Former As I Lay Dying guitarist Ken Susi has shared his side of the breaking point incident that led to the mass exodus of band members from the group leaving Tim Lambesis as the sole remaining member.In a broad ranging interview with the BREWtally Speaking podcast, Susi fielded questions about his time with the band and though initially not intending to do so, he broached in detail from his point of view the incident that happened in his own home that led him to leave the band.Why Ken Susi Chose to Speak Out NowWithin the discussion, Susi was asked about his time in As I Lay Dying and why he was now choosing to speak on the matter. The guitarist indicated within his comments that he characterized Lambesis as a “litigious person” and that may be why nobody other than Lambesis has publicly spoken about what happened with the band beyond their exit statements.He then offered (as transcribed by ThePRP), “It’s kind of weird why people are not talking, But in my opinion I think it’s unacceptable for Tim to go on podcasts with his friends and make false claims about how the band broke up.””I guess like, believe what you want, but my version of what happened totally doesn’t align with basically what he’s been out there saying and putting out statements about, right?,” he continued before adding that he felt the band were put in a position of essentially endorsing and promoting someone where the narrative around him wasn’t legitimate.”After his incarceration, it was almost like I did kind of see this coming. In my opinion, he formulated this like almost reality TV persona for his fanbase of like him portraying himself as his man of redemption or rehabilitation,” he added.Susi later concluded, “We were just basically supporting somebody dealing with serious problems. And we were unaware of how serious those problems were at the time … We’re just band dudes, like looking to play gigs and have a good time. And we were really kind of, a lot of us felt a lot regret when we figured out exactly what was going on, when the band evaporated. What I’m trying to say is it had to stop.”Why Ken Susi Initially Joined As I Lay DyingWithin the chat, Susi was asked why he initially agreed to sign on to the band knowing Lambesis’ past incarceration history.”I’ve done multiple tours with [As I Lay Dying] and at those times, I always thought Tim was a good person. And there’s a lot of people that say that in that time,” said the guitarist. “I was willing to stand behind somebody at that point because there’s layers of friendship and years of friendship and conversations that you have backstage and meeting families and doing things.””I should have known better. But then again, I am the type of person, that I would rather give somebody a second chance. The second chance is the one, right?”He went on to share his belief that people can be rehabilitated and that there are those who come out of the system on a better path as people moving forward.Susi also added that his bandmates that had come into the group had a similar mindset. “We were ready. We were committed to this. We were definitely excited and committed, and that was all ruined,” he offered. “The famous thing that I say to everybody is all Tim really had to do is get out of jail and just scream to a fucking mic and be cool. And that was hard.”What Ken Susi Says Led to the Mass Exit of As I Lay Dying Band MembersThough earlier suggesting that he wasn’t going to go into detail about what led to the breakup, the guitarist eventually did share his side of the events that led to the band members leaving.Within the discussion, Susi recalled that after their New England Metal and Hardcore Fest performance last year, everyone in the band had come to his house. He shared that Lambesis and his wife Dany had not been “vibing” on the tour and they weren’t sure if she would even be in town. But after learning that that they were staying in town and had planned to get a tattoo, he offered to host them instead of them having to get a hotel.With the singer and his wife staying at his house, there was an incident later on. Susi reveals that his house has security cameras throughout along with a label on the door that says that they are being filmed 24/7.”This guy like comes into my house in the middle of the night, corners his wife in my kitchen and spits in her face. And then retracts four or five steps back and has some type of episode, which I’ve never seen out of somebody before in my entire life,” recalled Susi. “And then starts screaming and running around my house for help. And it alarmed my wife. She woke up and she’s like, ‘What’s going on?’ And I’m like, ‘I’ve heard him scream for help before.’ I’m going to go see what’s going on.'”READ MORE: As I Lay Dying’s Tim Lambesis Responds After Videos of Disturbing Exchange With Wife SurfaceSusi says he separated the couple and then asked Lambesis what had been going on. “He was just like, ‘Oh my marriage,’ this and that. And I’m like, ‘cool.’ I go upstairs. I asked Dany what’s going on. She tells me the truth,” says the guitarist, who then pulled up the camera footage to see what happened.”I see exactly what was said. [Dany was saying] he spit on me. He threw a fit. I was trying to calm him down the whole 9. And to be totally honest with you, that’s what fucking happened,” says Susi.The guitarist recalls confronting Lambesis about the incident. “I went back downstairs. I said, ‘I’m disappointed in you.’ And he’s like, ‘I didn’t spit on her face. I spit at her feet.’ And I’m like, ‘Why are you spitting in my house in general?’ If you’re going to lie about it, you know? And the honest to God truth is, you’re not going to insult me. I asked him to leave immediately. He left. And at that point, the rest is history,” says Susi.The Aftermath of the IncidentAfter the incident in his home took place, Susi decided he needed to leave the band. However, there were still financial stakes on the line for the group with an upcoming tour and he did not want to leave them with so much riding financially for the band members so he planned to exit after the run.But when he alerted Lambesis of his intent to exit the group, he was met with a threat of a lawsuit if he ever released the footage.”When I quit the band, he sent a message through his wife, through his wife’s phone, saying he would sue me if I ever release that footage because he didn’t know — he was filmed without his consent, or he was posting up like, Dany would sue me, his wife,” said Susi. “But like, ultimately I’m not fucking scared. I have the receipts.”He then shared the video footage with Phil Sgrosso, the lone remaining original member alongside Lambesis, to alert him to what had happened and why he was stepping away.”You are technically HR,” Susi told Sgrosso. “You know, I prefer you don’t share this with anybody.’ But I just said, ‘I have to quit the band. I’m out of here. I don’t want to deal with this type of shit.’”He offered to stay on because of the financial commitment of the upcoming tour, but once other members of the band saw the video, they too decided it was time to move on. “Nobody wanted to be a part of it anymore. They didn’t care about the finances. They didn’t care about anything. And and that’s really what went down,” he explains.Ken Susi’s Personal Stance on Tim LambesisWhen asked about the good that Lambesis has done since his incarceration, Susi offered, “The bad things outweigh the good things tremendously. And it’s not something I’m going to endorse, support, condone. I don’t want to be part of anything that he has going on in the future. I don’t want to be friends with him.”He continued, “There is no room for reconciliation between the two of us. I don’t respect what he’s done and I’ll never respect it. There’s very specific things that happened in my own home that I’m not happy with. There’s no amount of good that he can do moving forward to change my opinion. And that’s for me.”Elsewhere, he reiterated that he’s not happy with the narrative being shared by Lambesis. “I just don’t like the ‘the band broke up because of communication problems and everyone followed Phil‘ or, you know, Tim… Tim literally blew up the tours that I was supposed to be on, right?,” he commented, also adding elsewhere, “You’re creating a lie for the fanbase. And it makes me look bad. It makes the guys look bad. You did something wrong. You have to own up to it.”READ MORE: Jamey Jasta on Disappointing Fan Reaction to His Tim Lambesis Stance”Just don’t abuse your wife in my fucking house and put my integrity on the line. And someone needs to say something,” he added at one point. “People do deserve to know. Don’t subscribe to something that’s not good. But again, I have the receipts.”As for Lambesis’ intent to continue the band, he added, “He can go get fucking YouTube guitar players and drummers and shit and and make them sign NDAs [non-disclosure agreements] or do whatever the fuck he’s going to do. Have at it, dude. I just refuse to think anyone’s going to follow that after, the fourth/fifth strike on you. They can’t love the band that much. There’s there’s a limit to these things.”What’s Happened in As I Lay Dying Since the Band Members Quit in 2024After the band members left one by one over a multi-week period in 2024, things remained quiet for a bit until two videos of leaked footage of Lambesis in heated arguments with his wife surfaced around Thanksgiving. The singer then responded by sharing in a statement that he had been subjected to a pattern of verbal and mental abuse by his wife and that a domestic disturbance investigation had been launched against her.He also claimed that he had filed a restraining order and that she had just been served divorce papers. So he felt the videos had been leaked in retaliation. After granting his first interview since the band split addressing his personal life and the split with his bandmates, another leaked video surfaced of Lambesis mistreating his dog. An online petition has been launched to have the singer investigated for animal cruelty as a result. The singer’s wife has publicly denied having involvement with the leaked videos.Though Lambesis has expressed his intent to continue the band and two festival dates were booked for 2025, As I Lay Dying have since bowed out of those performances and an announcement concerning the new lineup has not arrived.Former As I Lay Dying Guitarist Ken Susi on the BREWtally Speaking PodcastA Timeline of As I Lay Dying’s Controversial ComebackHere is a timeline of what has gone on in the world of As I Lay Dying, from Tim Lambesis’ 2013 arrest through November of 2024.Gallery Credit: Lauryn Schaffner
