Lamb of God
February 1, 2005
Interviewed by Josh Eure
Lamb of God, the powerful metal quintet from Richmond, VA has taken the rock world by storm with their latest release on Epic Records, Ashes of the Wake. Vocalist D. Randall (Randy) Blythe, bass player John Campbell, drummer Chris Adler and guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler have been leading the contemporary assault on timid metal for the past decade and are continuing to gain steam. Having toured on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball Tour and Ozzfest, Lamb of God have been propelled into the mainstream they loathe and are actively working to reshape it. Abandoning the traditional approach to songwriting, they have allowed their tracks to evolve in a more technical and complex way that lends further credibility to their sound. Recently, front-man Randy Blythe sat down with The Technician for an interview about their sophisticated sound and other related topics.
Technician: How’s it going’ Randy?
Blythe: Good man.
Technician: Thanks for the interview. Why don’t we just go ahead and get started?
Blythe: Sounds good.
Technician: For those who aren’t familiar with the history of Lamb of God, the band name was changed from Burn the Priest in ’99. Can you tell us what the significance of that choice was?
Blythe: There is none. It’s just a name. Our old band name sounded too much like a cliché metal name, you know? Lamb of God sounded good.
Technician: What genre would you classify yourself in? Balls-ass metal or a prog/traditional rock mesh?
Blythe: Umm…metal I guess. But there are more progressive elements in our sound. Math-ie you know? But basically, balls-ass metal would be a good description, although we try not to categorize ourselves.
Technician: Of course not. Who would? So you’re from Richmond , VA.
Blythe: Yeah, definitely. Although we never really played much there in the past; even as Burn the Priest. But we make sure to play a couple of shows a year there.
Technician: Right on. Well, speaking of Burn the Priest, you released a self-titled full length album under that alias in ’98 on Legion Records. Rumor has it that your new label, Epic is re-releasing that album. Is this true?
Blythe: Yeah. Burn the Priest was a generic name, but it was a good record. And there’s been a lot of demand for it, so Epic is re-mastering all the tracks and releasing it again.
Technician: That’s awesome. Epic’s also got you on tour with Slipknot this spring, right?
Blythe: Yes indeed.
Technician: You’ve toured with some major metal bands. One of your first tours was with another Richmond
Blythe: We had no problem at all. We were expecting some difficulty, but because we came out, pounded through 3 to 4 songs, took a little breather, then blasted through the rest of the set, the mother fuckers never had a chance to stop us with “GWAR!” chants.
Technician: Nice. Very nice. While we’re on other bands; you knew Dimebag right?
Blythe: Yeah.
Technician: The metal community worldwide has obviously been mourning his death. I know I wept. How did that affect you guys?
Blythe: It sucked. The last time I saw Dimebag, I drank heavily with him. Actually it was when we were on tour with Shadowsfall. He was the coolest dude ever. We walked up and he started mixing us drinks. He was great. That gunman is fucking disturbed. Everyone tried to make it out to be about the Pantera break-up, but that shit had nothing to do with the music. The guy was just fucked. I’m glad he’s dead, personally.
Technician: Yeah, definitely. So what’s the deal with Phil?
Blythe: Well, we’re really good friends with Superjoint Ritual as well and I think he’s just lying low. He’s obviously really tore up about it, but he’s just lying low right now.
Technician: Ok, let’s change the subject a tad. Your new release on Epic, Ashes of the Wake; was their a shift in your sound, lyrically or instrumentally, from your 2003 release As the Palaces Burn?
Blythe: Each album is different. There wasn’t so much of a shift as a progression. The production on Ashes of the Wake has a lot more low-end and it’s thicker. But lyrically, it’s a sequel to As the Palaces Burn. As the Palaces Burn was about what was coming on the political horizon; Ashes of the Wake is about the repercussions.
Technician: Right. It’s widely known that Lamb of God is politically charged. What’s your opinion on the Iraqi elections? Do you see them as a success for the Bush administration or inconsequential in the broader scope?
Blythe: I don’t know. Anything that happens in that region right now, Bush is going to make out to be a personal success. They want to keep the war machine rolling, which eventually results in big money for them. If Bush had been in office during the Vietnam War, he would have labeled that a success as well. It sucks, but because the youth vote didn’t turn out, we have to deal with four more years of that chimpanzee in the Oval Office.
Technician: Alright then. So not a Bush fan. How about another topic change? You mentioned the production on your latest disc being better. Why is that?
Blythe: Well, we switched producers. We got a guy named Machine on this album.
Technician: Devon Townsend was the producer on As the Palaces Burn, right?
Blythe: Yeah.
Technician: Any bad blood?
Blythe: Not at all. We love Devon .
Technician: Yeah. Strapping Young Lad rocks my very intense, Wal-Mart brand socks off. So let’s talk about the trendy rock-based shift towards the Seattle
Blythe: I don’t pay attention to popular music. Some of my friends do, but I try not to pollute my ears with that shit. I will say though, I fucking hate Modest Mouse!
Technician: Really? Modest Mouse? That’s an odd choice.
Blythe: God, listening to them is like emptying a jar of diarrhea into my ear.
Technician: Tell me about it. I did that last night with some folks and…alright, well I need to ask you about some lyrics. Your song Laid to Rest seems to be directed at someone, but the target is elusive. Who’s it about?
Blythe: Mark actually wrote that one. He was fighting with a girlfriend at a hotel one night and he wrote it in his room. It’s actually our love song; our “Love Ballad”.
Technician: Wow…that’s precious. I especially love the part, “I'll turn the screws of vengeance and bury you with honesty. I'll make all your dreams come to life, then slay them as quickly as they came.” That’s love, no? All right, man. Is there anything else you want to tell our readers?
Blythe: Yeah. Come to the show at Ziggy’s in Winston Salem Mar. 17 and bring us some Carolina BBQ. But no fucking coleslaw.
Technician: No coleslaw indeed.
-Posted with permission from Laura Wilkinson, Editor-in-Chief of The Technician
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