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11 Things We Learned From Randy Blythe's Reddit AMA

Lamb Of God frontman Randy Blythe opens up about writing more books, getting sober and returning to the Czech Republic one day.

11 Things We Learned From Randy Blythe's Reddit AMA
Photo:
Travis Shinn

To celebrate the release of Lamb Of God's killer new self-titled album, frontman Randy Blythe took part in a Reddit AMA this week in which he answered some really insightful fan questions.

And as not only the vocalist and lyricist in a band, but also an author and photographer, Randy had a wide variety of questions thrown his way about all aspects of his life – from working on a potential follow-up to his debut memoir Dark Days, to his journey to sobriety.

Here, we pick out 11 of the coolest and most interesting facts we learned about Randy…

He's Up For Lamb Of God's New Album's Guest Stars To Appear With Them Live

"I can sing those parts, not exactly like them, but I can do it. I'm sure Chuck [Billy, Testament] and [Hatebreed frontman Jamey] Jasta will join us on stage eventually though. We're all family."

He Would Most Like To Tour With…

"WU-TANG CLAN"

Performing Live Has, Er, Ruined Parts Of His Body

"My knees are destroyed, dude. Totally fucked. I wrap them and wear knee braces."

He Hopes To Play In The Czech Republic Again One Day

"I would love to play in the Czech Republic again – I have nothing against the Czech people, and I was not mistreated there. Eventually I think we might play there again, but it will 100 per cent have to be with the cooperation of the family of the young man who died, and I would want to give the money from the show to a charity they choose. If we played there, it would be a huge news story, and I do not wish to cause the young man's family anymore pain – they did no wrong, and were not cruel to me at all, in fact they showed me great kindness. But they have suffered enough, so it is out of respect to them we have not returned. I hope the Czech fans understand."

He Left A Lot Of Things Out Of His First Book, Dark Days

"Plenty, but that would take all day. My contract called for 80 to 100k words. I turned in 241k words. Yikes."

And He Plans To Write Another One

"Trying to figure out next book now. Writing a book is a lot tougher than writing an album, but I think I am overthinking it. Thanks for the kick in the ass."

Mark Morton Is His Favourite Guitarist…

"Because he's my homie and I can call him [whenever] I need a riff."

He Is Inspired By History

"From a purely romantic viewpoint, I am fairly obsessed with 1920s Paris and the writers there. Hemingway is everything."

He Didn't Get "Preferential Treatment" While He Was In Prison

"Fuck no I got no preferential treatment. I was in population, dude. Shit was real. I only had one guard who fucked with me more because of who I was – he was a real dick."

He Hates The Sound Of LOG's Third Album, As The Palaces Burn

"The original mix and master of Palaces was dog shit. I fucking can't listen to it. It was a lack of time and $ for sure, which sometimes works (see [2000's New American Gospel]), but in the case of Palaces it was horrific."

He Understands The Struggle Of Getting Sober

"I would say the hardest part for me was coming to terms with the fact that I had lost my long-time best friend, alcohol. Alcohol was what I depended on to 'fix' my emotions. I had to learn that the fix was inside me all along, not a bottle. My advice is just to try and get through one day at a time- don't worry about the future, just worry about today. If you do that, soon you will find that a bunch of days have gone by. Keep it up! You can do it!"

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