1150: Randy Blythe | Making Peace with the Wars Inside His Head

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Jordan Harbinger Show | Episode 1150: Randy Blythe | Making Peace with the Wars Inside His Head

Introduction

In Episode 1150 of The Jordan Harbinger Show, host Jordan Harbinger engages in a profound conversation with Randy Blythe, the lead vocalist of the renowned metal band Lamb of God. The discussion delves deep into Randy's personal struggles, musical journey, and transformative experiences, offering listeners invaluable insights into overcoming adversity and maintaining authenticity in the music industry.

1. Randy Blythe's Musical Journey and Band Dynamics

Randy Blythe reflects on his three-decade-long tenure with Lamb of God, emphasizing the rarity and significance of a band sustaining itself for such an extended period.

• Legacy and Longevity:
  Randy Blythe [02:42]: "I am just astounded by constantly. I realize that we are heading into legacy territory, and it's super rare."

• Band Cohesion:
  Randy Blythe [03:08]: "We've learned more and more to shelve the ego. This is my way. I want this. And really think about the greater good."

Blythe attributes the band's enduring success to mutual respect, effective communication, and prioritizing the band's collective well-being over individual egos.

2. Personal Struggles with Addiction and Path to Sobriety

A pivotal moment in Randy's life occurred during a tour in Australia with Metallica, where he confronted his deep-seated desire to "be erased from existence."

• Realization and Turning Point:
  Randy Blythe [03:00]: "Maybe you stop drinking and doing drugs, your life might get better. And it did."

Encouraged by sober bandmates and friends like James Hetfield, Randy made the courageous decision to seek help, leading to his sobriety.

3. The Czech Prison Incident: A Harrowing Experience

Randy recounts a harrowing ordeal in 2010 when he was wrongfully accused of manslaughter during a concert in Prague.

• Wrongful Accusation and Imprisonment:
  Randy Blythe [66:03]: "And so I went straight into the history of the Eastern Bloc... I was in total shock."

Spending 37 days in a Czech prison, Randy faced severe conditions reminiscent of a Nazi-era facility. Despite the initial chaos and threats, he was ultimately acquitted of all charges six months later.

• Impact and Reflection:
  Randy Blythe [67:17]: "I was found not guilty. And I learned a lot about the science of memory during this."

This experience not only tested his resilience but also deepened his understanding of accountability and personal responsibility.

4. Artistic Process and Songwriting

Randy discusses his approach to art and songwriting, emphasizing the importance of authenticity and the influence of personal experiences.

• Inspiration from Adversity:
  Randy Blythe [94:40]: "Being an artist involves a lot of self-reflection, creating honest art, and questioning myself and my beliefs."

• Turn Experiences into Art:
  Randy Blythe [75:54]: "I wrote a song called Anthropoid from the perspective of those dudes in the basement...waiting to die."

His ability to transform intense personal and historical experiences into compelling music underscores his depth as an artist.

5. Views on Fame, Society, and Personal Responsibility

Randy offers candid insights into navigating fame within the metal scene, balancing personal life, and staying grounded despite success.

• Maintaining Humility:
  Randy Blythe [15:56]: "I find that's when your talent tends to abandon you."

He acknowledges the challenges of fame but remains committed to his roots and personal values, avoiding the trappings of excessive materialism.

• Social and Environmental Consciousness:
  Randy Blythe [41:45]: "If you're unwilling to examine why you think the way you think...then you're just scared to look at yourself."

Randy emphasizes the importance of introspection and ethical responsibility, both personally and environmentally.

6. Charity and Legacy: Supporting Be the Match

Randy passionately discusses his involvement with Be the Match, a bone marrow registry initiative, highlighting the profound impact of donating.

• Raising Awareness and Funds:
  Randy Blythe [77:57]: "We wrote a song and we put it out, and there's an awareness campaign to register for this."

• Personal Connections and Success Stories:
  Randy Blythe [78:22]: "A friend of mine beat leukemia because he had a donor."

His commitment to the cause underscores his dedication to using his platform for meaningful, life-saving initiatives.

7. Dealing with Negative Feedback and Online Culture

Randy addresses the challenges of receiving criticism, especially in the age of social media, advocating for resilience and self-awareness.

• Handling Trolls and Criticism:
  Randy Blythe [105:11]: "Why would you pay attention to someone commenting if they're a person you wouldn't take advice from?"

• Maintaining Focus Amidst Negativity:
  Randy Blythe [104:20]: "The trolls and the thoughtless people... they're only ultimately damaging themselves because they're unable to deal with conflict in the real world."

He encourages focusing on constructive feedback and ignoring baseless negativity to maintain personal and artistic integrity.

8. Conclusion

Throughout the episode, Randy Blythe exemplifies strength, introspection, and a profound sense of responsibility. His journey from battling addiction to overcoming wrongful imprisonment, coupled with his unwavering commitment to authenticity in art and life, offers listeners a powerful narrative of resilience and purpose.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Randy Blythe [03:00]: "Maybe you stop drinking and doing drugs, your life might get better. And it did."

• Randy Blythe [66:03]: "I was in total shock. What are you talking about? This makes no sense."

• Randy Blythe [77:57]: "We wrote a song and we put it out, and there's an awareness campaign to register for this."

• Randy Blythe [105:11]: "Why would you pay attention to someone commenting if they're a person you wouldn't take advice from?"

• Randy Blythe [43:14]: "If you aren't really willing to sit there and look at why you think the way you think...then you're just scared."

Key Takeaways:

• Resilience: Randy's ability to confront and overcome personal demons and wrongful accusations serves as an inspiration for anyone facing adversity.

• Authenticity in Art: True artistic expression stems from personal truth and honest reflection, a principle Randy consistently upholds.

• Responsibility and Legacy: Using one's platform for meaningful causes can leave a lasting, positive impact beyond one's professional achievements.

This episode offers a compelling blend of personal anecdotes, philosophical insights, and practical advice, making it a must-listen for fans and anyone seeking inspiration to navigate their own life challenges.

Transcript

[Randy Blythe]

Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same Premium Wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities. So do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to [e-mail] Switch upfront payment of $45 for 3 month plan equivalent to $15 per month Required intro rate first 3 months only.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Then full price plan options available, taxes.

[Randy Blythe]

And fees, extra fee, full [e-mail] Coming.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Up next on the JOR Harbinger Show 2010.

[Randy Blythe]

We were in Australia on tour with Metallica and I woke up one day and I looked out on my hotel room balcony and I was like, I don't want to live anymore. It wasn't like I was suicidal. I just wanted to be erased from existence. James Hetfield and some of his guitar techs who I knew were sober, they had talked to me. Dude, you might want to dial it back a little bit. And then I was like, maybe you stop drinking and doing drugs, your life might get better.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Welcome to the show. I'm Jordan Harbinger. On the Jordan Harbinger show, we decode the stories, secrets and skills of the world's most fascinating people and turn their wisdom into practical advice that you can use to impact your own life and those around you. Our mission is to help you become a better informed, more critical thinker through long form conversations with a variety of incredible people, from spies to CEOs, athletes, authors, thinkers and performers, even the occasional hackers, astronaut or even real life pirate. Yes, those still exist. And if you're new to the show or you're looking for a handy way to tell your friends about it, I suggest our episode starter packs. These are collections of our favorite episodes on topics such as persuasion and negotiation, psychology and geopolitics, disinformation, China, North Korea, crime and cults, and more. That'll help new listeners get a taste of everything we do here on the show. Just visit jordanharbinger.com start or search for us in your Spotify app to get started now today on the show, lead singer of metal band. It's probably even like heavier than that, but whatever. Lamb of God Randy Blythe joins me here in studio. I'm not much of a metal guy, but Randy has quite a story. From his upbringing to his music career, the way he views the business, creativity, touring, recording merch and more. He's Battled addiction, the music industry, even a murder charge that landed him in a Nazi prison castle in another country, which. Well, yeah, we'll hear about that. It wasn't necessarily a fun time, however, this conversation was fun. It's insightful, and I think you're really going to enjoy it. Even if you don't listen to music that's loud enough to. To break your car windows. All right, here we go with Randy Blythe. Thirty years in the band, that's a objectively long time for any project, but I think for music, it's gotta be top percentile of we haven't killed each other yet.

