Randy Blythe
Blythe at 2009's Optimus! Alive
Background information
Birth name	David Randall Blythe
Born	(1971-02-21) February 21, 1971 (age 42)
Origin	Richmond, Virginia, United States Chesapeake, Virginia, United States
Genres	Groove metal, metalcore
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, actor
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1995—present
Labels	Epic, Roadrunner
Associated acts	Lamb of God, Halo of Locusts, Cannabis Corpse

David Randall "Randy" Blythe (born February 21, 1971) is the vocalist and lyricist of American heavy metal band Lamb of God and side-project band Halo of Locusts. He also performed guest vocals for Cannabis Corpse and Overkill. He is known as D. Randall Blythe on Lamb of God's albums. As a teenager, he looked up to the Sex Pistols, Megadeth, Bad Brains, Slayer, and Motorhead.

In June 2012, Blythe was arrested in the Czech Republic and was charged with manslaughter related to the 2010 death of Daniel Nosek, a 19 year old fan, after a Lamb of God concert. In March 2013, he was acquitted of all charges.^[1]

Professional career [edit]

This section requires expansion with: more information and additional citations. (July 2012)

Blythe joined Lamb of God in 1995, when they were still known as Burn The Priest.^[2] Before Lamb of God was successful, he had previously worked as a cook.

Blythe also has a side project band known as Halo of Locusts, who were founded around 2004. A full length release was planned, but has yet to be released. They contributed to For the Sick, the tribute album for Eyehategod, covering "Dixie Whiskey".^[3] In 2005, Blythe worked with the metalcore outfit A Life Once Lost on their album Hunter. He provided additional vocals on the track "Vulture" as well as helped in the vocal processing of the track. He later worked with them again in 2007 on "Iron Gag." He also appeared on the song "Skull and Bones"" by the band Overkill and "Adoration for None" on Gojira's album The Way of All Flesh. He was also featured on Shadows Fall song, King of Nothing, on their 2009 release, Retribution.

Blythe was featured in many of his peers' DVDs, such as Killswitch Engage's (Set This) World Ablaze and Machine Head's Elegies. Blythe was also featured in Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, Working Class Rock Star and Melissa Cross's The Zen of Screaming.

He appears as Luke in the movie The Graves (2009), written and directed by Brian Pulido.^[4]

On 5 January 2012, Blythe announced that he would be running for President of the United States via a blog entry entitled "I want to be The Big Cheese".^[5] His official campaign slogan was "Fuck the dumb shit. Let's get real here." Blythe did not appear on the ballot in any of the fifty states or the District of Columbia.^[6][7]

Manslaughter charges [edit]

At the end of June 2012, Blythe was arrested, charged and remanded in custody by the Czech authorities in connection with an incident that happened during Lamb of God's previous concert in Prague two years earlier. According to the prosecution, Blythe shoved Daniel Nosek, a 19 year-old fan, off stage, thus inflicting fatal wounds on him. After being released on bail, which was contended by the State Attorney, Blythe denied responsibility for Nosek's death and pledged to return to attend the trial, which began on February 4, 2013. Blythe was acquitted of all charges on March 5, 2013.^[1]

Recording history [edit]

Randy Blythe at 2004's Ozzfest.

With Burn the Priest [edit]

• Demo Tape (1995, independently released)
• Split with ZED (1997, Goatboy Records)
• Split with Agents of Satan (1998, Deaf American Recordings)
• Sevens and More (1998, mp3.com)
• Burn the Priest (1999, Legion Records)

With Lamb of God [edit]

• New American Gospel (2000, Prosthetic Records)
• As the Palaces Burn (2003, Prosthetic Records)
• Ashes of the Wake (2004, Sony / BMG Music)
• Killadelphia (2005, Sony / BMG Music)
• Sacrament (2006, Sony / BMG Music)
• Wrath (2009, Sony / Roadrunner)
• Resolution (2012, Epic / Roadrunner)

Guest appearances [edit]

• The Mercury Lift (2003) by Haste − guest vocals on "God Reclaims His Throne"
• Without Any Remorse (2004) by Bloodshoteye − guest vocals on "F.U.B.A.R"
• Hunter (2005) by A Life Once Lost − guest vocals on "Vulture"
• Immortalis (2007) by Overkill − guest vocals on "Skulls and Bones"
• Iron Gag (2007) by A Life Once Lost − guest vocals on "Pigeonholed"
• Absentee (2008) by Pitch Black Forecast − guest vocals on "So Low"
• Lesser Traveled Waters (2008) by Gollum − guest vocals on "Cross-Pollenation"
• The Way of All Flesh (2008) by Gojira − guest vocals on "Adoration For None"^[8]
• Icons of the Illogical (2009) by The Kris Norris Projekt - lead vocals
• Retribution (2009) by Shadows Fall − guest vocals on "King Of Nothing"
• Jasta (2011) by Jasta - guest vocals on "Enslaved, Dead Or Depraved"^[9]
• Tour dates with Chthonic in Taiwan as guest vocals ^[10]
• Cannabis Corpse (2012) - vocals on the 'Cory Smoot Memorial' show
• Suicide Silence (2012) - You Only Live Once (vocals) at the Ending is the Beginning: Mitch Lucker Memorial Show

References [edit]