LAMB OF GOD's RANDY BLYTHE: 'I Don't Use Spotify Or Apple Music Or Any Of That Stuff'

During an appearance on the latest episode of the Mark And Me podcast, LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe touched on his listening habits, revealing that he isn't a fan of streaming. "I don't stream now," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "I don't use Spotify or Apple Music or any of that stuff. Well, I still buy. I listen to music on my iPhone, but I buy the album, the digital album from the iTunes store, or what I really like is [the American online music distribution platform] Bandcamp. The band gets the money [from Bandcamp]. So if the albums are available on Bandcamp, and I just want it 'to go' — I also buy vinyl, but I can't carry a record player around with me on tour — I will buy from Bandcamp as much as possible and have that and then put it in my iTunes to listen. Even with that, you can listen, you can preview stuff, like a song or two. On Bandcamp, you can listen to the whole thing, but half the time I kind of have this sort of, I guess, longing for the mystery of the old days. So I don't even preview much stuff. I listen to, like, one song."

He continued: "If I hear a song and — let's say for instance, the other night, my girlfriend and I, for Valentine's Day, we went to the goth prom; there was a goth prom. I painted my fingernails black and everything, wore my vampire fangs. We got all gothed up. Some friends of ours threw it — this band DEAD COOL from North Carolina threw it — and so there's us and 300 goth people there. And in between bands, over the stereo, there was a DJ, and he was playing some dark wave stuff. So I Shazamed it [using the Shazam music recognition app]. I'm, like, 'What is this? And it was just one song that I really liked, like a dance track. And I went on iTunes and bought it right there at the club — boom! And my girlfriend is, like, 'You better hope the whole record's good. You could have just bought one song.' And I'm, like, 'Eh, screw it.' Yeah, it's a mystery. And it also doesn't hurt, though, to be perfectly honest, because I am a professional musician, that the albums I buy are a tax write-off for me, 'cause it's research. [Laughs] Me, I'm [also] a bestselling author. My books I buy — tax write-off. It's part of my business."

LAMB OF GOD's tenth studio album, "Into Oblivion", came out on March 13 via Epic in the U.S. and Century Media in Europe.

In the lead-up to the LP's release, the band appeared on the covers of Metal Hammer and Kerrang!, with critics praising the album's intensity and relevance. The Associated Press featured the album in their weekly highlights, calling it "10 tracks of ferocity," while Brooklyn Vegan noted that "the band spends these 10 songs reminding the world that their reign as New Wave Of American Heavy Metal giants is far from over," and SPIN said the band is "channeling America's unraveling into a ferocious new album."

The album is available now across multiple formats, including various vinyl variants, a collectible "Into Oblivion" CD with a limited-edition companion zine featuring album art sketches, handwritten lyrics and never-before-seen studio photos.

Produced and mixed by longtime studio collaborator Josh Wilbur, "Into Oblivion" was recorded across multiple locations tied closely to the band's identity. Drums were tracked in Richmond, Virginia, with guitars and bass recorded at guitarist Mark Morton's home studio. Blythe recorded his vocals at the legendary Total Access studio in Redondo Beach, California, the birthplace of seminal punk records by BLACK FLAG, HÜSKER DÜ and DESCENDENTS.

LAMB OF GOD recently launched a spring North American tour with support from KUBLAI KHAN TX, FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY and SANGUISUGABOGG.

Photo credit: Travis Shinn