Following the explosive acclaim and surprise release of their first new single in five years, “Burden,” Grammy nominated metal band As I Lay Dying return with another brand new single. Coinciding with today’s kick off of the band’s U.S. Headline Tour in northern California, the new single “The Cave We Fear To Enter”, is available to stream now through Napalm Records and the tune follows with a new music video directed by Tom Flynn.

The lyrical concept behind “The Cave We Fear To Enter” began with an idea from bass player and vocalist Ryan Neff and inspiring vocalist Tim Lambesis to develop the lyrical message further. The balladic track begins pensively before charging into an emotive melodic metalcore opus. Like “Burden”, the new track was co produced by guitarist Phil Sgrosso and Hiram Hernandez, mixed by Aaron Chaparian and mastered by Ted Jensen.

While talking about the lyrics, frontman Tim Lambesis says: “This is the first time I’ve written lyrics based on an idea started by someone else in the band. Sometimes, when we try out different melodies, we’ll temporarily use words that just happen to fit as a placeholder. But in this song, Ryan chose words that he felt represented what he had been processing leading up to the demo.”

The artist adds: “It felt right for me leave that therapeutic expression in place. So, when I took over, the imagery of a cave where you face your fears came to mind. While I only know a little of Joseph Campbell’s work, the imagery brought to mind a quote of his that I remembered and used for inspiration as well.”

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat