Lamb of God Frontman Randy Blythe Calls for Caution in New Essay
The past year of Randy Blythe's life has been a roller-coaster ride of emotion. After being jailed in the Czech Republic on accusations of manslaughter stemming from a 2010 concert incident, the Lamb of God singer was found not guilty on all charges in March of this year.
Now, as Lamb of God are set to kick off a North American tour tomorrow (May 15), Blythe reflects on the events of the past year and remembers the 19-year-old fan who died from a fall at that 2010 concert. He also asks fans to be cautious when they attend metal shows. Below is a portion of Blythe's essay, with a link to the entire piece below:
"When I was a little boy, just learning to talk and still figuring out the intricacies of the English language, I would caution others to 'be carefully.' Little kids say the funniest things, and they say these things with the sincerity and urgency of those whose possess an extremely limited vocabulary. I don't remember ever saying 'be carefully,' but my 92-year-old grandmother loves to tell me about it. 'I would be getting in the car to go to the grocery store, and you would look at me and say, 'Be carefully, Grandma!' You were such a funny child.' she laughs.
I love my Grandma. She was the first person I saw at the airport when I was released from prison, in the front of a crowd, up past midnight and her bedtime, a tiny 92-year-old country woman standing on her own two feet, waiting to see one of her family walking free in his home country. I hugged her, told her I loved her, and scolded her for being up so late. And I go see her now as often as I can. I get to hug her, kiss her cheek, tell her I love her, smell her hair, and listen to her wisdom. It fills me with a happiness I cannot describe when I look at her hands, the hands that cooked me so many meals for as long as I can remember. She is beautiful to me. I am lucky she is in my life, and she is so happy I am in hers, not in a prison in a foreign land. We get to be together, as family is supposed to be, and my life is full.
I am a very lucky man.
If you are reading this, more than likely you were directed here by a link on some heavy metal news site. That means that more than likely you know who I am, what I do for a living, and why I went to prison and then to trial for manslaughter in the Czech Republic earlier this year and last. This also probably means that you are part of my extended music family, and in all likelihood have seen either my band or at least one other band of the metal/punk/hardcore/hard rock genre perform in concert before. You have witnessed the kind of activity that occurs at these shows, and maybe even have participated yourself at some point. Moshing, slam dancing, crowd surfing, and stage diving - these things are a unique part of our scene; the ways some of us express ourselves, shed our cares for an hour or two, and enjoy this music that makes us feel so alive. I grew up in the punk/hardcore scene doing all of the above mentioned things, and I have the lumps, aches, and scars to prove it. I am just like you, just probably a little older and uglier.
When I returned to Prague for trial, answering the charge of killing a young man named Daniel Nosek who was a fan of my band, one of the biggest hurdles I and my legal team faced was attempting to explain the atmosphere of a heavy metal show, trying to get across to three Czech judges how smashing into other people and flying through the air over a crowd in the hopes of being caught was a normal thing. From the perspective of folks who are not a part of our scene, these seem to be the actions of insane people.
Why would anyone do such a thing? You could be severely injured."
Read the remainder of Blythe's letter at his Tumblr page.