One of Richmond’s most famous rockers has run into trouble on the road.
Randy Blythe, lead singer of the Grammy-nominated heavy metal band Lamb of God, is under investigation in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, allegedly for manslaughter, stemming from a May 24, 2010, concert there when a fan allegedly rushed the stage and attempted to engage with the singer. The fan later died of injuries sustained in a fall.
“Randy has been falsely accused and lawyers are working on it,” texted the band’s publicist, Maria Ferrero, head of Adrenaline PR in New York, on June 28th. “Randy will be exonerated.”
On Friday, management issued the additional statement, which includes a reminder that “no formal charges have been filed” and the investigation would not conclude until this weekend.
“[We] wish to address today one false piece of information that has been included in many of the news stories released so far. Under no circumstances was there a fight of any kind involved. This incident deals with a fan that three times during the concert jumped the barricade and rushed Randy during the performance. It is alleged that the third time, security was not able to reach him and that Randy pushed him back into the audience where supposedly he fell and hit his head.”
There are strobe-lit fan videos of the concert in question on You Tube, which appeared to have occurred in a smaller-sized club. But none clearly show the alleged incident. Most of the crowd appears to be fairly young. There has been widespread speculation on blogs and media outlets, however, many of which have been reporting that Blythe was charged.
Heavy metal blog the Gauntlet.com posted a translation of a supposed eyewitness account of the incident, which quoted a Czech blogger as saying that, after the fan jumped onstage, Randy “hit him a lot . . . jumped on him to hold him down while he continued singing . . . took him by the hair and threw him down.”
So why are we just now hearing about this two-year old case? Are any of these blogs actually reporting facts? Nobody knows yet.
The band cancelled its headlining spot June 28 at Rock Café in Prague although the show apparently went on with openers Skeletonwitch and All Shall Perish, according to Crave Online.
The band’s current tour has two more dates in Germany and Finland, before returning to the United States and beginning a Canadian and U.S. tour in August. They are scheduled to play Norfolk’s Constant Convocation Center on Aug. 25.
Blythe, a 41-year-old Richmond resident, had recently been branching into movies, with an appearance in “The Graves” (2009) and was heavily involved in an upcoming documentary about the band’s travels. In January, he announced his candidacy for United States president via his personal blog.
Lamb of God has sold over two million records in the United States and toured extensively around the globe. Ironically, the title of their new album is “Resolution,” which we’re sure the band would like as soon as possible, when it comes to this charge.
The band’s management will issue an official statement on Monday.
