Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe has never been shy about politics,now the metal vocalist is once again pushing back against critics who say artists should stay out of political discussions.
Speaking in a recent interview with Kerrang! journalist Sam Law, Blythe addressed the familiar complaint many musicians hear whenever they speak about politics: the old ‘shut up and play’ argument.
In true Blythe form, his response was blunt.
‘To those people, I say “Go f**k yourself.” I’m an American citizen and a world traveler. More than that, I’m a human being. I’m not some dancing monkey put here for your entertainment. If you have any sort of moral compass at all, it’s irresponsible to not exercise your right to speak up.’
For Blythe, the idea that art should be separated from politics simply doesn’t hold up, especially within heavy music.
Metal has always carried a political edge, from Black Sabbath’s bleak reflections on war to Judas Priest’s social commentary, the genre has long been shaped by artists reacting to the world around them.
Blythe believes staying silent on serious issues can come at a moral cost.
‘If people are willing to compartmentalize something like a child sex trafficking ring because they think it might better their bank account, they’ve lost a component of their humanity. They’ve lost an integral part of what it is to be a righteous human being. At that point, it’s time to stop and reassess and reevaluate. You’re not going to be able to carry your money into the grave, motherfucker, but you will be able to carry the memories of silently going along with people that enabled child sex predators. How are you going to feel about that on your deathbed?’
The Lamb of God vocalist has attracted backlash in recent months over his writing on Randonesia, his Substack newsletter, in a post titled All The Horrors Happening Around Us, Blythe criticised the direction of American politics and warned about what he sees as a growing slide toward authoritarianism (per Metal Sucks).
The response online hasn’t always been pretty
‘How do I rationalise that? I don’t. It’s a fking cult. Cognitive dissonance is a motherfucker. It’s disheartening to see that for a lot of people it isn’t the point where they will draw the line, but I do believe that a lot of other people do see how truly fked up all of this is. Also, it’s exposing the levers of power that are being pulled. Once again, those are things I can’t believe are sustainable.’
Despite the backlash, Blythe says disengaging from politics isn’t the answer. For him, participation and accountability are essential in any democracy.
‘It’s okay to pay attention to what’s going on and be worried, but you need to do your best to change it. Everyday citizens in a functional democracy have a right to vote and they need to not become apathetic. I have a lot of problems with our American system. There are things that are archaic such as the electoral college, which should be abolished. But that is the only system we have right now. And if I do not engage in it and do my best to be a force for positive change, then I am abdicating responsibility and handing what little bit of control I have — my agency — over to someone else.’
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