“Dark Days” D. Randall Blythe

Here is a portion of my conversation with heavy metal artist D. Randall Blythe, lead singer for the band ‘lamb of god.’  This is one of those cases in which I was decidedly out of my comfort zone (to say the least.)  Before I saw this book,  I had never even heard of Mr. Blythe or of his band – but his story looked very intriguing to me, and I decided to probe a little further.  I am so glad I did!  He’s a very intelligent, thoughtful and articulate person- and the book was easily one of the most interesting that I’ve read in a long time.

The heart and soul of his story was that he was arrested in Prague and charged with what amounted to manslaughter for his perceived participation in an incident two years earlier when his band performed in Prague- and a young fan who repeatedly charged on to the stage was repelled until (allegedly) Blythe shoved him away with such force that the young man suffered such serious injuries that he eventually died from them.  Blythe found himself caught in a true nightmare-  trapped in a legal system he did not begin to understand,  incarcerated in a horrific prison,  and suffering without proper representation for quite some time.  He knew he was innocent of the crime with which he had been charged,  but that didn’t mean he could be sure of being exonerated.  It’s a truly harrowing story.

The excerpt I’m sharing here comes from early in the interview, as he talks about his childhood and the kind of household in which he grew up.   Some of what he says is rather surprising – and fascinating!