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randy blythe

LAMB OF GOD’s CHRIS ADLER: ‘We’re All Very Proud’ Of RANDY BLYTHE

Manos Spanos
Bryan Reesman of GRAMMY.com recently conducted an interview with drummer Chris Adler of Richmond, Virginia metallers LAMB OF GOD. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. GRAMMY.com: You officially stopped doing the "wall of death" at concerts about 10 years ago after you saw a couple of fans backstage who had been injured during the frenzied moshing. But it's still going on at shows, even if [LAMB OF GOD singer] Randy Blythe isn't encouraging it. Have you gotten to the point where you need to tell fans that they could hurt people? Adler: It's hard because this is where we came from and [what we] grew up doing. We realize it's very much a part of the show, but there is obviously some shared responsibility that we take as providing the soundtrack to whatever it is that's going on. Nowadays, it does change up a little bit. Randy does say, "I'm not going to preach to you, but we're all here for the same reasons." If you see somebody fall down or see somebody doing something unsafe, help each other out. Let's all get through this and have a good time together. It's very different than [turning] around and [punching] the guy next to you. At the same time, we're not going to tell people to go get some chocolate milk and sit down. GRAMMY.com: After the incident in Prague, what was it like being in that kind of twilight zone when you thought your career was almost done? Adler: I think we all have that idea in the back of our mind all the time, whether somebody quits or our audience is done with us or we've lost our relevance or whatever. Nothing lasts forever, and we're lucky we've gotten this far. It wasn't the first time we thought about it, but it was certainly the first time it was in our face. There was no way we were going to continue the band if Randy had gone to jail. It was very daunting to think that we were going to fill out applications at Barnes & Noble or set up some kind of LAMB OF GOD smoothie shop. We didn't know what we were going to do, but I think everybody was fine-tuning their B-plan a little bit during that time. It was very scary. GRAMMY.com: This court case has had a strong financial impact on the band. What does that mean moving forward for LAMB OF GOD? Adler: We've been very smart with our business model in that as we make money on tour, which is basically the only way we make money, we don't necessarily divvy it all up. We put some in savings for a rainy day, and this was a very fucking rainy day. It did pretty much wipe out that fund. No one had to sell their house or anything like that, but we also had to borrow from the next record fund to get through this. GRAMMY.com: How has Randy Blythe been doing? Adler: He's doing great. He's been sober now for over three years, and thank God he was sober when this situation happened. He's really pulled himself together. He's a remarkable guy, and we're all very proud of him going over and handling it the way he did, but at the same time this was not the film we wanted to make. This was a total fucking nightmare. … The guy spent a lot of time in jail and was on trial where he easily could've been sentenced to 10 years. The bottom line is that a fan of our band died, and it's hard to say whose fault that was, but it's still a very tragic situation and this nightmare that none of us can really wake up from. Randy obviously being the guy on trial for it, it's his nightmare every day. Read the entire interview
04 min read

LAMB OF GOD’s RANDY BLYTHE Won’t Be Thinking About Playing Heavy Metal ‘For A Good Long While’

Manos Spanos
Richmond, Virginia metallers LAMB OF GOD are planning to take a long break from the road following the completion of the touring activities in support of the band's 2012 album, "Resolution". In a post on his official Instagram account, LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe writes: "And so another album cycle comes to an end. "This has been a very eventful, at times VERY STRESSFUL, album cycle, and it's been about three years since we started on this one in our practice space. "I need a break. "Tomorrow is a 19-hour flight back to the USA, and then another one home to [Richmond], and except for two festival shows in 2014, I will not be thinking about LAMB OF GOD, touring, playing heavy metal, writing new LAMB OF GOD material — NONE OF THAT STUFF AT ALL — for a good long while. "[It's] time to do other things for a bit, and let my brain regroup, and be a somewhat normal human being. "This has been a pretty wild ride, though, and to end it in Africa of all places still amazes the crap outta me. "So thanks, Johannesburg, for an awesome end to the 'Resolution' tour cycle." LAMB OF GOD entered into a worldwide distribution deal with Specticast (LED ZEPPELIN's "Celebration Day", Paul McCartney's "Rock Show") for their Don Argott-directed ("Last Days Here", "Art Of The Steal", "School Of Rock") feature film "As The Palaces Burn". Filming for the movie began in 2012 and concluded in March of 2013. "As The Palaces Burn", which should not be confused with the making-of documentary packaged with the recent re-release of the 2003 LAMB OF GOD album of the same name, was conceived to be a documentary focused on the power of music and its impact on cultures around the world and its ability to bring together people of all nationalities regardless of religious or political differences. After a worldwide casting call, filming took place in Colombia, Venezuela, Israel, India, and the United States. As filming reached its conclusion, the documentary was forced to take a major turn when the band's lead singer, Randy Blythe, was arrested in the Czech Republic and charged with the murder of a fan in June 2012. Granted unique access to Blythe's saga, Argott's filming covered Blythe's 38-day imprisonment in Prague, his release and the band's return to live performances, and finally Blythe's trial for murder in Prague in February 2013.
02 min read