[Randy Blythe]

I am just astounded by constantly. I realize that we are heading into legacy territory, and it's super rare. A lot of the great bands that I listened to when I was younger lasted five, six years.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. It's surprising when you read that. You go, wait, what? That was seven years?

[Randy Blythe]

But they're eternal in your mind and in your sort of emotional connection to this music because it's so important to you.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What genre would you say it is? Because everyone has their different sort of.

[Randy Blythe]

It's just extreme metal. Just descendant of thrash or whatever, Just extreme metal.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Do you guys all get along pretty well?

[Randy Blythe]

Yes.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's important, eh?

[Randy Blythe]

Better now than we ever did before.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's impressive.

[Randy Blythe]

Rare. That's another thing.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Grievances add up over time. I think every human knows that.

[Randy Blythe]

I think we started as such a sort of cantankerous group of gentlemen, combative. And over the years we've learned. I mean, not 100%, but we've learned more and more to shelve the ego. This is my way. I want this. And really think about the greater good. So we have a saying in Lamb of God, which is better is better. That's a hard pill to swallow if you've written something that you think is genius and everybody else is, I don't know, dude. But an old saying from writing often attributed to Tennessee Williams, you must be willing to murder your darlings.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I was just going to say the same thing. Kill your darlings. Right, Yeah, I heard.

[Randy Blythe]

I think you mentioned that. I listened to the. Was it the James Patterson episode? He was talking about that. Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I love that you really understand it when you do something. I'll make a joke that I think is hilarious or something, and then my producer will go, I took the liberty of deleting that terrible, unfunny, somewhat offensive joke. And I'm like, not that one. That was gold. What do you think? Show notes, Guy. And he's, oh, that doesn't strike me as something that you should say. And I'm like, actually, these guys are looking out for me.

[Randy Blythe]

I'm just coming off this almost month long spoken word tour for my book and I was telling stories, not in the book, but that relay the main theme of the book, which for me is perspective. And I practiced very hard before I left and there were certain things. It's not a standup comedy show, but it's close at times.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Randy Blythe]

Deliver a story well, stories, yeah. I'm a pretty good storyteller. And there were parts that I was like, this is so funny. This is gonna kill so hard. And it did not land one single time. I'm friends with some professional standup comedians. I'm like, dudes, what is going on? They're like, sometimes stuff just doesn't land.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's only funny because of your unique personal experience and context with that particular story. And when people hear it, they're like, oh, that was the punchline. Okay, yeah.

[Randy Blythe]

Or perhaps stuff that I find funny, other people find horrifying.

[Ryan Reynolds]

But theoretically your fans are also some of those people. But yeah, you get zero laughs. It's like you start crossing stuff off.

[Randy Blythe]

The set list and then you're chasing laughs. I found myself after the first show. It's. You're chasing these laughs, this validation coming from people. Yes, I'm funny. Yes, what I'm saying has an impact and speak the truth and hope it lands.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Lamb of God got popular over a longer period of time. This was not like one album. Oh, my gosh, these are the greatest. Played on every radio station.

[Randy Blythe]

No, no, no, Never really any radio play. We're rather extreme for that. I worked a straight job for the first eight or nine years. The band, what did you do? I was a restaurant cook and also a roofer.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay, that's.

[Randy Blythe]

Well, my guitar player Mark and I both roofed together for a while. That's not an easy job.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You do go into some kitchens and hear crazy music going on in there and you see the tats. Especially in la, you're like, that guy is at the Viper Room tonight.

[Randy Blythe]

Sure, absolutely. Yeah. It's a bunch of pirates. The restaurant business allows you flexibility to go out on the road. Most of my bosses, I'm like, look, I'm going to go on tour for a little bit. And they're like, I'd give them, you know, a few weeks notice or a month or two notice. And they're like, okay. And then when you come back, hey, you got any shifts? You Pick them up.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, man. That's got to be tough, ending a tour and being like, I'm on top of the world. And then you go back and they're like, yeah, you can have the crappiest hours. And also the chef is still an asshole and the tips are still not shared at the back of the house. And there's this.

[Randy Blythe]

There's this massive. I wouldn't even call it deceleration process. It's just an impact. You're on tour and you have this schedule and everyone's happy to see you. And we were working straight jobs while touring in tour buses, which people see a tour bus and they think it's this magical vehicle that indicates you're just rolling in cash. But you come off, you're signing autographs, you're playing in front of people who love your music and they're excited to see you. And then it's, okay, I'm back to washing dishes. Boom.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yep, exactly. What is this stuck to my. Nevermind. Don't answer that. I don't want to know what I'm cleaning off with my bare hands right now.

[Randy Blythe]

But as you said, it was a gradual process and I'm fully prepared for it all. Go away one day. Never know.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's an interesting way to look at it. That's a very sort of Ryan Holiday, who. I know you know, he's a good friend, mutual friend of ours. It's a good way to look at it. He's got the memento mori thing, but he's also got the kind of stoicism where it's, you're the emperor today and tomorrow you're sweeping the streets. Yes. We talked about how your band grew slowly ish. Over the 30 year period. Do you think that was healthy for you guys?

[Randy Blythe]

100%. I'd be dead if not.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Because the overnight fame is not good for anybody. But no, you see these bands where the kid's like 21 or 20, and you go, wow, there's no human on earth that's equipped to deal with this. And your brain's not even fully developed.

[Randy Blythe]

It's not done yet.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And you're like an A list celebrity. You're never going to recover from this.

[Randy Blythe]

No, I've seen that. I know people in our world who got pretty famous at 21 years old, and some of them are still trying to recover from that. You're not equipped to deal with that stuff at all at that age. And our quote unquote fame has been very gradual. Steady incline up. We're grateful for that. Every new thing that happens for us, we're like, wow, this is cool to.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Be grateful for it. Yeah. But yeah, that's an interesting way to look at it. It probably keeps you thinking about how lucky you are to be in the position that you are.

[Randy Blythe]

I don't come from money. I started working my first job when I was 12. Who hires a 12 year old? A bookstore? I got paid like $2 an hour and. And I found out what the 18 and over people were making and the owner was like, what are you going to do?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Randy Blythe]

And I was like, oh, screw you.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I could report you, but then I probably wouldn't be able to keep my job.

[Randy Blythe]

Then I'd be a snitch. And I love working at the bookstores. I wound up just mostly doing lawn work after that, making better cash and sitting in the bookstore.

[Ryan Reynolds]

To be fair, that guy was doing you a favor by paying you at all. I don't know how useful 12 year olds are in any environment. Generally speaking.

[Randy Blythe]

I was really surprised. I was 12 or 13 and I started running the cash register.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, okay. So that's real work.

[Randy Blythe]

Okay.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. All right. He was. Maybe it was a mutual exploitation in that.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah, sure.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And a lot of music, of course, and especially it seems like a lot of metal bands, there's an act, it's a performance like most people on stage. And you've been in the band for 30 years. And I wonder if there's any difference between Randy Blythe in person and Randy Blythe on the stage. That's because eventually it just blends together. Sure. I would imagine after 10 years you're like, it's the same guy.

