LAMB OF GOD Singer Says His Relationship With His Bandmates Was Unaffected By Czech Republic Ordeal

LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe has told Ghost Cult that his relationship with his bandmates has remained pretty much the same since his ordeal in a Czech Republic prison and his subsequent acquittal after he was accused of causing a fan's death by pushing him off stage during a gig in Prague in 2010.

He said: "Nothing has changed. We've been a band since 1994 for 21 years. Supposedly it must be romantic to think all of these guys went through this and it brought them closer and it brought them so much closer. That's not the case. We're just a rock band. Things moved on as normal. Nothing like we're reinventing the wheel."

He continued: "Did it change the way we write the music? Did it change the way we recorded things? Did it change our relationship? I've known these guys for 21 years. They're the same dudes. It's that this happened and I went to prison for a little bit and we had to go through this. We're not a brand new band. We've been doing this for 21 years."

Blythe went on to say: "It was a terrible thing and personally it has brought sadness and for the members of my band. But that's it. It hasn't made us play guitar any different. It wasn't some sort of creative well to draw from for music. It hasn't changed. We still get on each other's nerves horrifically. How's that?

"It's being in a band this long. It's like a long marriage. It gets dysfunctional. I think it feeds what we do creatively. I'm still married to these same four dudes. It's not like I woke up and I look different and started playing guitar different. The incident was just tragic."

In 2010, a 19-year-old super-fan rushed the stage during a LAMB OF GOD concert in Prague, Czech Republic. To protect himself, Blythe pushed the fan away. Unbeknownst to Blythe, the young man hit his head on the floor when he fell and later died from the injury. More than two years later, Blythe was arrested at the airport in Prague and incarcerated on charges carrying a prison term of five to ten years. Thirty-seven days later, he was released on bail to await trial. Although legal experts told him not to return to the Czech Republic to face the charges, Blythe explained that he "could not run away from this problem while the grieving family of a dead young man searched hopelessly for answers that [he] might help provide.'"

The singer was freed without charge in August 2012 but had to post $400,000 bail, then left the country, vowing to return for the trial.

The parents of the alleged victim were demanding compensation of 10 million Czech Koruna (approximately $530,000).

After a five-day trial, Blythe was acquitted on March 5, 2013.

Blythe's memoir, "Dark Days: A Memoir", was released on July 14 via Da Capo Press.