LAMB OF GOD's RANDY BLYTHE Allegedly Assaulted In Ireland

LAMB OF GOD singer Randy Blythe was assaulted by a gang of five men before the band's concert in Dublin Monday night (November 9).

Explained Blythe in an Instagram post: "[Sunday] night around midnight I walked one block away from my hotel to take some long exposures. Right after I shot this very frame, I looked up and saw 5 or 6 teenage dudes (16- to 18-year-olds?) in hoodies and track pants spreading out around me. 'Well, crap, I guess it's on,' I thought. I started stepping quickly into the street away from the little cul-de-sac where I was (it was a bad spot to be trapped),trying to keep my eye on all of them at the same time. One kid drew up to my left getting close and BLAM — someone else hit me in the head from behind with something (I think they had a stick or whatever). I saw stars for a second, then I heard car horns and a cabbie was driving at these kids and I was standing in the street trying to shake it off, because that little fucker had rang my bell pretty good."

He continued: "Like all cowards and weaklings all over the world, they came at me in numbers and struck from behind. I never even had a chance to smash one of the little shits because the cabbie (thank you, whoever you are) scattered them while I was regaining my wits. So now my glasses are gone (but I have contacts),my new Surf City hat withthe BLACK FLAG bars is gone (but I brought another hat),my new e-cig is gone (but I have others),and I have a split open elbow and a bit of a headache (but it could have been much, much worse— I could have caught a knife)."

"I remain grateful. I'M FINE.

"I've been in some of the sketchiest neighborhoods on earth and escaped unharmed, but last night I got distracted and forgot my street smarts for a couple of minutes. That was very, VERY stupid of me, and I paid the price. So lesson learned here is STAY ALERT, y'all. And Dublin — I still love you, I'm NOT afraid to come here, it's a lovely city, BUT... please neuter and spay your feral children, because next time they might club someone whose head isn't as hard as mine and kill them. They didn't even try to rob me, they just wanted to hurt someone, anyone . It was nothing personal for them. This makes me very SAD for these children. So Dublin, sorry if tonight's show was a little rough- I did my best for y'all..."

During LAMB OF GOD's show in Dublin, Blythe dedicated the song "512" to his alleged attackers. He said: "This is for the five kids who jumped me. I hope you get your fucking heads kicked in."

The "512" title is a reference to Blythe's cell number in Prague, Czech Republic's Pankrác Prison, where he spent over a month in 2012 after being accused of shoving a local fan off the stage during LAMB OF GOD's May 2010 concert in the city. The man, who is said to have stormed the stage three times during the show, reportedly suffered a brain hemorrhage that resulted in his death nearly a month later. Blythe was eventually acquitted of all charges after a panel of Czech judges ruled that concert promoters — and not Blythe — were largely to blame for the fan's death.

The vocalist wrote the track about how his experience behind bars changed him. He told RollingStone.com: "You cannot have the same mentality as the normal guy living on the streets in prison. You undergo a radical mental and emotional shift when you go into prison."

He continued: "There are aspects of your personality that you could cultivate in prison that are beneficial to your survival that would be seen as psychosis or extreme paranoia. You have to be ready for violence at any time. Anyone who is 100 percent honest in prison will get taken advantage of, maybe by other prisoners, maybe by guards. For me, being in prison was a lot of figuring out what I could get away with, how I could work outside any set of rules in order to remain as comfortable as I could. You're cultivating your psyche in your deceit. In prison, everyone is listening all the time, and if they hear you say something that they can take, they might internalize it and be, like, 'This guy is talking to someone,' and he'll wind up dead."

According to the vocalist, he spent much of his time in a dark, basement dungeon so that the guards could monitor him for depression. "I couldn't even see the sun to tell what part of day it was," he said. "It was just steadily lessening levels of gloom."