Tim Lambesis Reunites With As I Lay Dying One Year After Prison Release

Tim Lambesis, the heavy metal singer who was convicted in 2014 for his role in a murder-for-hire plot to kill his estranged wife, reunited with his band As I Lay Dying in San Diego, California over the weekend, The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

The show marked the first time Lambesis has performed with As I Lay Dying since 2013. In May of that year, Lambesis was arrested after soliciting an undercover police officer to murder his wife of eight years, with whom he shared three adopted children. Lambesis reportedly gave the undercover detective $1,000 and provided instructions for the murder. In 2014, Lambesis pleaded guilty and received a six-year prison sentence, though he was released in December 2017 after serving just under three years.

Lambesis reportedly addressed the sold-out crowd in San Diego several times during the As I Lay Dying concert. At the start of the gig he said, “I want to start really with a simple theme for tonight, and that’s gratitude.”

He continued, “We’re so very, very thankful to be up here. We’re not only thankful for you guys, we’re thankful for each other, we’re thankful for the relationships that we’ve rebuilt and we’re very, very excited about. Thank you for the opportunity to play music together again.”

As I Lay Dying’s San Diego gig came weeks after the band released a new single, “My Own Grave.” Over the weekend, the group shared a lengthy video on YouTube in which they discussed their decision to get back together, as well as Lambesis’ arrest and conviction.

“There was such an unbelievable sense of relief after my sentencing of, like, ‘defense’ is no longer in my vocabulary,” Lambesis said in the clip. “I don’t defend what I did, because there’s no defense for it. I’m not gonna try to defend what I did, because it’s ridiculous. All I can do is make amends where possible, express my remorse and just put my energy into something positive.”