[Randy Blythe]

Sure, I am the same guy. I think being in such an aggressive band and there's this idea about people and bands as aggressive as mine, whether it be metal, hardcore or punk, that are quote unquote, angry bands. Those of us in those bands and people in the community that go see these bands, to the outside eye, it may look violent and chaotic and crazy, but again and again you will hear from people who go to a metal show with a friend for the first time. They're like, everyone was so nice. And I think as far as the person on stage and the person in front of you, they're the same person, but the onstage person. I'm allowed to release a lot of energy, a lot of aggressive energy in a controlled environment. I don't go running down the street screaming in people's faces.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And why not? It's LA you could get away with.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah. Then I'D just be a tweaker, right?

[Ryan Reynolds]

They do that downtown?

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah, they do that. So for me, it's an aspect of my person. I don't sing about dragons and fantasy stuff. I sing about real things, mostly things that concern me and upset me. Socio political issues, environmental issues and things like that. And that's stuff that really gets my gears grinding on stage. I can release that in that manner. It's a release valve. And the people that come to the shows that engage in this very physical act of viewing this music, whether it be banging their heads, moshing, or just jumping up and down, it's a release valve for them too.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You know, I was really surprised I went to this is 25 years ago now or something. But my friend worked for our student newspaper back at Michigan and we went to go see Disturbed, I think it was, and it was really hot in this crappy little venue that it was down in Detroit. These guys are like, yo, you got to march with us. And I was like, oh, these are really scary guys. I need to get away from these guys. They're really aggressive. And I was like, no thanks, man. I'm just watching it as. Oh, okay, no problem.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And I was like, oh, I thought we were like about to get our like punched in the face by some aggressive psychopath. And he was like, oh, it's like a sport. It's like you're not playing, you're not playing. But if you're playing, like you run into each other at full speed and it's just part of the game.

[Randy Blythe]

There are jerks every now and then, but there are jerks in this building somewhere right now.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Like you're talking to.

[Randy Blythe]

1. Yeah. 2. Our community tends to self regulate itself. That just unrestrained aggression to try and purposely hurt someone. It gets dealt with.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I was also surprised by how nice the staff was. Nice. We went to the tour bus to interview. Not super familiar with that band. And it was a long time ago. The singer, the lead singer.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah, David Draiman.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And he looked really scary.

[Randy Blythe]

Like he's got metal in his face and all that stuff.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And he's talking to us, he's what's up guys? And he's taking these giant like metal horns out of his face and stuff and putting them in a little container. He was so patient with what had to probably be the most surface level college student. Never done this before interview in the world. Sure. And his girlfriend was like, all right, I'll be back there. And he's like, okay, go take a shower. I'll Be done soon. He gave us all this time, and when we were done, he's okay. Is that it? You take all the time you want. We're like, oh, you're probably tired, it's fine. And we're like, oh. So this super famous, really doing super well, successful guy, not only invited us into his tour bus when he could have just talked to us outside for two minutes. He was in absolutely no real hurry. And I just thought, wow, if I ever get really famous for anything, I got to be cool. This was really surprising.

[Randy Blythe]

I know those dudes. They are a very big band. They did a cover of the Sound of Silence. Draiman has a beautiful voice. He's a great singer. They're at the point where my mom, who's met lots of my scary friends and is always like, they're so nice. Yeah, Southern woman. But she's like, randy, do you know this band Disturbed? I'm like, yes, mom, I do. And she's like, I just love their cover of Sound of Silence. And I'm like, I'll tell David singer.

[Ryan Reynolds]

My mom loves your music.

[Randy Blythe]

But those guys, he's patient with you. Those guys come from a DIY background. They're from Chicago and they used to have these parties where they would throw these parties in warehouses to promote their music.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's like a metal rave.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah, exactly. It's not like the record label gods were swooping down upon them and making them huge. They were promoting themselves for a long time. And that's the world we come from too.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That whole gorilla, make it your own. That's way more popular and common now. Cause you have social media.

[Randy Blythe]

Sure.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So any sort of niche, if you can get traction, you're good. But yeah, back then it was like handing out tapes out of the back of the car and then, oh, that's.

[Randy Blythe]

The whole hip hop scene.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, the whole hip hop scene, exactly. You do seem, and you have a reputation as a down to earth guy. Isn't being the frontman of a successful band kind of like gasoline for an ego? How do you keep that in check? Because, sure, that could be a problem.

[Randy Blythe]

We call it lsd. Lead singer's disease. Yes. Nice for me, I think, no offense to the city of Los Angeles, but I don't live in Los Angeles. I don't live in New York City. I don't live in an epicenter of the music industry in Richmond, where I'm from. A lot of people, except for the younger people, they're like, oh, that's Randy. He used to be a line cook. At Third Street Diner, that dude made me pancakes.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And they were terrible.

[Randy Blythe]

No, they were great. I'm very egotistical about my pancakes. We as a band are pretty cognizant of the dangers of that and act very purposely to not be jerks and to stay right sized.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's gotta be tough though, because, dude.

[Randy Blythe]

When you start believing, yeah, People are like, you're awesome. You're a God. I've had tons of people and I know it's an expression. They say, you're a God. And I'm like, you need a better deity. I suck. I'm fallible. Even just saying that is reinforcing that in the back of my head. And once you start believing your own hype that you're this awesome thing, I find that's when your talent tends to abandon you.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. Why do you think that happened? Drew Carey said something similar on the show earlier. He said comedians get decidedly less funny as soon as they start making money. His rationale was, comedians are griping about everyday things. So if you're taking your private jet with your assistant and they're going shopping for you, you just get less material that people can relate to. But with a band, why is that happening? With music, for example, it's a matter.

[Randy Blythe]

Of purity of expression. And I sing about things that matter to me and things generally that upset me a lot of the times because I make a decent living. I'm not a multi bazillionaire. I don't have a Rolls Royce and all that other crap. I make a good.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Would you ever buy a Rolls Royce?

[Randy Blythe]

No, dude.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I drive so not metal.

[Randy Blythe]

I drive a 2006 used Toyota 4Runner that I've had since I bought it used in like 2008 O.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Why you do that?

[Randy Blythe]

Because. Why not a car guy? It's got 258,000 miles on it, I think. I surf boards, fit on top. And I'm going to have to buy a new car soon because it's getting more.

[Ryan Reynolds]

They got air conditioning now. You know that, right?

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah, mine is real, dude. The heat didn't work some this winter, but it's not important to me. Mine is dented, it's got scrapes. I don't care.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's liberating to drive something like that, isn't it? Oh, man. It's a tight parking space. What if someone swings a door open? Whatever.

[Randy Blythe]

I have a rental car out here and they gave me this Audi, like with this spaceship screen and I'm just parking in the garage. The below ground chair and all that's beeping and all this other stuff. And I'm like, ah, yeah, don't scratch this thing. It's not mine exactly.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I know. That's like, the more crap you have. There's this phrase like possessions own you or something like that. It's.

[Randy Blythe]

You're a prisoner to your possessions after a while.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Whenever you get, like, this aura ring. It's a sleep tracker.

[Randy Blythe]

I know what it is. I've lost two.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You've lost two? Okay.

[Randy Blythe]

Shout out to my buddy Patty, the surfer. He got me on it, so they're fun.

[Ryan Reynolds]

When you get one, you're like, oh, it's pristine. It looks so nice. And then you hold a fork and you're like, oh, did that just scratch that thing? And you get mad for a couple hours. And then you realize, now I can scratch it a hundred more times. It doesn't matter because it's no longer. So once you get over that hump or you never had it because you bought the car used, you just don't have to worry about that. And it's very freeing to be like, yeah, this is the phone that has a crack in the side already. So it just doesn't matter.

[Randy Blythe]

I am going to buy a new car because this car is starting to repeatedly need to go to the garage, and I just want something reliable. So I'm going to buy a brand new car for the first time ever.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What do you think you'll get?

[Randy Blythe]

A Toyota RAV4 Hybrid.

