AS I LAY DYING Recruits Former UNEARTH Drummer NICK PIERCE

AS I LAY DYING has recruited drummer Nick Pierce (ex-UNEARTH) to sit behind the kit for the band's upcoming tour.

The U.S. leg of the "Two Decades Of Destruction" trek will kick off tonight (Friday, June 10) in Las Vegas. Joining the band for the 30 dates will WHITECHAPEL, SHADOW OF INTENT, BRAND OF SACRIFICE (June 24-July 17),and OV SULFUR (June 10-23) The tour will conclude on July 17 in Oklahoma.

Earlier today, AS I LAY DYING released the following statement via social media: "We are pleased to announce that Nick Pierce, formerly of UNEARTH, will be playing drums for AILD this tour.

"We've toured with Nick many times over the years so we're stoked to have not only a long time friend out with us, but a phenomenal musician. The level of precision and power in Nick Pierce's playing has taken our songs to a whole new level.

"Nick had the task of learning 20 songs in a limited amount of time and he nearly played the entire set flawlessly at our first rehearsal. It's been inspiring to witness his dedication and strong work ethic to keep AILD performing at the standard our fans expect from us.

"We are just pulling up into Las Vegas for night 1 of the 'The Decades of Destruction Tour', we can't wait to perform and see our fans again!"

On Thursday, longtime AS I LAY DYING drummer Jordan Mancino announced that he would sit out the band's upcoming tour dates due to "a number of ongoing internal issues" that "have not yet been resolved." The 39-year-old musician released a statement via social media in which he said: "To all of our fans, my friends, family and supporters within the industry. There have been a number of ongoing internal issues with AS I LAY DYING that need to be worked out. It was my wish to avoid any further touring until these issues were resolved. Since they have not yet been resolved, it is with a heavy heart that I announce I will not be performing on any upcoming tour dates until further notice. Thanks to all of you for your understanding."

Mancino's announcement came less than a month after AS I LAY DYING's longtime bassist/vocalist Josh Gilbert revealed that he was leaving the band. In a statement, the remaining members of AS I LAY DYING said that Gilbert "decided to exit" the group "to pursue other musical opportunities." Josh is being replaced on the road by Ryan Neff of MISS MAY I. Playing second guitar on the trek will be Ken Susi of UNEARTH.

Josh was the second AS I LAY DYING member to leave the band in less than a year. Last August, guitarist Nick Hipa confirmed his exit from AS I LAY DYING, explaining that he could no longer justify being part of "a superficial pursuit" of the "story and meaning" that the band's 2018 reunion was built upon.

AS I LAY DYING frontman Tim Lambesis was famously convicted in 2014 for his role in a murder-for-hire plot against his estranged wife.

In May 2014, Lambesis was sentenced to six years in jail after pleading guilty to paying a San Diego police officer posing as a hitman $1,000 to kill his wife. Approximately two and a half years later — on December 17, 2016 — he was discharged from a California detention facility and was transferred to the Division of Adult Parole Operations.

In June 2018, AS I LAY DYING played its first show with Lambesis in five years and released a new single. Lambesis also owned up to his crimes in a long apology on the band's Facebook page after his release.

In September 2019, AS I LAY DYING released its seventh full-length album, "Shaped By Fire", via Nuclear Blast.

The return of AS I LAY DYING raised some questions, particularly since Hipa categorically denounced the band's disgraced frontman as a "sociopathic narcissist in definite need of rehabilitation" in a social-media post back in 2014.

Last September, AS I LAY DYING released a new song called "Roots Below" which was originally a B-side leftover from when the sessions for "Shaped By Fire".