During a conversation with Metal Injection, Lamb of God vocalist Randy Blythe opened up about the process of making records, calling them a necessary evil, and an experience that he absolutely does not enjoy.
Lamb of God is gearing up to release a self-titled album on May 8 as the follow-up to 2015’s “VII: Sturm Und Drang.”
When asked: “Do you have it down to like an exact science, or is there a challenge every time?“, Randy replied (transcribed by Ultimate Guitars):
“I hate making records. I hated making this record, I’ve hated making every single record I’ve ever made. I do not enjoy it.
“I like touring, I like getting on stage raging and seeing everybody going the fuck off, and that communication, that exchange of energy with the audience.
“The process of making a record is a necessary evil to me with my band because it’s just not fun, so it’s always a challenge.
“That being said, this was the most relaxed collaborative – I think – thing that we’ve done, ever. I will never say, ‘I had a good time making a record’ – because I didn’t. I go to bed with a headache every night; physically, it hurts.
Love Metal?
Get the latest Metal news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
“My throat hurts, my head hurts, my ears are ringing, I hear myself singing the same line over and over and over as I go to sleep, it’s like, ‘Repeat, shut up, shut up,’ so it kind of drives me crazy.
“That’s why I can’t be at home when I record. I’m not fit to be around my friends, my family, I have to leave and go immerse myself in that world.”
It is a ‘pissed off’ record. It is very aggressive – you think it might actually piss off some people?
“People are like, ‘Why aren’t more bands writing political records or records that are commentaries? Why is everybody pulling away from that? Why aren’t the younger bands in it?’ or, ‘Why aren’t older bands in it?’
“And I think people are scared because of the toxic nature of the internet and everybody, they’re afraid people are gonna say, ‘Fuck them!’ But guess what? I don’t fucking care.
“Because people are gonna say ‘fuck them’ regardless, no matter what we do. So, some people won’t like it – I don’t care, I like it. I don’t care at all.
“We make music for five people. This may offend some people but once again, I don’t care. We make records for the five dudes in Lamb of God. We have to like it, and as long as we like it, then it’s a success.
“Luckily, a lot of people seem to continually like it, and I think the record will do well. I think we’ll ruffle some feathers, but that’s okay. I’m not in a Top 40 band, I’m not here to make everybody happy.”
