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July 20, 2008 |
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Randy Blythe
October 26, 2004
By Tony Antunovich
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Fully-loaded and back for the attack, LAMB OF GOD are currently on tour in support of their stunning new metal masterpiece, "Ashes Of The Wake", an album that has sold almost 100,000 copies in the first six weeks of its release. Now halfway through the North American tour, the band rolled through Vancouver, B.C. to play a sold-out show with FEAR FACTORY, CHILDREN OF BODOM, and THROWDOWN. I had the opportunity to sit down with lead vocalist, Randy Blythe, before the show. During our 20 minute conversation, we talked about the tour, the band's new album, working with producer Machine, Chris Poland and Alex Skolnick, and much more. Enjoy!
First of all I have to tell you that it's really great to have you back in Vancouver. I missed you guys the last time you were here.
It was a good show, man. Hopefully some of our friends like Devin (Townsend) and them will come out tonight.
I know for a fact that the fans in Vancouver are really pumped for the show tonight. In your experience, Randy, do you notice a difference between the Canadian and American fans or are they both just as nuts?
We do really well in Canada, particularly in Toronto. They're super nuts there. It's pretty much the same, you know. It's just that you guys have money with hockey players on it, and we don't (laughs). It's pretty much the same. Canadian fans seem to like to drink, but then so do the American fans, so it's about the same. We're close together.
Do you feel that the fans are more into the band now with the release of the new album?
I think the new fans are - the ones that were exposed to us because we have larger distribution through a major label. They're new converts, as it were. But we've had fans stretching back to the late mid-'90s that have been pretty fanatical since we were BURN THE PRIEST, and they're just a hyped as ever. But yeah, the kids are excited. I think our old school fans are pretty excited for us that we are getting larger exposure, which is cool because it could have gone either way.
You guys are pretty much halfway through the North American leg of the tour now. How has the experience been so far?
This tour has been really good show-wise, but we've had a bunch of problems on the road this tour. We've shredded a couple of trailers, we've had to rent trucks - those keep breaking down, we had a little problem at the border today getting our light guy in. It's been plagued by technical difficulties, but overall, it's been a really, really, really good headlining tour for us.
Almost every band that's been through here that has had to cross the border has had problems getting across the border for some reason.
Yeah, well.... the Canadian border patrol is rather picky, put it that way. Extremely! Our light guy who couldn't come across today - we had to pay $200 bucks to get him in for like a 30-day permit, which luckily will extend to our Toronto show later in the tour as well. He was convicted of missing court years ago for "public cursing" / "intoxication". It's kind of funny, you know. It's like "Well, you can’t go to Canada and cuss, I guess." Yeah, they're pretty tough, but the shows make it worth it in the end.
Are you guys going to get some time off before you head over to the U.K.?
Two weeks almost exactly, which a lot of that will be taking care of getting our shit together to go to the U.K., particularly dealing with merchandise and what we're going to carry and this other crap. So, we're working pretty steadily until Christmas, basically.
What do you guys have planned after the U.K. tour?
We'll tour Europe later in the year - probably in the spring, I would think, but we're going to do a U.S. tour in late February. It's being set up right now. I won't say who with, but it's pretty big.
Any plans to come back to Vancouver at that time?
I don't know. I don't book the shows (laughs), you know. We always seem to wind up in Canada when we tour the States, so more than likely, yeah.
Let's talk about the new album. Personally, I think it kicks ass! I didn't think you could top "As The Palaces Burn", but it's just amazing. Can you explain some of the songs and the message that you were trying to relay when you were writing?
I'm not really particularly fond of the phrase "message" in reference to our music, you know what I mean, because we don't really have a "message". Personally, if anyone got anything out of our music, for me it would just be "to think for yourself; make your own decisions; don't believe everything that the media tells you." There's some obvious political discontent, which we get asked about all the time. We aren't a "political band" per say; we aren't a "political party" or anything. We don't have a sort of platform. I believe our drummer (Chris Adler) put it really well earlier in this tour - he's like "If you have a truck and you put a sticker on it for your political candidate, that's your vehicle and you're expressing yourself through your vehicle." Our band is our vehicle and we just express kind of what we feel. But we aren't telling anybody how to think or what to do. We're just expressing our feelings. So, I guess.... does that answer your question (laughs)?
Absolutely man! How was it working with Machine?
It was great. He.... (laughs quietly) I hope Devin is not creeping around. He's been my favorite producer to work with ever, particularly vocally because he is really, really, really into producing vocals. He gets completely hyped about it. And also, working with Steve Austin and Devin - both two incredibly talented guys, and great producers as well - they're a totally different situation. Machine is almost more of like a "rock" producer, you know what I mean?! It was very interesting. He's a very hands-on person. I keep on talking vocal production because I didn’t step in to the sessions when they were doing instruments most of the time - I might pop-in and say hello - because I have no business there. I don't know how to play guitar or drums or bass, so I would only get in the way, basically. I return, the guys in my band were kind enough this time to step aside and let me do my vocal sessions with Machine myself.
