RANDY BLYTHE: 'With LAMB OF GOD, I Would Love To Do More Clean Vocals, But I Only Really Put Clean Vocals Where They Fit'

In a new interview with Jai Setright of Australia's Metal On Tap, LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe spoke about how he manages to remain one of metal's most physically dynamic performers more than three decades into the band's career. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm only good at one or two things, so I might as well just do what I'm good at. I'm [also] a pretty good writer and I'm a pretty good photographer — not the best in the world, but… I'm pretty good at being in LAMB OF GOD. [I'm] not the best musician in the world. I'm really good at being in LAMB OF GOD. I'm not gonna say I'm a really good musician, but I'm really good at being in LAMB OF GOD. And I'm a pretty good photographer and a pretty good writer, so… I enjoy those things."

After Setright commended Blythe for acknowledging that he is "pretty good", which "means you can always strive to be better," Blythe concurred. "[The second you think you're the best in the world], then you're shit," Randy said. "That's when your talent abandons you. When you become convinced of your own genius or whatever and that you can do no wrong, then you're not striving anymore.

"I was talking to someone about this the other day. It's, like, as an artist, whatever medium you're working in, in the moment of creation, you're struggling with yourself," Randy explained. "You're trying to understand yourself and your place within the world. And in that moment, you're also trying to move beyond your own talent level. So, every time we make a record, I'm trying to do something I didn't think I could do before — not reinventing the wheel. And every time I write, I'm trying to write above my talent level, rather than just sitting in a sort of medium, 'cause that's when you get lazy."

Blythe also talked about his use of clean vocals for the first time on the 2015 track "Overlord" from the album "VII: Sturm Und Drang", and his clean melodic singing on the 2016 track "The Duke". Asked if clean singing is something that he thinks he will do more of in the future, Randy said: "Well, with LAMB OF GOD, I would love to do more clean vocals, but I only really put clean vocals where they fit. Like on the new record [2026's 'Into Oblivion'], there's a song called 'El Vacío' that I kind of had the initial conceptualization for, and asked Mark [Morton, LAMB OF GOD guitarist] to write this thing, and gave him some ideas that I had. And he didn't follow my ideas exactly — that's part of being in a band — but he did come back with something pretty cool. It just seemed to fit clean vocals. And I wasn't trying to get him to write something that clean vocals would be good for either. He just happened to come back with something where, like, 'Oh, it fits.' So if it fits, I'll do it. If it doesn't fit, I won't. I'm under no illusions that LAMB OF GOD is, like, a crooner band for me to be Frank Sinatra behind or something. But every now and then, it's okay to widen the sonic spectrum."

Randy went on to say that he isn't concerned about the pushback from some of LAMB OF GOD fans who think that clean singing has no place in the band's music.

"Guess what? I don't fucking care," he said. "What does 'no, you can't do that' mean? Does that mean they're gonna come into the studio and be, like, 'No,' and unplug the microphone?"

After Jai said that "it means they're gonna comment on the YouTube video going, 'This is not my LAMB OF GOD'," Randy continued: "Which, guess what it means. Nothing. Nothing.

"That's the crazy thing in today's era, is, like, younger bands growing up, I think they're looking at these comments and these opinions that everybody has... It's a huge thing, the Internet. And it's, like, we didn't have that [when we started the band]," Blythe said. "We didn't have it. We had someone screaming, 'You suck,' and threw a beer bottle at you on stage if they didn't like you. We didn't have a million people going, 'Meh, meh, meh, meh, meh, meh, meh, meh.' So that kind of mentality doesn't affect us. And it shouldn't affect anyone."

Elaborating on how he manages to stay unaffected by online criticism, Randy said: "Yeah, well, I just don't look at all the comments and shit, either, so it doesn't... In fact, it doesn't exist in my reality. So if I'm not reading it… It's like if a tree falls in [a forest] and no one's there, like the old zen riddle. If a tree falls in [a forest] and no one's there to hear it, is there a sound? In my case, I can tell you, if someone hates a new song and they say something and I don't read it, it doesn't exist for me. [Laughs] Sorry."

"Into Oblivion" arrived in March 2026 to widespread acclaim. In the lead-up to the release, LAMB OF GOD 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 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 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.