Image caption Lambesis has released six albums with his heavy metal band As I Lay Dying

The singer of Grammy-nominated US heavy metal band As I Lay Dying has been arrested on suspicion of plotting the murder of his estranged wife.

Police in California said Tim Lambesis, 32, had tried to hire an undercover detective to kill his wife Meggan.

"The information came to us late last week. We acted quickly on it. I believe that we averted a great tragedy," said a police spokesperson.

Lambesis was arrested "without incident" in San Diego on 7 May.

The singer's wife filed for dissolution of marriage last September, according to San Diego Superior Court documents.

The couple adopted three children from Ethiopia together in recent years before separating.

As I Lay Dying, who formed in San Diego in 2000, have sold more than a million albums through the Metal Blade record label.

Their 2007 album An Ocean Between Us reached number eight in the US album chart and featured the Grammy-nominated track Nothing Left.

Last year, the band - who take their name from a 1930 novel by William Faulkner - released their sixth album, Awakened.

According to the band's website, they are scheduled to tour the US with several other metal acts later this month.