[Ryan Reynolds]

There you go.

[Randy Blythe]

It carries surfboards, but I'm going to be a nervous little ninny about it. Like, oh, my God.

[Ryan Reynolds]

The trick is to get it. Kick a dent in the door with your boot the first day. There you go.

[Randy Blythe]

No worries.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, There was a show, Californication, where David Duchovny was in it or something. He buys a new Porsche, he looks at it, scowls, and he whacks one of the headlights with, like, a metal rod and breaks it. And he's like, all right, though it's some sort of metaphor or whatever for the show that I probably didn't pick up on. But I was like, oh, I see what you did there. Make sure it's no longer pristine. There's a viral video of you trying to go backstage. I don't know where it is, but this is bloodstock.

[Randy Blythe]

It's a big festival in the United Kingdom.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. And the woman stops you and someone's like, do you know who this guy is? And it was one of the reasons I booked this interview, because you handled that. So well, do you mind telling us the little anecdote?

[Randy Blythe]

Yes. We were headlining Bloodstock in England two or three years ago. I guess it's a big music festival, and we were the main act. Cause we do very well in the community there. And there's 40,000 people there. I guess when you walk on stage, you have a laminate most of the time.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Like a ID card.

[Randy Blythe]

Yes, exactly. It's a tour laminate. And I did not have mine because I'm a sweaty mess when I go on stage. I'm afraid I'll lose it. Or if I leave it, someone will take it. People see tour laminates, they're like, oh. So normally I give it to my guitar tech, or I just leave it locked in the dressing room. On this night, I was like, I probably won't need it. We're the headliners. So I walked up without my laminate, and you have to show your laminate to get on the stage. We're getting ready to play, and this young lady doing her job looked at me and said, excuse me, I need to see your laminate. And I'm like, I'm sorry. I'm an idiot. I don't have it. And someone's like, no, no, no. He's the singer. And she's like, oh, I'm so sorry. And I'm like, no, don't be sorry. You're doing your job right.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I could be anybody.

[Randy Blythe]

I like you. And it's my fault that I didn't have my laminate. I didn't want to be inconvenienced. So, like, why should I be mad at this woman for doing her job? That's patently insane. She's there to keep me safe.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. I think a lot of people said, whoa, this guy's super down to earth and really cool for not expl. That's how low the bar is, though, right?

[Randy Blythe]

Which was so surprising to me. I'm like, this is not like some sort of triumph of altruism. This is a decent human being, man. It's not hard.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, that's how low the bar really is. Or they expected less out of you, Randy.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah, maybe. I guess I look like a mean person, but my girlfriend says I have a mean demeanor.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Resting jerk face.

[Randy Blythe]

Not really when I'm walking around. I guess you look mean. I'm like, I don't know. That's okay.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It stops you from getting mugged.

[Randy Blythe]

Yes. I'm a really nice guy. But when that came out, I've talked to a lot of security people, and they're like, dude, there are band guys that. Don't you know who I am?

[Ryan Reynolds]

No, I just work here, which, yeah.

[Randy Blythe]

And I don't listen to this crap. I just work here. So for me, I always like to poke fun at myself. I say, don't you know who I think I am? That's great.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. She's having worked venue security. Do you know who that is? No. I'm literally wearing headphones because I don't want to hear this shit.

[Randy Blythe]

We played a few like a year later in Bristol, England, and someone told me, yo, I think her name was Sarah. They're like, she's working tonight. And I'm like, oh my God, the same lady. I got to see her and give her a big hug. And then we, we did this whole like skit where I acted like I was security and she was trying to come backstage. I'm like, wait, wait, wait, I need to see your id. And my band is. You jerk. Don't you know who she is? It was pretty funny. She's a very sweet girl.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's what people loved about that. I think it was like a wholesome interaction. By the way, what happened? He had so many dreads. Then I looked you up and I was like, oh, that's not the same guy.

[Randy Blythe]

No, it's the same guy. We played a festival in Milwaukee a couple of years ago, Milwaukee Metal Fest. A friend of mine puts on and I got a kink in my neck from swinging them around and it wouldn't leave for like two weeks. And I was like, okay, that's it. It was constantly hurting my neck. I surf too. And they get really heavy. When you surf.

[Ryan Reynolds]

How does that even work? Because soaking wet, giant mop of dreads. It's got to weigh like 30 pounds.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah, it sucked. And also I'd have to tie them up. They come undone sometimes. You surf?

[Ryan Reynolds]

No, but my brother in law is all my friends.

[Randy Blythe]

So when you paddle and then pop up, you put your hands at your rib cage to pop up. And sometimes my hair would get underneath it and then I'd just eat crap.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. Why can't I put. Oh, right, because I'm holding myself down. Exactly. My buddy, he surfs. He ended up with. Have you ever heard of surfers? Myelopathy? It's a super rare disease. A rare thing.

[Randy Blythe]

Don't scare me.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You're not gonna get this. Apparently every case has been Asian men because of where their nerves are located in their back. But I guess that some thing where you put your hands on the board and pop your spine like that cobra yoga position.

[Randy Blythe]

Yes.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's a pop up that can pinch nerves in your back. But again, only in, like Asian males or something generally. And he got that. And what it does is it makes it so that you can't really walk because it's some sort of like, impingement of a nerve. You can't really walk. And then he couldn't pee. So he goes to the hospital and he's like, I have to pee super bad, but I can't relax whatever muscle that is. And they're like, okay, this is gonna be uncomfortable. And he's like, it was actually like the best, most welcome. Imagine having to pee worse than you've ever had to pee in your entire life.

[Randy Blythe]

You can't do it. Your bladder would eventually explode and poison you.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I suppose that's what has to happen, right? Or the muscle gives out and it just dribbles out. What do I know? Awkward transition. But what happens if you're playing on stage and you really have to go to the bathroom or something? Are you just stuck?

[Randy Blythe]

Yes. But if it's an extreme emergency before you go on stage, every person is going to the bathroom as much as possible to get it out.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What'd I do before the show? But I still end up taking a break in the middle of having to go to the bathroom.

[Randy Blythe]

Sure. But, dude, there have been some close calls with not just peeing.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, God.

[Randy Blythe]

Because when you go on tour, you have to be pretty much dead to not get on stage. All of us have gotten on stage after suffering food poisoning where it's like.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It'S coming out one day, you know?

[Randy Blythe]

And I remember we played in London one time and my guitar player Mark had gotten food poisoned, had been up all night long puking and coming out the other way, and he just stood in one place. I couldn't really do my job because I was so worried he was going to fall over. He was gray and I was just trying to stay near him so he could hold him up. But we've definitely had trash cans backstage before. Because if it's going to go, it's going to go, oh, man.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. That's interesting because you think, okay, you can empty your bladder. Say, okay, no drinking an hour beforehand.

[Randy Blythe]

Well, then you're dehydrated.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You're dehydrated then. Especially if you're playing outside in the summer and it's 95 degrees in the shade, you have to deal with that. And, yeah, being sick. What happens if a band your size has to cancel a show? What is the Process. Like, do you have to refund everybody?

[Randy Blythe]

The last time we canceled because of illness was because of me. I had sushi with a friend of mine in la. And then we went to Vegas for the next show at House of Blues. And I woke up and I walked off the bus. I was feeling great, and then all of a sudden I wasn't feeling great.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, no.

[Randy Blythe]

And then all of a sudden, it all started coming out everywhere. And eventually it would not stop. So we got a doctor to come to House of Blues and give me a shot to stop the bombing, to plug me up. And then I got in my bunk and I just. I couldn't barely move. And I remember my tour manager opening the bunk and he's, do we need to cancel? And I'm, yes. I can't move. You could wheel me out and lay me on the stage. I could just lay there and vomit and shit myself. It wouldn't be much of a change.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's performance art, people.

