LAMB OF GOD's RANDY BLYTHE: 'I Don't Get Nervous About Going On Stage At All'

LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe was a guest on a recent episode of "The Electric Theater With Clown" Internet show hosted by SLIPKNOT's M. Shawn "Clown" Crahan. You can now listen to the entire chat below.

When Crahan told Blythe that he doesn't suffer from stage fright and expressed his view that fear drives his performance, Randy said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "You're saying you're never nervous to go on stage. I'm not either, dude. I don't get shook at all. I can remember the last time… And I wasn't really scared; I was just taken aback. The first was the first time we played the main stage at [United Kingdom's] Download [festival], which was I don't even know how many years ago. And I remember being in the car. And they took me around the racetrack to the stage and I came around and then I just saw that massive crowd. And I was, like, 'Woah.' And the driver was, like, 'Are you all right?' And I was, like, 'Yeah, man. That's a lot of people.' And he was, like, 'Yeah. Yeah, it is.' And then I was cool. And it had been years before that that I had been even slightly nervous about going on stage.

"I don't get nervous about going on stage at all," he continued. "But you're talking about that fear, that driving fear… I think that's really insightful. And it takes me back to why we started doing this in the first place — being willing to get on stage and take this thing that we've created and present it to other people. And there is that sort of — I don't know — almost adrenaline junkie aspect to it. Particularly in the beginning, when you're just starting, you're, like, 'Okay, here we go. This is some shit we've worked on. And now it's time to put it out there. This is where the rubber meets the road.' And it's exhilarating when you do it — utterly exhilarating. And I think that aspect of fear, beyond my love for just creating art in general, I think that's super insightful. And I think that is one reason why I enjoy doing other things, because there is that aspect."

Last September, during an appearance on a recent episode of "Stoke The Fire", the alternative lifestyle and culture podcast hosted by musician Jesse Leach (KILLSWITCH ENGAGE) and DJ/presenter Matt Stocks ("Life In The Stocks"),Blythe spoke about what he believes makes a good frontman. "There are guys in their closet with their YouTube rig or in their garage who can outsing either fucking one of us," Randy said, addressing Leach. "There is no doubt about it, man. They have more talent, natural talent, in their little pinky than either of us. But the difference is… I think one of the main requirements to be a frontman, a good frontman — actually, the only requirement, probably; I mean, you've gotta have some talent — is a willingness to get up in front of people and make an idiot out of yourself and be really bad for a while until you become good. And so these people with all this natural talent, it doesn't fucking matter unless you can get in front of people and do it, and you have to do it with a group of people; you have to feel that bond; you have to deliver."

More than three years ago, LAMB OF GOD guitarist Mark Morton praised Blythe's abilities while discussing the band's appearance at the 2019 Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival in Columbus, Ohio. He said: "That particular Sonic Temple Festival, it was in a stadium, and Randy Blythe, who I think is the best frontman in heavy metal, made that stadium into a theater that day. I remember telling him when we walked off stage, 'Randy, you're the best in the world.' Because he took tens of dozens of thousands of people who were there, and he shrunk that whole stadium into the size of a 2,500-seat theater. That's why he's the best in the world at what he does. I will give him love all day long. He's one of my best friends and I think he's the best frontman in heavy metal. Sometimes when you have a star like that and they're 100 percent on point and the audience is willing, you can actually make that connection even in a monster arena like that."

LAMB OF GOD will head out on a full U.S. tour with PANTERA this summer, including a few stops at major festivals like Blue Ridge. Throughout August and early September, LAMB OF GOD will play eight headlining shows with a rotating cast of openers, including ICE NINE KILLS, SUICIDE SILENCE, THE ACACIA STRAIN, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER and FROZEN SOUL.

LAMB OF GOD's latest album, "Omens", was released in October 2022. The LP is the follow-up to LAMB OF GOD's self-titled album, which arrived in June 2020. That effort marked LAMB OF GOD's first recordings with drummer Art Cruz, who joined the band in July 2019 as the replacement for Chris Adler.