Interview with Randy of Lamb of God
HOB - Las Vegas - October 31, 2004
Phil: How you doing? we're sitting here live backstage with Lamb of God, Halloween night in Las Vegas. I like to thank you for taking the time out here with closedcoffin.com. That's great. We're sitting here with Randy Blythe. Right?
Randy: Yep.
Phil: So, I heard you went skydiving today, how'd that go?
Randy: Fucking incredible! Yea, we jumped out of a plane at like 13,000 feet and just kicked it for awhile, you know.
Phil: Skipped all the gambling and went straight to the skydiving
Randy: Yea, I always lose. I do the smart thing and jump out of planes instead of lose all my money.
Phil: So you guys have been together for ten years. How has that been going along? Has there been any member changes or has it been the same line up?
Randy: There was on member change. A guy, well actually there were a couple of guys in the very beginning, before it got very serious. We used to be Burn the Priest and we switched over guitar players, right before we became Lamb of God. And that would be Willie, Chris's brother coming in and playing guitar. Yea, that would be right around 10 years, right now. That's why we went skydiving today, for our anniversary so it was pretty brutal.
Phil: Anybody scared?
Randy: Everyone was fucking scared! I mean, I guess I would say I was more nervous than scared. But I was just so stoked! I Like shit like that.
Phil: Cool. So you got the new CD, Ashes of the Wake. It was recorded in 5 months? can you tell us how the recording process went and how you got it done so fast? Were you pressured by the label or....
Randy: No, no we wrote it in about 5 to 6 months and recorded it in 2 months.
Phil: Oh, okay.
Randy: We got off the Headbanger's Ball Tour and we had signed with Epic. They wanted a recorded by May so that we could do Ozzfest. Luckily with Sony, a larger label, we were able to quit our day jobs and just pay our rent. I mean we aren't rich or anything, but we're able to pay our rent. So we practiced 5 to 6 days a week, 8 to 10 hours a day. Just like any job, and we got it done, and you know it was all good.
Phil: So you had 7 weeks recording at Water Music? Is that where you guys did the recording?
Randy: No, we did a few weeks at Water in New Jersey. That was just the drums and Alex Skolnick's solo. Everything else was at Sound of Music in Richmond Virginia. So like the drums up there, 'cause the studio in Richmond was not available for the drums and the solo things. We did like 2 months of recording there.
Phil: So in addition to Alex Skolnick you had Chris Poland doing some added stuff...
Randy: Yes indeed!
Phil: Do we expect to see them anywhere on tour popping up for a guest appearance?
Randy: *laughs* I don't know about that! We haven't discussed that with them at all. I mean, dude if Skolnick or Poland showed up and were like, I want to rip one. We'd be like, yea killer!
Phil: Jump on there!
Randy: Yea, let's go!
Phil: Did you record all of your, like your recorded sessions at the studio and stuff and get some extra stuff that maybe didn't make it to the new CD?
Randy: There's one track that didn't make it to the new CD. That will probably be on some soundtrack or Japanese release. We had one in the pocket, it was hard for me to let it go, but we decided to let it go. Thought it didn't work as well, but it will be a bonus track somewhere. It'll erupt sooner or later.
Phil: You guys just finished up Ozzfest, how'd that go?
Randy: It was horrible! I hated it! No it was fucking unreal dude! I mean....
Phil: Just awesome? Well received and all that?
Randy: Oh yea, yea, yea! I mean you sit out, sit out in the sun all day long, drink beer and play for 30 minutes. That's kind of exhausting after awhile you know, but, it was a good time! It was a real good time! I think it did us some good.
Phil: You get a lot more fans from it?
Randy: Yea, yea definitely!
Phil: Obviously! So you guys have toured all over the world pretty much, haven't you?
Randy: Nah! We've done the United States, Canada, and England. We did two dates with Slayer in London , that was pretty insane! Oxford Leeds in Nottingham, in England. After this tour we're going back to the UK for 13 dates. A lot more English dates, a day in Wales I believe, a date in Scotland, and Glasgow and then we're going to come back home and then we're gonna go back out with Slipknot, I believe, for about 2 months at some larger venues. Then we'll probably hit Europe, Japan, Australia and all that shit.