[Randy Blythe]

Exactly. We came back, I can't remember how many months later and made that show up. But if people couldn't make it up, obviously they're going to get a refund.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, man.

[Randy Blythe]

It's also. When you cancel a show, fans get so mad.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Sure. They flew in and took a week off.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah, absolutely. And I understand that. That's why we don't cancel unless something is severely wrong. But for us, it's not good either, because when you cancel a show, we still have to pay our crew. We've already paid the bus.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Randy Blythe]

The venue for everything. And that's built into the budget. So you don't make money on a tour until a lot of times the last third of the tour because everything is. Else is catching up with the initial output.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, man. You need, like, startup capital.

[Randy Blythe]

Yes. Oh, yeah. So we reserve that in our bank account to start a tour. But if you cancel shows, you lose money. And I love playing music and I love playing for the fans, but it's also my job. I'm not out here to lose money. So when people cancel, I don't think fans understand this. Sometimes they're like, he just didn't want to come here or something.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Diva.

[Randy Blythe]

No, dude, this is how we make money.

[Ryan Reynolds]

God. And your bandmates would be pissed too, because, look, if you're dying from food poisoning, they understand, I assume. Yeah, but nobody wants to go, oh, he's a little tired. Let's cancel the show. Hey, that's my $15,000 and your 15,000 that each of us are chipping in for.

[Randy Blythe]

All the deposits and we're paying for everything else.

[Ryan Reynolds]

This is my kids college tuition money.

[Randy Blythe]

Exactly. A lot of my guys have kids and the band dudes are the last people to get paid.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Of course.

[Randy Blythe]

Always the last.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, it's got to be for a damn good reason.

[Randy Blythe]

Oh yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Let's go out for sushi. You know what, actually we're headlining tomorrow. Let's not go out for sushi.

[Randy Blythe]

I have learned the hard way. I don't really do sushi. I don't eat spicy Indian food anymore I don't like at all or just before.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay. Yeah.

[Randy Blythe]

My tolerance for spice has gone down.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Really?

[Randy Blythe]

Sadly.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I feel like mine has gone up much like you needed the headphone volume turned way up. I need my spice volume turned way up now that I'm 45.

[Randy Blythe]

Now mine has sadly gone down. I can't do it the way I used to.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, but it's wise, right? You have to think about what you're going to eat. For me, it's before a plane ride or a big interview, it's. Hey, do you want to have this questionable oyster omelette for breakfast?

[Randy Blythe]

Right?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Sure, sir. Oh, I think we're going to do some sausage and pancakes.

[Randy Blythe]

No, I don't do raw oysters on tour. I won't do muscles. One wrong muscle, to quote Anthony Bourdain, and you're shitting like a mink. Whatever that means. I always just thought it was a great expression.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Definitely true. The only times I've had food poisoning has always been like, I will have the seafood pasta. Oh, that one tasted funny. The rest of it was fine. And then the next day you're just like, cancel everything for the next four days.

[Randy Blythe]

No bueno. Done.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You guys can't make too many mistakes on it. Like I can go, what else do I want to talk about? We already talked about that. And then they'll just edit it out and make it look like I know what I'm doing.

[Randy Blythe]

Sure.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Surely there are mistakes that happen during shows and then what do you do when that happens?

[Randy Blythe]

We're very self critical and there are mistakes that happen during shows. But our band is so tight. We're one of the tightest bands out there. So for us, a mistake that will really bother one of us is something completely unnoticeable to the average listener. So it's gotta be a huge train wreck. And I think one time in the last 10 years we had a total train wreck on a song. And then I'm like, you just laugh. You laugh at your.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Be refreshing. It's like an outtake at the end of a comedy movie where you're like, oh, they screwed up the line in that scene. That's hilarious.

[Randy Blythe]

We're humans and we don't play to a click. We are a live rock band. And as such, mistakes happen. But not often.

[Ryan Reynolds]

No Milli Vanilli moment where you.

[Randy Blythe]

No, we don't run tracks except for like during the intro. There's an intro or whatever. There's no vocal tracks, no guitar tracks, none of that crap.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Do you guys do pyrotechnics and stuff? I haven't seen a live show, but.

[Randy Blythe]

I assume, yes, we start. Started doing that a few years ago.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What do you think about that?

[Randy Blythe]

It was. I love it.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's cool, right?

[Randy Blythe]

It's very cool. But it was very scary at first. And the first time we did it was in 2021, I believe it was the first tour we did coming out of COVID and we started it in Austin, Texas. There's a venue at a racetrack, a Formula one racetrack out there. And it was in July or August in Austin. And we had a pre production day.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Where we ran the whole set, including the firework.

[Randy Blythe]

Oh, yeah, yeah. And I'm on stage and it is. I think it was like 110 degrees outside.

[Ryan Reynolds]

We need more fire.

[Randy Blythe]

I'm like, why did we do this? Why? But it's awesome. It's amazing to have a pyro guy, bro. It's like having your own personal wizard. He just presses a button and I am the mother of dragons.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Because you see it now with lasers. And lasers are cool.

[Randy Blythe]

They're super cool.

[Ryan Reynolds]

There is something missing when there's no explosion. Maybe I'm just old fashioned.

[Randy Blythe]

It's a primal thing. Fire is very primal.

[Ryan Reynolds]

The feeling of the explosion going off is also absent when you just have a laser thing happening or drone thing.

[Randy Blythe]

I mean, when you think about it, you're sitting around with people. If there's a fire in someone's backyard at a fire pit, people gravitate towards it.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's right.

[Randy Blythe]

They sit there and they look at it. It's primal.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It is.

[Randy Blythe]

It's in our DNA.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And now your ears will ring from the explosively good deals on the fine products and services that support this show. We'll be right back. This episode is sponsored in part by Oura Ring. I've been rocking the Oura Ring since Gen 1. Back when it looked like some sort of gadget from the future. Now we're on Gen 4. I've got to say, it just keeps getting Better, sleeker, more comfortable, smarter. I wear mine 247 without even thinking about it. What I really love is it's hands down the best sleep tracker out there. I'm not just talking about, hey, you got six hours and 12 minutes of sleep. And yes, I did last night. Hence the coffee aura gives you actual insights. Your sleep stages recovery, heart rate variability, temperature changes. It's like a full sleep lab on your finger. And sleep isn't just about feeling rested. Quality sleep is one of the biggest factors for long term health and longevity. So if you want to live better, longer, you really have to start with how you sleep. Jen wears one, my brother in law wears one. Gabriel wears one. We definitely compare scores because we're nerds like that. There's circles so you can basically check in on your family. It helps keep us aware of how we're sleeping, how we should be sleeping. It's made me way more conscious about stuff like rest, recovery, going to bed on time, not just powering through exhaustion like some sort of hustle culture maniac. So if you care about how you feel, start with how you sleep. Give ora the finger. Learn [e-mail] jordan that's o u r a ring.com jordan this episode is sponsored in part by Airbnb. I got to give a shout out to Brian McDonald, who listens to the show and absolutely hooked me up in Vietnam. Recently, Brian runs A Taste of Hanoi, and I had this layover in Hanoi and he's like, I got you. Set me up with one of his guides for a motorbike food tour in Hanoi, which was awesome. Now, if you've never been in the back of a motorbike in Vietnam, it's something, man. You're weaving through scooters in traffic like a video game where you can actually die. And then all of the sudden, we're inside someone's house. Literally inside. We rode the motorbike. I'll tell you here. The guide pulls into what looks like an alley, okay. But it turns into a hallway. And then he turns around, grins, and goes, okay, put your hands on my shoulders, duck your head down, pull your knees all the way in. The next thing I know, we're riding through someone's living room, not even kidding. Like, actually someone's living room. To get to this little courtyard kitchen where this auntie is making pho that'll just ruin your life. No pho will ever taste as good. And Vietnamese egg coffee upstairs on the balcony. I don't even know how to describe it. It's like tiramisu and espresso. Had a beautiful caffeinated baby. Short trip, Chaotic. Absolutely incredible. And I can't wait to go back and bring Jen next time because I know she's going to love it. And next time we'll put our place on Airbnb to help fund the adventure. You can too. Airbnb makes it super practical. It doesn't take a lot of effort. You set it up before you leave and then your house is earning money while you're on vacation and making memories. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how [e-mail] host if you're wondering how I managed to book guests like Randy Blythe, it is because of my network. These always come through warm intros, folks. It's not just falling in my lap for no reason. I'm teaching you how to build your network for free. Now, I know you're probably not booking for a podcast, but everything that has come through in my life and business, including meeting my wife, has come through this circle of people that I know, like and trust. So I don't care if you're retired. I don't care if it's your first day of work or you're still in college. These are skills that are going to pay off for the rest of your life, professionally and personally. The course is not cringy. It's not the sort of stuff you see on Instagram. I don't want to get in too much detail about that. It's not silly. It's not going to make other people feel gross, make you look dumb. Six minutes a day is all it takes. And many of the guests on the show subscribe and contribute to that course. So come on and join us. You'll be in smart company where you belong. You can find the course again. It's all [e-mail] all right, back to Randy Blythe. You had a bout with alcoholism.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah. Do you want to call it that? Yeah, sure. 22 year knockdown, drag out, Olympic level brawl with booze and drugs.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, I would love to hear about that because it sounded like your life revolved around booze for that.

