As Lamb Of God hits the road for the first time since LOG’s vocalist Randy Blythe was acquitted for manslaughter at a show in Prague back in 2010, Randy posted a blog titled “Be Carefully” which talks about what he felt during his trial and how to be careful at metal shows. Here is some of what Randy had to say:
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.”
If you want to read the whole thing, click HERE
I hope that Lamb Of God and the rest of the bands have one hell of a tour and I hope that everyone stays safe and everyone has the time of their life.
METAL on my friends m/m/