LAMB OF GOD’s RANDY BLYTHE Pays Tribute To NELSON MANDELA

Manos Spanos
LAMB OF GOD singer Randy Blythe was one of many musicians who have taken to social media to pay their respects to Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president and a groundbreaking civil rights activist. Mandela died on Thursday (December 5) at age 95. One of the foremost civil rights leaders in his battle against apartheid, he had spent 27 years imprisoned for treason and his work and eventual release captured the hearts of the rock world — especially those of U2, Paul Simon, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen and Steve Van Zandt — all of whom went to great lengths to raise awareness of Mandela's imprisonment and the plight of black South Africans living under apartheid. Writing on his Instagram account, Randy said: "[On Thursday] Nelson Mandela died, and many people will take to social media to say 'RIP Mandela' and post a picture of the great man, free and smiling after 27 years in prison for allegedly conspiring to commit sabotage and conspiracy against the South African apartheid government in 1962. "He was one of the finest humans of our time. "I grew up hearing of this man imprisoned in South Africa, and I, like millions worldwide, was overjoyed when he finally was released in 1990. He came out of prison and within four years was South Africa's first black president, having spearheaded the political movement that peacefully ended the racist apartheid government. He did great things for his people after he was free, there is no doubt. But this picture is a far more telling testament to what kind of man Mandela was than any modern photo. Here he is defiantly raising his fists with other men on the way to prison — he had JUST been given a life sentence. "Mandela knew what would happen with his trial, and instead of focusing all his energy on keeping himself free, he disrupted the trial by wearing traditional garb, refused to call any witnesses to his defense and turned the trial into an arena for political speech to show the world what was happening in South Africa. He sacrificed his own freedom so that his people could one day be equals in their own native country, because he knew something had to change, and if he had to go to prison for LIFE to speed that change, so be it. He was a living example of DOING THE RIGHT THING, NO MATTER WHAT THE COST. THAT is a REAL MAN. In fact, one of his most famous quotes about prison was this: 'If I had my time over, I would do the same again. So would any man who dares call himself a man.' "So rest in peace, Nelson Mandela. I can only hope others will take a page from your book. Your 27 years of hard time are a blessing to us all."
02 min read

RANDY BLYTHE’s Book Gets Title, Tentative Release Date

Manos Spanos
According to Amazon.com, Da Capo Press has set a June 24, 2014 North American release date for LAMB OF GOD vocalist Randy Blythe's memoir, "Dark Days: My Tribulation And Trials". Random House has purchased the foreign rights to the book and will act as publisher in the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The memoir, which puts emphasis on the past year of Randy's life, is an incredible, harrowing, heartbreaking, and redemptive story told in Blythe's already well-recognized writing style. It seems that almost every major media outlet has attempted to righteously cover the story of Blythe's arrest, incarceration, trial, and acquittal for manslaughter in the Czech Republic last year, but now, the man at the center of it all unveils the truths of the ordeal, personally detailing every aspect in his own words. No ghost writers, no co-authors, just Randy Blythe himself. The rights to Blythe's book were sold to Da Capo executive editor Ben Schafer by Marc Gerald at The Agency Group. "While I've dreamed of being a published author almost since I began to read, I never imagined my first book would center around such a sad topic," says Blythe. "Sometimes though, life unexpectedly provides you a story that needs to be told. I believe this one does (for several different reasons, not just for the benefit of myself), so I will tell it with the respect and dignity all involved deserve. This will be a good read, I promise you, and I hope some good comes of it." Added Schafer: "I knew that Randy was a master vocalist and lyricist but it turns out he is a vivid and visceral prose writer as well. "Regarding his arrest and trial in the Czech Republic, Randy handled a frightening and heartbreaking situation with courage, grace, and humility, and we at Da Capo Press are honored to have the opportunity to have a part in telling his story." Da Capo Press, a member of American publishing company the Perseus Books Group, is an excellent home for Blythe's memoir, having already published several other books by heavy metal greats like Tony Iommi (BLACK SABBATH), Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT, STONE SOUR), Rex Brown (PANTERA, DOWN, KILL DEVIL HILL) and Al Jourgensen (MINISTRY). Prague, Czech Republic's High Court upheld Blythe's "not guilty" verdict on June 5 in connection with the death of a fan three years ago. The court's decision is final. A three-judge panel on March 5 acquitted Blythe of manslaughter in the death of 19-year-old Daniel Nosek. Blythe was facing the possibility of conviction and a long-term jail sentence after a May 2010 incident in which Nosek, who attended a LAMB OF GOD performance in Prague, died almost a month later, allegedly from injuries sustained when he was thrown off the stage. Though Blythe faced up to 10 years in prison, during the closing argument, prosecutors only asked the judge for the minimum sentence of five years.
03 min read