[Randy Blythe]

Yes, it's the center of my existence.

[Ryan Reynolds]

10 years sober now 14. 14. I don't know where I got 10.

[Randy Blythe]

It's a nice easy number.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's a round one. It's probably in your book. And I was like, oh, time has not evolved since I've read this piece of thing that he wrote four years.

[Randy Blythe]

Ago, I started drinking when I was about 18. And the longer I stay sober, the more I realize how different my drinking was from the beginning. Whereas everybody drinks when they're young, at least in our age group. Sure, my friends would drink, and most of them, even on the weekend, maybe get a hangover or whatever and then go on about their life. But with me, when I drank, strange things happened. I wound up in weird places with weird people doing weird things at times. And that was even before my band. So once I joined a band, you can get away with a lot of stuff when you're in a band that you can't. He's an artist at a regular.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's normal for him to have whiskey for breakfast.

[Randy Blythe]

Yes, exactly. And when we finally signed to A major, I'd been in the band nine years at the time. I guess when our first major label record came out and we didn't get millions of dollars a piece or anything, but we had to make a decision when our first major label record came out. Like, okay, are we going to devote ourselves full time to this, or are we going to continue to weekend warrior this and work when we can and tour when we can? It was very scary time in my life. I've been working since I was 12.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, so you're like, should we burn the boats?

[Randy Blythe]

Yes, burn the boats. Time to do this. And the odds of success, particularly given the nature of our band, are not good.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Right?

[Randy Blythe]

They're not. We're never gonna deliver a radio hit.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You're not writing pop songs for Taylor Swift.

[Randy Blythe]

When I quit the day job and the band became full time, I no longer had any sort of restraint, except for when I was on stage or in the studio. There's nothing telling me not to drink every day.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Right. I see.

[Randy Blythe]

And I had some money in my pocket for the first time in my life, and my alcoholism just progressed. And I think he was already there, like, in retrospect and looking at it. It got worse and worse, though, and particularly in our culture. I think it's changing now. I think the paradigm is changing. I think kids are smarter now. I don't think they think it's cool to be a drunken train wreck anymore. But we did from the heavy metal world and our band is from that. And even in the more punk rock scene I come from, there's a long history of junkies and so forth.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Who was it Sid Vicious who died of heroin when he was like, 21?

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah, he was 21 years old.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's like a child.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And he was hardcore junkie.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah. So that sort of mythos. I bought into that. Of course I drink. I'm in a heavy metal band.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. It's beneficial for my voice to smoke this cigarettes non stop.

[Randy Blythe]

And being a train wreck kind of was expected. So it got worse and worse, though. My band was doing better and better and I was getting worse and worse. Until finally in 2010, we were in Australia on tour with Metallica and I woke up one day and I looked out on my hotel room balcony and I was. It was a beautiful day in Australia, Brisbane. And I was like, I don't want to live anymore. It wasn't like I was suicidal. I just wanted to be erased from existence.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I see. Shut the machine down.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah, done. And then I was like, maybe you stop drinking and doing drugs, your life might get better. And it did.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. So how did you stop? You just.

[Randy Blythe]

I stopped and I talked to some of the dudes who were out on that tour who I knew were sober. James Hetfield and some of his guitar techs and stuff, because they had talked to me. We were on tour with Metallica for about a year over the course of two years back then. And every now and then they'd be like, dude, you might want to dial it back a little bit, because partied across America, Europe, then on into New Zealand, Australia. And I knew those dudes were sober, so I went there. I'm like, please help. They're like, just breathe, dude.

[Ryan Reynolds]

We were wondering if you were going to have this conversation.

[Randy Blythe]

Exactly. Exactly. I spent my first month sober in Australia on tour.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Did you have withdrawal symptoms and everything?

[Randy Blythe]

My metabolism is so fast. I processed it out. I was sweaty and couldn't sleep very well. A couple of nights, sure. But there's only two substances that can kill you from withdrawals, and that's alcohol and benzodiazepams. Xanax and that shit. And withdrawals from alcohol can kill you. Seizures and all that stuff. Luckily, it just didn't happen for me. I guess it just processed it. I got lucky.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That is fortunate. Yeah.

[Randy Blythe]

But I had a friend who drank himself to Death at age 23 years old. Died on his bed cursing his parents. They were coming to see him and he couldn't barely even speak anymore.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, that's terrible.

[Randy Blythe]

They took the alcohol away from me, went to the hospital, and his internal organs melted.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's just horrific.

[Randy Blythe]

He was built like me, like a tall, skinny dude. You never know. It's an individual thing.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. Geez. Again, it depends on your organs. Did you get fat during this time? Because alcohol is A shitload of calories.

[Randy Blythe]

I tried my best to get a beer gut.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Didn't happen. You're one of those guys like, oh, yeah, I have a six pack now because I've been eating too much fast food.

[Randy Blythe]

I get a gut when I eat, but it's not like a fat gut. It's just distended six pack. And then two hours later, it's gone. Man, it makes my girlfriend really mad. Yeah, you eat whatever you want and I gained the weight.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, that's nonsense. Nobody likes you for that. You said in the book, no one is more educated about your beliefs than yourself. In theory. And then I'm paraphrasing here, but you go on to say, but if you don't question or analyze these or look at your beliefs critically, you just take them at face value, then you're driven by fear. Can you expand on that a little bit?

[Randy Blythe]

The precise quote, the word that's missing is if you were. Are unwilling.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I see.

[Randy Blythe]

To examine. If you sit there and you're like, if I think, okay, Jordan Harbinger really doesn't like me, we're gonna do this podcast and he's gonna ask me some gotcha questions and then try and submit this to the music press and make me look like a total jerk.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That is my plan.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah, I know. I can tell you're very Machiavellian. So if I have these beliefs for some reason, if I am unwilling to say, why do you think that, dude? Like, why? No matter how cherished that belief is, if I'm unwilling to do that, then I'm scared to look at myself and look at my method of processing the world. And I think this is something that a lot of people experience. There's a lot of cognitive dissonance going on. I believe this. We live in such a divisive society, not to get into any sort of political party or whatever, but people are so binary now, almost black and white thinking. At least online in person, things tend to go a little bit smoother. But online, there's this group thing. You're A or B, and the group is comforting. Human beings have a herd instinct. Of course. This is the way to think. Everybody else thinks.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Everybody else in my bubble agrees with me.