Phil: The official World Tour of you guys?
Randy: I've given up on this whole year. As far as doing anything, personally, dude. It's all band shit this year, you know? When you got it goin' on you gotta work, that's how it goes.
Phil: That's it man! What was you most memorable Ozzfest moment? Anything that sticks out?
Randy: Shit! Probably one night when I was, 'cause I've never seen the original Black Sabbath. I was sitting there watching Black Sabbath on the balcony and on one side of me was James Hetfield and on the other side was Hank Williams III. And I'm just like, Holy crap dude, I'm watching Sabbath! That and the first night seeing Sabbath! It was like a religious thing, I'm a huge Sabbath fan, they started it all! Much respect to Ozzy! So yea, that was real intense!
Phil: What bands have you seen so far, that might be up and coming? That we should be looking out for?
Randy: Byzantine from West Virginia, they're on Prosthetic. Martyr AD from Minneapolis, they're on Victory! A Life Once Lost, they just signed to Ferret. Those are the bands I'd watch out for!
Phil: You guys were also on Prosthetic and then went over to Epic. how'd that come about?
Randy: Once out last record, Palaces reached about the 100,000 mark. Larger labels started taking note. And we got a lot of good press, we started getting tentative feeling outs by larger labels. Epic made us the best offer and they promised no to fuck with us creatively. That's very important to us, we ain't gonna write some radio shit. I mean if our stuff writes up on the radio, that's hilarious to me. 'Cause brutal would be on the radio. Epic made the best offer and there was a lot of negotiation, we're very cautious in any sort of business dealings we have. We came correct, and we wound up with them and we've been happy so far!
Phil: Are they pretty supportive on behalf of the band?
Randy: Yea, I mean they're a major label, dude. They don't exactly understand what we do. There's a lot of our management talking to them, and being like, look this is, I think this is how you guys need to approach it. Because they really don't know what to do with us. They are definitely like, you know, into it! So as long as like they don't fuck with us, and don't try to change anything...it will all be good. You don't fix something that's not broken. So far, they've taken that approach, and that's good. It's really good.
Phil: That's cool, sounds like it's going good!
Randy: Yep!
Phil: So what do we got, well you said you were going to be doing some tours and stuff coming up. Any new music DVD's coming up?
Randy: Yea, we're filming a DVD right now! We did 2 live shows in Philly, 2 days in a row. From those two shows we'll splice together live footage. The guy who filmed that at High Roller Studios, who did our last short DVD. He's been traveling with us for awhile, for a couple of weeks. Just getting some stupid on the road stuff. Even like today we got video of jumping out of planes and shit.
Phil: Very cool! So that will probably be on there a little bit?
Randy: Oh definitely! definitely! It's like that, that was intense! Dude, if you think you got some balls go jump out of an airplane. So it's like, you know, it's kinda just showing how retarded we are I guess.
Phil: So any surprises for the Halloween show here tonight here in Las Vegas?
Randy: You know! Unless my guys have something planned, I spent all day jumping out of airplanes! I have zero energy to dress up, I wanted to but, Halloweens my favorite fucking holiday, but....that's why it was perfect for me to go skydiving today, 'cause that is like the most nuts feeling in the world. It's just like it's crazy dude! You look down and you're like, holy shit, I'm like way up in the air and you're just like screaming the whole way down! Yea, it's like totally amazing! Halloween could end right now and I'd be satisfied! I'd be like it was great, best Halloween of my life!
Phil: Any final words for the viewers?
Randy: Yea, thanks for coming out to our shows, buying the records. Those of you that saw our first DVD, please stop fucking with Willie about shitting his pants. That was a long time ago, and he was cool enough to let us put that on the DVD. He didn't shit his pants when he jumped out of an airplane today, so he's got pretty good bowel control by now!
Phil: Alright! I'd like to thank you for taking this time out with closedcoffin.com, this interview will also be posted on darksoul7.com, a site up out of Seattle. Thanks very much and we'll see you later!
Randy: No problem!