Music

Jailed As I Lay Dying vocalist admits he faked his Christian beliefs to sell records

by Tyler Munro

Things just keep getting worse for disgraced As I Lay Dying singer Tim Lambesis. Because if a six year sentence for trying to hire an undercover cop to kill his estranged wife wasn’t bad enough, he’s now admitted his Christian faith was a farce used to sell records.

Even worse, he says he first turned to atheism to justify his infidelity (and, we presume, general shittiness as a person).

“The first time I cheated on my wife, my interpretation of morality was now convenient for me,” Lambesis told Alternative Press. “I felt less guilty if I decided, ‘Well, marriage isn’t a real thing, because Christianity isn’t real. God isn’t real.'”

But as his faith continued to dwindle and change, he took to lying by omission. When fans called his side project satanic, he again identified himself as Christian.

“I was trying to put out a fire. I was afraid it would affect As I Lay Dying sales, which would affect my overall income,” said Lambesis. “I was trying to put out the fire by saying the easiest thing, ‘I’m not a satanist!’ Truthfully, I was an atheist.”

As I Lay Dying were never an explicitly Christian band, but they never openly distanced themselves from the label either. They regularly identified themselves as Christians and did little to dissuade fans from believing them. Lambesis says he wasn’t the first member to break religious edge, adding that they talked at points about whether they should keep “taking money” from their Christian market. Turns out they were okay with it.

“Well, we’re not passing along any bad ideas,” he said of the band’s internal discussion. “We’re just singing about real life stuff. Those kids need to hear about real life, because they live in a bubble.”

He says fans continually asked to pray with him, noting that he’d make excuses about “not wanting to pray out loud” to get out of it.

“If praying while I have my hand on their shoulder makes them feel better, I didn’t want to take that away from them,” he said.

Condescending and a liar? What a catch.