Christian metal guitarist allegedly sought to kill wife SAN DIEGO - Tim Lambesis has spent the last 13 years fronting As I Lay Dying, a San Diego-bred metal band that sought to blend a hard-edged punk sound with its members' Christian faith. Lambesis recently posted a video on YouTube in which he and a bandmate trade "mosh calls for the Lord," including such rallying cries as "crowd surf for the virgin birth." Fans had embraced the group, whose sixth album, "Awakened," debuted last fall at No. 11 on the Billboard pop chart. A tour of Asia recently ended and a summer U.S. tour was planned, beginning May 30 in Oklahoma City. But on Wednesday, Lambesis, 32, sat in a Vista jail after he allegedly tried to hire an undercover San Diego County sheriff's detective, posing as a hit man for hire, to kill his estranged wife, Meggan. The muscular, heavily tattooed Lambesis was arrested without incident Tuesday in Oceanside after detectives received a tip that he wanted to hire a killer and set up a meeting, authorities said. Lambesis, who is being held without bail, is set to be arraigned Thursday in San Diego County Superior Court in Vista on felony counts of soliciting murder. Lambesis and his wife adopted three children in recent years before separating, Billboard magazine reported. In divorce papers, Lambesis' estranged wife accused him of becoming emotionally distant from her and their adopted children, and being obsessed with bodybuilding and touring. Their 2010 gross income was put at $233,000. The arrest "prevented a tragedy," sheriff's spokeswoman Jan Caldwell said. It was not immediately known if Lambesis had a lawyer. Lambesis founded As I Lay Dying, taking its name from a William Faulkner novel, in 2000 and remains its lead guitarist and singer. He has been called the musical grandchild of Ozzy Osbourne, one of the original heavy metal rockers. The band specializes in music that includes "thrash metal" sounds and "beat-down hardcore punk." Lambesis provides guitar riffs and what are described as "growled vocals." In interviews, Lambesis has insisted that although the lyrics may seem harsh, the five band members are Christians and the songs include Christian themes of forgiveness and struggle. He graduated from a San Diego-area Christian high school. As word of his arrest spread, fans took to the group's Facebook page expressing disbelief. "I can't even imagine him resorting to this after all of the inspiration from this band," wrote one. They have never produced a single thing that would make me believe any of them were capable of this. This would be absolutely heartbreaking to hear. "I am praying for Tim's salvation with you God," wrote another. Cover him and speak to his heart. The band's 2007 single "Nothing Left" was nominated for the metal performance Grammy. Lambesis has often spoken on the importance of writing about "philosophical topics," and when asked recently by metal website Suicide Scriptures if his Christian faith clashed with the genre, he said people get "stuck on it. They tend to focus on those ideas more than the music. Late Wednesday, the four other members of As I Lay Dying issued a statement expressing surprise at Lambesis' arrest. "Our thoughts right now are with Tim, his family, and with everyone else affected by this terrible situation - and with our fans, whom we love and draw strength from," the statement said. Lambesis has a side project, Austrian Death Machine, which spoofs former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his movie persona. Early this year, Lambesis posted a request for donations on the "crowdfunding" site http://www.indiegogo.com so Austrian Death Machine could produce its third album. The post indicates that his project needed $63,000 by late April, and had raised $78,170 as of Wednesday. Lambesis offered T-shirts with a cartoon image of Schwarzenegger and private exercise sessions for donors. He also promised to tattoo a donor's name on his buttocks for a donation of $5,000 or more. As I Lay Dying's "Awakened" album was said to take the band down a darker thematic path than earlier releases. "I wasn't purposefully trying to be negative, but I think sometimes we have to be honest with some of the darker and more difficult times of our lives to get back to that positivity," Lambesis said in a record label news release. While the lyrics do perhaps seem like a dark window into my soul, they're written that way specifically because I want to move on and transcend those difficult moments in life. Times staff writer Todd Martens contributed to this report.