LAMB OF GOD's RANDY BLYTHE: 'We Put Out Seven Records On A Major Label, Sounding Like Us, Without Delivering A Single Hit'

In a new interview with Turned Out A Punk, LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe reflected on how his band went from Metal Blade affiliate Prosthetic Records to its current major label home on Epic. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "Approaching us signing to a major label, I think I was probably the only one in the band that was truly nervous about it, because I come from the punk rock scene and major label is a dirty word. But I'm in a metal band. You also have to realize that we're not strictly a punk rock band; we're a metal band. But in looking at this, the way I figured it was gonna happen was that I viewed this as a SEX PISTOLS 'Great Rock 'N' Roll Swindle' situation. I'm, like, 'This shouldn't be happening. Our band is very aggressive. We aren't gonna provide any sort of radio hits or whatever. Why is a major label coming knocking? I know what's gonna happen. What will happen is, is they're gonna give us this money. We're gonna write this record. We're gonna give it to them and they're gonna drop us either before it comes out or shortly thereafter it comes out.' And I knew enough about the way the music industry worked to be, like, 'They're gonna drop us. They're going to break contract. So we're gonna get to keep money.' So it was, like, 'Let's take the money and run. Fuck it. It's never gonna work out. They're never gonna keep us around.'"

He continued: "We played a showcase at the Knitting Factory in New York right before we were about to sign. And the president of Epic Records [at the time] was a lovely woman named Polly Anthony. And she came out to this showcase. It was fucking hot as shit. I don't know if you've ever been in the Knitting Factory. It's a tiny club. It's brutal hot in there. We get done, and she's, like, 'That was so great,' this very put together, good-looking middle-aged woman. She's, like, 'Let's go out for celebratory drinks and something to eat to celebrate you guys.' And we're, like, 'Great. Free food' or whatever. So we go to this fancy fucking New York, fancy-schmancy bar or whatever, and we're sitting at this table and they're bringing out shots for us to do a shot. And she's, like, 'I'd just like to propose a toast.' I'm, like, 'Wait just one second. Okay, I have something to say real quick. Before we sign this…' And it was like the needle got picked up from the record, and my whole band just, like, looked at me. I remember it clear as day. I'm, like, 'Number one, we're never gonna write a radio song. Number two, you can't tell us what to write. Number three, you can't tell us who's gonna produce this. Number four, you can't try and change our artistic direction. We're okay already, so we don't really need you.' And this woman looked at me and my band looked at me, like, 'Holy fuck, dude. He's just destroyed everything for us.' She looked at me and she goes, 'Oh, my God. I am so sorry. Did I give you that impression?' I'm, like, 'Nope. Just letting it be known.' And then it worked. And we just fulfilled a seven-album contract with them. It's crazy. We put out seven records on a major label, sounding like us, without delivering a single hit. I'm still not sure how it worked. But they've never told us what to do, they've never told us who to produce us, they've never tried to direct us anyway, because what we have, it doesn't need fixing. It works on its own. I guess they're smart enough to realize that."

Blythe is currently promoting his new book, "Just Beyond The Light: Making Peace With The Wars Inside Our Head", which is due on February 18, 2025 via Grand Central Publishing (GCP).

"Just Beyond The Light" was previously described by Blythe as a "tight, concise roadmap of how I have attempted to maintain what I believe to be a proper perspective in life, even during difficult times."

Last month, Blythe announced more spoken-word and question-and-answer events to promote "Just Beyond The Light". The special "evening with" event includes a spoken-word performance, an audience question-and-answer session, a copy of "Just Beyond The Light" and an opportunity to have the book signed.

In a recent interview with Radioactive MikeZ, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM program "Wired In The Empire", Blythe was asked if "Just Beyond The Light" picks up where his debut book, "Dark Days", which focused on his ordeal in a Czech Republic prison and his subsequent acquittal, left off or if it's a completely different book. Randy said: "It's a completely different book. It's a collection of — I wouldn't call 'em essays, but different chapters about, basically different people and experiences who have [changed] my perspective for the better.

"As I get older, I try not to make the same stupid mistakes again and again and again and again," he explained. "And surprise, surprise, if you look at people who — you look at them and you think, 'Man, this person has their life together,' or, 'They've acted in a manner that I find admirable,' if you pay attention to them and follow their example, you don't do stupid things yourself. I'm not saying that I don't still do stupid things, but I'm trying fully in my old age to learn from others more."

In 2012, Blythe was arrested in the Czech Republic and charged with manslaughter for allegedly pushing a 19-year-old fan offstage at a show two year prior and causing injuries that led to the fan's death. Blythe spent 37 days in a Prague prison before ultimately being found not guilty in 2013.

Blythe's prison experience inspired two songs on LAMB OF GOD's 2015 album "VII: Sturm Und Drang": "512", one of his three prison cell numbers, and "Still Echoes", written while he was in Pankrac Prison, a dilapidated facility built in the 1880s that had been used for executions by the Nazis during World War II. It also led him to write the aforementioned "Dark Days", in which he shared his whole side of the story publicly for the first time.