I think they're pleased with the results. So, speaking of the results he gets from you vocally, he's a very animated producer. He doesn't put you in an isolation booth - you do it in the control room with him and he gets completely excited, freaked out, throws stuff at you, screams at you - he just gets you really pumped up and he knows how to sing too. He knows how to stretch your range as it were. So yeah, it was a wonderful experience working with him. Whoever we choose as the producer of our next record - whether it be him or someone else - I will be certainly bucking to bring him back to produce my vocals at the very least.
Chris Poland and Alex Skolnick made guest appearance on "Ashes Of The Wake". How did that come about?
One of our guitar players on "Palaces" - we were talking about guest solos - and he was like "Well, I'm going to get this local guy from a band that we all liked." – and I think it was our drummer who said "Oh yeah? You're going to get him? I'm going to get Chris Poland." - just joking around, you know. That's what our guitar player thought. He called up our label at the time, they got in contact with him, and the next thing you know - Blam! - Chris Poland - they sent him some demos and he's like "Sure! I'll do it!" - and it came out really well. We talked to him about doing it again on "Ashes" and he said "Sure! No problem!" and they were like "Well, let's on up it and bring in Skolnick." I hope I'm relaying this truthfully. These are questions better asked for a guitar player because they're guitar dudes. But they wrote Skolnick and sent him some demos and neither of them are really doing metal anymore.
Skolnick is doing his jazz thing, you know. But they were stoked on our stuff and agreed to come and work on the project with us. I think they were happy to see a younger band kind of with an almost classic thrash sensibility in areas, which both of those guys kind of helped build that foundation. It was cool, you know. Skolnick came in to the studio in Jersey while we were recording and just got in this tiny little isolation room for about an hour and just ripped it up. There were like 8 dudes in there just sitting and watching like "Holy crap! It's Alex Skolnick!" It worked out well.
The band's popularity has risen immensely, especially ever since the release of "As The Palaces Burn". How does it feel to be one of the #1 metal bands from America?
Are we?
I'd say so.
(Laughs) I mean, it's cool. I don't know... we're just kind of like – at least me personally, and I think most of the other dudes - anything good that happens to us, it's kind of like.... surprising, I guess!? We never thought we'd be on a major label. We have no idea of what we're doing on a major label actually - no clue. What the fuck are they thinking? Why did they sign us (laughs)? I mean, it's cool and all, you know. It makes it easier to pay the bills. We aren't rich by any stretch of the imagination, but all of us have basically quit our daytime jobs for the first time in our adult/teenage lives. I pay my rent by screaming. That makes me feel good.
That's what it's all about.
Yeah.
The move to Sony should undoubtedly give the band much more of a push.
Sure, yeah. The tricky thing is a major label like that doesn't have the experience really - most of their people I think, except for the lower down intern people and stuff - with a genre of music as quote unquote "extreme" as ours. So, our management has had to work with them pretty closely on how they do marketing and so forth, because any sort of marketing campaign for us will certainly not be run the same as it would be for a Jennifer Lopez or an Avril Lavigne or whatever. But yeah, there's a lot of exposure. It's pretty cool. They get the name out.
Do you think metal will continue to make its comeback like it is?
Everything is cyclical in music. What we're doing right now will undoubtedly reach a certain peak that will level out and then something else will take over. It could be fucking "punk polka" next for all I know. That could be the next biggest trend. I don't really worry about metal rising up into a huge level of popularity or any genre. Metal was always around - it was just underground, and lately it seems to have come back. It'll reach an apex. Who knows how long it will last? When it's over, it's over - whatever. It's a fun ride!
How did it feel to be on stage with such legends as JUDAS PRIEST, SLAYER, BLACK SABBATH, and OZZY?
Being on tour with BLACK SABBATH was probably the coolest part of Ozzfest for me. I was sitting there watching BLACK SABBATH one night, and on my right was James Hetfield from METALLICA and on my left was fucking Hank Williams The 3rd and I'm like "Holy crap dude!" - and you're watching the original BLACK SABBATH and they're killin' it. That was really cool. But of course Ozzfest was cool.
Oh naturally. I just wondered how it felt for you personally.
It felt really drunk a lot of the time. Yeah, it was cool.
What are your plans for the future?
(Laughs) About the other guys in the band? I don't know. I don't know what they're going to do.
The band as a whole.
We're just going to keep writing music and touring until we get tired of it - until we're done with it. Then we'll stop and then I'll go live on a boat and go fishing all day long, and that's it!
I have to ask this. What's your prediction for next week's election?
(Pauses for a few seconds) I have a bad feeling that Bush is going to be re-elected. It's just a gut feeling, but I'm hoping that Kerry will be elected.
I agree with you. I'm hoping for ther same.
Yes. I hope Kerry will be elected. That's what I feel, but as I'm saying, it's a bad feeling. That's what I think.
Well, I've got to tell you that I'm really looking forward to the show tonight.
It will be a good time.
I'm looking forward to it.
Thank you.
Do you have anything that you would like to say to our readers?
Yeah. Thanks for buying the records, coming to the shows, and any of the kids that have seen our DVD - stop giving Willie (Adler) crap about shitting his pants. That happened a while ago. He's managed to control his bowels for a while. Thank you and goodnight Vancouver.
Thanks very much for taking the time to speak with us today.
Oh, no problem, man. No problem. [FIN]
» Official LAMB OF GOD Website
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