[Randy Blythe]

Exactly. And it's reinforcing your biases, your already existing biases. But if you aren't really willing to sit there and look at why you think the way you think and ask yourself, do I believe this because I believe this or because it's been yelled at me by a bunch of other people, Then you're just scared. You're scared to look at yourself. And I think as an artist, at least for me and a lot of my friends, that's one of the great things about being an artist because it involves a lot of self reflection, creating honest art, and questioning myself and my beliefs. And some of my beliefs are the very same as they were when I was 16 and I hold them up to scrutiny and it's uncomfortable. But some things I have to let go of, evolve.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. A friend of mine, she asked why I eat meat. She's a vegetarian. And we were hiking, so I had eight hours to think about the answer. I was like, let me get back to you. And at the bottom of the mountain I said, I think it's because I'm a hypocrite. And she's, what do you mean? And I said, I would never let anybody eat my dog just because they eat dog in their culture or whatever. But I will eat chickens and cows and lambs and I just don't care.

[Randy Blythe]

You get hungry enough, you'll eat your dog.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Of course I understand if someone is starving and they steal my dog, I empathize with that. But it's not like I would butcher my own dog because I'm just too lazy to go to the grocery store. No, but then you go, yes, I know these animals are mistreated, but I'll still eat them. And the only honest answer is because I just am able to compartmentalize it and not look at it and not care.

[Randy Blythe]

Absolutely.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And it's hypocritical to do that. And you just have to accept that about yourself. And it's not comfortable to be like, yeah, I have beliefs that don't make sense because they're convenient.

[Randy Blythe]

Right. 100%. And that's the whole thing is it's uncomfortable to question your beliefs. And with the meat thing, I eat meat myself. That being said, the factory farming system is atrocious.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It is. It's really gross.

[Randy Blythe]

It is horrifying for me, in my life, I've been trying to buy. It's much more expensive, especially these days. Ethically sourced meat.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Randy Blythe]

Cage free eggs, all that stuff.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's expensive.

[Randy Blythe]

It is expensive, but it's the little thing I do. But when I'm on tour, you're like.

[Ryan Reynolds]

In cage free eggs.

[Randy Blythe]

I'm not doing that. So it's hypocritical. I think we can only do the best that we can do.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. Once you have kids, it's even harder. Man, I gotta tell you, like, I looked at my electric bill. I used to be one of those guys, turn off all the lights, wash clothes once a week. I looked at my electric bill. I goes, that line us. And she goes, no, that's the line of how average people, our house size in our area, their electricity that they use. And I was like, what's the giant line that goes all the way across the page? That's our house. And I was like, how do we use 300% more electricity than other average people in our area? And she's like, we work from home. We have two kids. Your parents come over every night. We have an electric stove. And I'm like, this is horrifying, but what are you going to do? Have your kids sit in the dark, wear poopy clothes? And you have to just eventually go, damn, I'm not this good person that I thought I was, or I'm not this environmentalist that I thought I was.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah. I am constantly turning off lights. I am constantly recycling. I'm constantly doing all these things that you just hope are please. And I'm gonna buy a hybrid car next because I know that will reduce gas usage, but the batteries were mined by children. Exactly. And it's just. Oh, God, there's so much. And I think that if you're a socially or environmentally conscious person at all, you can't concentrate on everything. You lose your mind because you begin to feel helpless and without agency. And I think that feeling of helplessness and lack of agency causes some people to just say, screw it. Yeah, I'm going to just do whatever. And that's not the answer. So for me, just try, man. I'm trying just to do what I can. And I know I'm not perfect, but don't give up hope on doing the right thing just because it's difficult.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I agree with you. I got a little derailed there. But you said in the book, my head is a bad neighborhood to get lost in.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What do you mean by that?

[Randy Blythe]

I mean that I'm a great catastrophizer. That means that I start with something relatively minute, maybe that has gone wrong, or more likely, that I have screwed up and my mind immediately kicks off like an English soccer riot and draws an entirely logical sequence of events that ends in the worst possible outcome.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Complete destruction of your life.

[Randy Blythe]

Everything, my friend. I'm from the 1970s, a child of the Cold War, and the worst logical outcome is global thermonuclear war.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I forgot my laminate.

[Randy Blythe]

So. Exactly. So they're. So I forget to stop by the grocery store to get yogurt from my girlfriend, like, I promise. And next thing you know, Putin's invading Ukraine, the sky is on fire, and everything's dead but cockroaches and Keith Richards. Right, bro? So this happens all the time. I need some adult guidance and should not go wandering around up in my head without some adult guidance. So that's why I do things like read philosophy and talk to people who have more experience. I used when I was younger, try to figure everything out myself. Why am I so upset with the world? Why are people jerks? Why can't they put the grocery cart back in the car corral? It's 10ft away. And I get so mad that I'd have to change my perspective. And the best way I found to do that would be drink. And then you're just possessed by impotent anger. It's okay to be angry about some things, but if you're not doing anything with that or it's not inspiring any sort of action whatsoever, then you're just sitting there mad. And nobody likes the mad guy. He doesn't get invited to parties. Were you an angry kid after a certain point? Yes.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Did something start that?

[Randy Blythe]

Or was it. Yeah, absolutely. I don't come from money. I didn't grow up in a dirt shack with no electricity or anything. My dad and mom when lower middle class and upper. Lower class, lower middle. Somewhere there.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Somewhere in there.

[Randy Blythe]

And when they split up when I was in, like, the end of third grade, my father and my brothers and I moved to Virginia from North Carolina. My mom stayed in North Carolina to go to college. Shout out, mom, I love you.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Good for her. She went to college after having a bunch of kids and stuff.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah, she had three kids.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Not easy.

[Randy Blythe]

No. So she went to college and my parents are great friends to this day.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's good.

[Randy Blythe]

That separation was not what, like, really made me angry because they handled it. They never weaponized my brothers and I against them. We didn't know anything was wrong. That's how well they handled it.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's very impressive.

[Randy Blythe]

They're beautiful. Both of them are beautiful people. I love them both very much. Learned a lot from both of them. But when we moved from North Carolina to Virginia, I went into a new school. I did not fit in. I did not have the right clothes. I did not live in the right neighborhood. I was not interested in the right things.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Like sports.

[Randy Blythe]

Yes.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. Oh, God. I can relate, man.

[Randy Blythe]

I want to read books and I want to go skateboarding. And this is in the 80s when skateboarding was not cool.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Really? Skateboarding wasn't cool in the 80s?

[Randy Blythe]

No. Oh, man.

[Ryan Reynolds]

In Michigan, it was like the coolest thing.

[Randy Blythe]

Not in the broader sense that it is now.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Sure.

[Randy Blythe]

Like you were a weirdo punk rocker most of the time if you were a skateboarder. Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Wow.

[Randy Blythe]

And I lived in a little tiny redneck town.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Maybe that's why.

[Randy Blythe]

So it's like you're a dude.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Remember when people could just freely say that? How horrible is that?

[Randy Blythe]

Yes, to the point. That was in the culture so much that I don't know how old I was. I managed to eradicate that from my vocabulary because it's something I used to say.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Of course.

[Randy Blythe]

Because I was raised around it and didn't mean like. Or homeless.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Wasn't a slur. We were just using it as a random insight until your friend goes, yeah, hey, by the way, that's a slur. I had a friend who was like, I'm gay and that's a slur. And I was like, oh, come on. And he's. No, it's like the N word for gay. And I was like, yeah. Oh, I should just not say that anymore.

[Randy Blythe]

I didn't know any gay people until I got older.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You did, but they didn't tell you.

