Despite a period marked by a complete band exodus and a string of public controversies, Tim Lambesis is signaling his intent to continue As I Lay Dying by signing with new management, FM Music Management. The agency, known for managing acts like Testament and Exodus, recently announced they have taken on As I Lay Dying as a client, with Lambesis currently being the sole remaining member of the long-running metalcore band.
This development follows a highly challenging past year for Lambesis and the As I Lay Dying name. In late 2024, every other member of the band, including tenured guitarist Phil Sgrosso, departed simultaneously. The outgoing musicians released individual statements vaguely alluding to “concerning behavior” and an unhealthy or unsafe environment within the group’s camp that they could no longer condone.
Shortly after this mass departure, the situation intensified with the online leak of home security camera footage. These clips often depicted Lambesis in a highly agitated state during arguments with his then-estranged wife, Dany Ciara, showing him repeatedly yelling and hitting himself. In response, Lambesis issued a statement accusing Ciara of assault and verbal abuse, claiming he had served her divorce papers just before the footage surfaced and that its release was “retaliation.” He attributed his erratic behavior in the videos to “anxiety filled reactions” to stressful situations.
The controversies continued into early 2025. Following a January interview where Lambesis further explained his side of the band’s latest lineup collapse and his personal mental health struggles, additional footage emerged appearing to show him being physically abusive towards his dog. In April 2025, former As I Lay Dying guitarist Ken Susi, who was part of the lineup that quit in late 2024, appeared on the BREWTALLY Speaking Podcast. During this interview, Susi set out to refute Lambesis’s previous claims and shared his own account of troubling behavior and incidents that he stated led to the band’s 2024 implosion. He highlighted one event, saying Tim ab*sed his wife in his (Ken‘s) house.
It remains unclear who will join Lambesis in this next incarnation of As I Lay Dying, a band that has reportedly cycled through approximately 15 members (excluding touring musicians) over its history. The reaction of fans to this latest attempt at a comeback will also be a significant factor, especially given Lambesis‘s past.
Tim Lambesis was previously sentenced to prison in 2014 after pleading guilty to a charge of solicitation of another to commit m*rder, for attempting to hire an undercover police officer posing as a hitman in 2013 to k*ll his then-wife, with whom he shared three adopted children. He served nearly two years before being paroled in late 2016. Following his release, Lambesis reunited As I Lay Dying with the band’s previous “classic” lineup. However, over time, much of that roster also began to depart, leading Lambesis and guitarist Phil Sgrosso to once again rebuild with the members who eventually left in the mass exodus of late 2024.