LAMB OF GOD Frontman Releases ‘Prague: The Devil Is The Details’ Short Film

Manos Spanos
Vocalist Randy Blythe of Richmond, Virginia metallers LAMB OF GOD has uploaded a short film called "Prague: The Devil Is The Details", which he shot earlier this year while he was on trial for manslaughter in the Czech Republic in connection with the death of a fan more than three years ago. In a posting on his Randonesia blog, Blythe stated about the film: "This is a movie I made in Prague during my trial. I filmed the footage with a Canon EOS 60D, edited it with Final Cut Pro X, and wrote the music using Reason. "I wanted to release a slightly different version of the film right before my judgement was rendered by the court (the very last shot in this version was not there until after I was pronounced innocent). My idea was to show my mind set through film and music during the process of my trial, and have a more ambiguous ending heading into my final day in court.
03 min read

ZAKK WYLDE On RANDY BLYTHE, ‘Unblackened’ And Next BLACK LABEL SOCIETY Album

Manos Spanos
Anthony Morgan of Metal Forces recently conducted an interview withBLACK LABEL SOCIETY frontman and ex-OZZY OSBOURNE guitaristZakk Wylde. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. On the paperback release of his book, "Bringing Metal To The Children": Zakk: "The book all started from me and Eric [Hendrikx, co-author] just sitting around, talking, like any of the guys. It'd be like me and you sitting at the bar, talking about 'You're not gonna believe what happened the other day,' and this and that. It's the music business, where there are no rules [laughs]. There's no qualifications; you don't have to have a Master's degree. You just show up and you're there, but that's where you get the cast of characters, and that's where you get all of the comedy man. Like I always say, it's unimportant people making important decisions. They have no business doing what they're doing, but that's how it gets run. Anywhere else, if you wanna apply for a job welding or being a brain surgeon or any of that, you have to have a degree and you have to have a license, and everything like that [laughs]. Not in the music business, though. But yeah, it just came out of funny stories and us just laughing our balls off, talking about how ridiculously goofy the music business is. That's how the book came about, me saying 'You've gotta write a book about all this crap someday.'"
04 min read

LAMB OF GOD Drummer Says RANDY BLYTHE’s Legal Ordeal ‘Bankrupted The Entire Band’

Manos Spanos
Rashod Ollison of The Virginian-Pilot recently conducted an interview with drummer Chris Adler of Richmond, Virginia-based metallers LAMB OF GOD. A few excerpts from the chat follow below. On LAMB OF GOD singer Randy Blythe's arrest in the Czech Republic in June 2012 on manslaughter charges and the subsequent legal ordeal, which took more than eight months to play out: Adler: "Not only were we not able to generate any income, but we ended up having to pay more than half a million dollars in legal fees. It bankrupted the entire band; [there was] no money left for any kind of payroll or anything. When Randy was acquitted [in March of this year], everything was on the line at that point. Either it was completely over, or we had a chance to get back out there and pay these bills and get ourselves back on our feet." On what he did during LAMB OF GOD's hiatus from touring, including playing drums on an album by the metal band PROTEST THE HERO:
02 min read