variation in the track lengths compared to the norm for this band. This is due to more variation in the songwriting area. Nobody wants to hear the same thing 12 times on the same album, and rest assured that won’t be a problem on this one. There’s your standard intro track and an interlude that –surprise!- actually fits in and isn’t totally pointless. Neither of these are needed, of course, but they’re nice to see. There are the thrashy tracks that I pointed out earlier. There’s I Never Wanted, which a slower song that, through the use of layered clean and harsh vocals, doesn’t completely suck in the vocal department. Basically, the deviations that As I Lay Dying incorporated in An Ocean Between Us makes the album a more interesting listen, at the very least.

The album is very well-produced, as you might expect. The guitar tone is amazing once again, thundering through every riff like a freight train at full speed, but everything else sounds good, too. Jordan Mancino’s drums are nice and sharp, leading one to notice his improved technique on this album (excellent double bass work in particular). The bass is, well…you can kind of hear it this time. It still doesn’t add to or take away from the sound, but it’s there, at least.

If you didn’t like As I Lay Dying before, you might want to at least give An Ocean Between Us a shot. It’s not a total 180 from their style, but it’s certainly no generic metalcore album, either. I still can’t call myself a fan, but this album was at least fun to listen to multiple times, and it should be for you, too.