Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

As I Lay Dying in jail

He’s worth $14 million and his bail’s only $3 million? Guess Lambesis isn’t very good at math...
He’s worth $14 million and his bail’s only $3 million? Guess Lambesis isn’t very good at math...

An employee of the Oceanside Barnes & Noble who did not want to be named recounted the May 7 bookstore bust of As I Lay Dying lead singer Tim Lambesis this way: “It was about 2 p.m. My buddy was outside the store doing face-painting and the cops told him that he needed to stop immediately and go inside. Tim [Lambesis] was there with a friend just browsing. I saw one special task-force cop, two regular officers, and two undercover officers. They just pushed everyone aside and handcuffed him. It all happened so fast. It seemed like they were planning it out for a long time.”

A sheriff’s spokeswoman said in a release that Lambesis had paid an undercover officer $1000 to kill his wife Meggan, who lives in Encinitas.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The arrest of the 32-year-old metal frontman/entrepreneur, whose net worth is said to be $14 million, leaves unanswered questions. Most importantly, what will happen with his Grammy-nominated metal-core band and their nearly two million Facebook fans?

What about Modern Rebellion, the successful rock-swag clothing line Lambesis founded? And what of the recording studio he and partner Daniel Castleman launched two years ago, which has drawn metal bands from Australia (As Silence Breaks), New York City (Sworn Enemy), Pennsylvania (War of Ages), and Salt Lake City (Chelsea Grin) for extended recording sessions?

Lambesis Studios was launched in Lambesis’s garage in 2006. But in 2011, when most other local recording studios were folding, Lambesis rented space in an Escondido industrial park. “I built it from scratch,” he said at the time. “I think the only other new studio that has opened in the past five years is Sushifish.”

As I Lay Dying is now managed by 5B Artist Management and records for Metal Blade Records, which has sold a million As I Lay Dying records between their seven Metal Blade releases. Neither company nor Castleman would comment on what’s next.

Lambesis had two side bands. One was Austrian Death Machine, which goofed on Arnold Schwarzenegger. The other was Pyrithion. Longtime As I Lay Dying fans were not happy that Pyrithion’s demonic lyrics deviated from the positive Christian message of As I Lay Dying’s music and said that Pyrithion seemed to offer an anti-religious or satanic message.

In response, Lambesis recorded a five-minute interview video for YouTube: “Pyrithion concept & lyrics — accused satanist.” In the video, Lambesis admits that the lyrics were “darker” but that they represented viewpoints “that were not necessarily my own.” He said the satanic connections were just “crazy assumptions.”

One insider who has worked with Lambesis responded, “What struck me as different about it was that he didn’t say in it ‘Everyone knows I’m a Christian,’ which is what we expected him to say.”

At press time, Lambesis was still in the Vista Detention Facility, being held on $3 million bail. His next court hearing is June 10. On May 13, the Yahoo music blog quoted Lambesis’s L.A.-based attorney Anthony Salerno, who said that Lambesis may have been set up by the cops. “Tim’s wife’s brother, I understand, is a San Diego Sheriff’s deputy. I think I would be remiss if I didn’t fully explore that [because] that is a little bit...it’s at the bare minimum very coincidental, and it may be more than that.”

As I Lay Dying was to embark on a national tour at the end of this month with Killswitch Engage. The agency handling the tour (coming to San Diego all-ages rock club Soma on June 25) says that it will continue but with a band replacing As I Lay Dying.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Everything You’ve Ever Wanted To Know About doTERRA

He’s worth $14 million and his bail’s only $3 million? Guess Lambesis isn’t very good at math...
He’s worth $14 million and his bail’s only $3 million? Guess Lambesis isn’t very good at math...

An employee of the Oceanside Barnes & Noble who did not want to be named recounted the May 7 bookstore bust of As I Lay Dying lead singer Tim Lambesis this way: “It was about 2 p.m. My buddy was outside the store doing face-painting and the cops told him that he needed to stop immediately and go inside. Tim [Lambesis] was there with a friend just browsing. I saw one special task-force cop, two regular officers, and two undercover officers. They just pushed everyone aside and handcuffed him. It all happened so fast. It seemed like they were planning it out for a long time.”

A sheriff’s spokeswoman said in a release that Lambesis had paid an undercover officer $1000 to kill his wife Meggan, who lives in Encinitas.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The arrest of the 32-year-old metal frontman/entrepreneur, whose net worth is said to be $14 million, leaves unanswered questions. Most importantly, what will happen with his Grammy-nominated metal-core band and their nearly two million Facebook fans?

What about Modern Rebellion, the successful rock-swag clothing line Lambesis founded? And what of the recording studio he and partner Daniel Castleman launched two years ago, which has drawn metal bands from Australia (As Silence Breaks), New York City (Sworn Enemy), Pennsylvania (War of Ages), and Salt Lake City (Chelsea Grin) for extended recording sessions?

Lambesis Studios was launched in Lambesis’s garage in 2006. But in 2011, when most other local recording studios were folding, Lambesis rented space in an Escondido industrial park. “I built it from scratch,” he said at the time. “I think the only other new studio that has opened in the past five years is Sushifish.”

As I Lay Dying is now managed by 5B Artist Management and records for Metal Blade Records, which has sold a million As I Lay Dying records between their seven Metal Blade releases. Neither company nor Castleman would comment on what’s next.

Lambesis had two side bands. One was Austrian Death Machine, which goofed on Arnold Schwarzenegger. The other was Pyrithion. Longtime As I Lay Dying fans were not happy that Pyrithion’s demonic lyrics deviated from the positive Christian message of As I Lay Dying’s music and said that Pyrithion seemed to offer an anti-religious or satanic message.

In response, Lambesis recorded a five-minute interview video for YouTube: “Pyrithion concept & lyrics — accused satanist.” In the video, Lambesis admits that the lyrics were “darker” but that they represented viewpoints “that were not necessarily my own.” He said the satanic connections were just “crazy assumptions.”

One insider who has worked with Lambesis responded, “What struck me as different about it was that he didn’t say in it ‘Everyone knows I’m a Christian,’ which is what we expected him to say.”

At press time, Lambesis was still in the Vista Detention Facility, being held on $3 million bail. His next court hearing is June 10. On May 13, the Yahoo music blog quoted Lambesis’s L.A.-based attorney Anthony Salerno, who said that Lambesis may have been set up by the cops. “Tim’s wife’s brother, I understand, is a San Diego Sheriff’s deputy. I think I would be remiss if I didn’t fully explore that [because] that is a little bit...it’s at the bare minimum very coincidental, and it may be more than that.”

As I Lay Dying was to embark on a national tour at the end of this month with Killswitch Engage. The agency handling the tour (coming to San Diego all-ages rock club Soma on June 25) says that it will continue but with a band replacing As I Lay Dying.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Everything You’ve Ever Wanted To Know About doTERRA

Next Article

The Fellini of Clairemont High

When gang showers were standard for gym class
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader