Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe has been very open about his struggles with alcohol and drug use prior to him getting sober roughly 15 years ago. During a recent appearance on The Lydian Spin Podcast (posted to YouTube on Jan. 9), Blythe discussed why he thinks it’d be hypocritical to “judge” overly enthusiastic drunk fans, as well as if being in the presence of them poses a threat to his sobriety.
Speaking to hosts Lydia Lunch and Tim Dahl – and as transcribed by Metal Hammer – Blythe admitted that he sees some karma in how inebriated Lamb of God followers (not to mention intoxicated people in general) will occasionally get a too close and loud for comfort.
“Seeing people party and stuff, especially when they ‘party party’ and get stupid, I don’t judge,” he states, admitting that he was “pretty bad” and “terrified and annoyed countless people for decades” when he was in the full grip of his alcohol dependency. “I can’t expect the rest of the world to behave in the way I do and not drink because not everybody’s an alcoholic like me. Some people are perfectly, okay, and that’s no problem. God bless. Have a good time.”
In fact, he says (per Metal Hammer): “The only thing that bothers me is when they’re hammered and in my face.” Even then (when “wasted” fans come over and “the ‘I love you, man’ starts”), he doesn’t let it get to him.
“I just dip out. It’s not a problem,” he clarifies.
READ MORE: Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe Issues Warning Ahead of Upcoming Book Tour
As for whether or not being in the company of drunk people makes him tempted to drink again, he says it actually has “the opposite effect,” explaining: “[It] makes [drinking] more repulsive to me.”
He continues (per Metal Hammer): “I have better things to do. I’m trying to do good things with my life. Write books and do photography and shit like that. I can’t do that when I’m drunk. Plus, man, I drank enough. I did it for 22 years. I’m not gonna discover anything new in drugs and alcohol.”
You can listen to Blythe’s entire episode of The Lydian Spin Podcast below.
Speaking of writing books, Blythe is about to embark on a book tour in support for his upcoming memoir – Just Beyond the Light: Making Peace with the Wars Inside Our Head – which arrives on Feb. 18 via Da Capa Press. He recently issued a warning regarding the mature and potentially upsetting nature of this book and tour, stating:
Just in case any of y’all are completely unaware of my history as a human being, over the years, at times I have lived a very, ahem, ‘full throttle life’ — there is a VERY GOOD reason that I have been clean and sober for 14 years now. This means that some, not all, but SOME of the stories I will be telling will involve heavy, HEAVY alcohol and drug usage, as well as the batshit insane situations that occurred as a result of said substance intake. I’m not going to be gratuitously foul-mouthed, but I’m not a choir boy, my life hasn’t been a never-ending trip to Sunday school and we aren’t going to be sitting around a campfire at summer camp- it’s adult story telling time, y’all, so leave the kids at home.
So, what do you think of Blythe’s comments about drunk fans, his sobriety and his upcoming book tour? Let us know!
Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe Discusses Sobriety + More on The Lydian Spin Podcast
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