NewsFebruary 13, 2019 10:04 PM ET13,585 views

Zao guitarist says Tim Lambesis doesn't deserve to be in a band

It's been more than two years since Tim Lambesis was released from prison and nearly a year since he reformed As I Lay Dying, but his reactivated career remains controversial. While many in the scene support Lambesis' return to the music industry, many others find his quest for redemption self-serving and undeserved. Zao guitarist/vocalist Scott Mellinger clearly resides in the latter camp. Recently interviewed on the Brewtally Speaking Podcast (listen below), Mellinger expressed support for the other members of As I Lay Dying but spared no sympathy for Lambesis. Mellinger's sentiment is particularly interesting given that he and Lambesis co-produced Zao's Awake? album together in 2009. Mellinger had the following to say:
"With what little I know, I never thought those dudes would ever get back with that guy. I really never thought so. But I understand having music in your blood. The hard work that that group of guys took on themselves to do As I Lay Dying and turn it into what it became... I mean that band was one of the biggest metal bands at one time. "So the allure of that, it's hard to argue... it sucks cause you can't win. It's a lose/lose proposition really, in my opinion. Do I think those guys deserve to be a band? I think Nick, Phil and Jordan deserve anything and everything that they get, because they're the best dudes ever. "Do I think Tim Lambesis deserves to be in a band? Fuck no. That dude wouldn't be in a band if he went through with what he tried to go through. If he ended up not talking to a cop and talking to a real dude, like his wife might not be here, and it's hard for me to even rationalize or any of that kind of stuff. "And I get it; it's real easy now to look back on it and say I'm sorry and I'm repentant. Like if it would've worked out she would've been taken care of. That's it, done. What are you gonna repent for then, ya know? "It's just such a hard thing to think about cause, like I said, I love those three guys so much. They're some of the best dudes ever and I want to see them succeed in everything they do. It's just a really big time bummer that they had to get involved with that guy, and Tim to turn into the guy he turned into and now be in the situation they're in."
[via ThePRP]



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