[Randy Blythe]

Now I have some very dear friends and it's like, embarrassing to me. I'm like, oh, my God. I was like, even though these people called me that word, I'm still throwing it around. What a jerk. So it's a process.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Thank God we didn't have social media when we were kids. Can you imagine all the crap that would have been filmed of us doing?

[Randy Blythe]

Oh, my God, dude, I say that so many times. I'm like, thank God there were no cell phones when I was a teenager.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I did and said so many dumb things. Even through college, everything.

[Randy Blythe]

Oh, yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Unbelievable.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You and I would not be able to have careers because they'd be like, here's a tape from 10 years ago where you were saying all these different. Yeah, but I was just drunk at a party. Yeah, we don't care you're a racist. Like, not really, though.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah, I think that's a problem with children today though, too. We're joking about it. Thank God we don't have this. But they do have it.

[Ryan Reynolds]

They do have it.

[Randy Blythe]

There is a frothing mob of iPhone wielding documenters waiting just to capture every screw up. And, like, that's gotta be pressure.

[Ryan Reynolds]

The only saving grace now is in a few years you'll be able to go, that was AI, that's fake. That wasn't me.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah, yeah. It's getting real scary.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Look, here's the full video. And the kid starts flying through the air. You just have to make a fake one. By the way, you taught me something in your book that I've never heard, which is also really scary, that you can rip your larynx if you hold back a sneeze.

[Randy Blythe]

This is true.

[Ryan Reynolds]

One, how did you learn that? And two, that sounds terrible. Do you know anyone who's done that?

[Randy Blythe]

No, I do not.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, my God.

[Randy Blythe]

But I was writing that part about how the future is unknowable. No matter how advanced our technology gets. People are not good with uncertainty. These days we all have these cell phones, which I call the Pocket Jesus. You look to it for all your answers, but some things you just don't know. Uncertainty. And you just have to deal with it. So I was writing about how if someone were to say, I'm not going to sneeze two years from now or whatever, it doesn't matter how much you study sneezing, every allergen you remove from your environment, you could be the boy in the bubble. You might be ready to sneeze.

[Ryan Reynolds]

The boy in the bubble. There's a reference of people who are younger than us are not going to understand.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah, look it up. Was John Travolta.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It might have been.

[Randy Blythe]

I think so.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Actually. You might be right. Wow. That was Travolta. Seriously old movie. So for people who have no idea what we're talking about, this is a kid who. Based on a true story. Autoimmune disease or like, no immune system or something.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah, he had an autoimmune disease, which basically meant he had no immune system.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Basically, he had to live in, like the equivalent of a big old fish tank kind of thing with a fan blowing the air.

[Randy Blythe]

And when he left, he had one of those ball things that, like hamsters roll around.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Terrible.

[Randy Blythe]

I've read about people with that to this day. But, yeah, the whole point of that is I was talking about how the unknown is unacceptable. And if you say, I'm not going to sneeze, that's a ridiculous statement. By the way, don't try and hold back sneeze because you can rip your larynx. I also have read. And I'm very careful when I'm driving. If I have to sneeze. Very careful when you're driving. Yes.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So that you don't slam on the.

[Randy Blythe]

Accelerator so that you actually see what's going on. Because most of the time when you sneeze, you're just like. And driving is not the time to blink. Like, so I'm just like, true. And I very purposely keep my eyes open.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. Get to clean the windshield afterwards, I guess.

[Randy Blythe]

I put a hand over my mouth. I'm not a savage.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And then you touch your steering wheel again.

[Randy Blythe]

Yes, of course. And spread my germs all over.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Spread it everywhere. Do you have vocal damage or anything? From years of essentially screaming?

[Randy Blythe]

My voice gets deeper. I think everybody's naturally does.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You don't have nodules in there or anything weird, maybe. It doesn't sound like it. Sometimes you can tell, like, when Steven Tyler's got something going on. Yeah, that's vocal damage. I don't think he always sounded like that. He can still sing, like, high notes and everything. It's just there's one segment of his larynx or whatever that's probably shredded up, you know, consistency.

[Randy Blythe]

And you go out on tour and a guy with a voice like that, he wants to deliver. People want to hear that. Dream on. You know, like, perfect. They want to hear it perfect. And if he can't hit that, he doesn't, you know, I understand. If it ever gets to the point where I'm like, ah, I'm going to be okay. It's time to hang it up.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Is there a range that you can't sing? Like, do you ever go, oh, I'm going to sing to my nieces and nephews and go, oh, God. I can't actually do the Frozen soundtrack at all.

[Randy Blythe]

The more I sing, the better I get over the years. But certain falsetta stuff. I'm a bass baritone, so it's a little difficult for me.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Give him the Lamb of God version of.

[Randy Blythe]

I know. I try not to do that around children. Gold never bothered me anyway.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Do you have. Is it tinnitus, the perpetual ring in your ears?

[Randy Blythe]

It comes and goes.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I see. Do you actually have hearing damage from.

[Randy Blythe]

You know, amazingly enough, the last time I had it tested, it was okay. And I get done recording or I come off tour, I lay down at night and it goes away after a couple of days. Every now and then, it'll just come.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Beep.

[Randy Blythe]

Really high pitched. But I do not have it like for, say, William Shatner has it. William Shatner got it on the set of the original Star Trek. There was. Remember when they'd be on the bridge on Star Trek and things would be on fire or whatever. The pyrotechnics exploded unexpectedly close to his ear while they were filming one day and so Shatner has tinnitus so bad almost that he was considering suicide.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, it's terrible.

[Randy Blythe]

It was driving him crazy. So I think he's done some work with foundations to research that.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, that's one of those scary things. There's no cure for it. And you think, oh, yeah, mild annoyance. But yeah, multiple people have told me that when they have it, it's beyond annoying. It's like they consider making it all end because no way to stop it.

[Randy Blythe]

Mine has not been that bad. Generally what I'll do if it's at the end of a tour and I have a little bit, I'll make sure there's a fan running some sort of white noise until it fades.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I heard you don't actually like recording music. You just tolerate the recording of the music.

[Randy Blythe]

I don't like recording Lamb of God.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Why is that? I think that probably confuses people because.

[Randy Blythe]

It is physically painful.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What do you mean?

[Randy Blythe]

When I record, I need everything in the cans ear bleedingly loud to help emulate this sort of vibe I have with my band. Because we're not a quiet band.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Right.

[Randy Blythe]

My ears go, oh, that kind of physically loud. I have a headache, my throat hurts. After you've done it. I wake up every day. My voice is naturally pretty deep when I'm recording and wake up in the morning. Be great for, like, sexy voiceovers. And I will hear a fragment of a lyric that I recorded the day before when I lay down to sleep, I'm hearing the peep. And then I'm also hearing my own voice screaming a part of a lyric again and again and again.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Like when you play a video game for too long and you go to sleep and it's in your head.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah. It's not good. It's a physical process for me. It really is. I don't enjoy it.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. Then also, you don't want to record it at classical music volume and find out it doesn't sound quite right at 11 or whatever.

[Randy Blythe]

I always have a hard time getting my voice to do what it does live. Until one day my producer was like, let's try a trick. And he put a filter on what I heard in my ears and not what was going to tape, but the filter that I was hearing. My voice, he made it sound like a crappy club pa, because that's the world I come from. And then all of a sudden, my voice went bling.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, that's funny. You tuned it right away.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah. Also because most of the time when you're recording an album, our last album Recorded here in LA at Henson Studios. And a lot of it was live.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Where the Muppet was. Oh, that's cool. That's got to be a. Kind of a cool place to do.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah. It's a legendary studio Charlie Chaplin owned. Yeah, that was his. So we did it. We had a great live room. And I wasn't in the room with my guys while they were playing, but I was in a booth and I could see them. And there's an energy that happens between us live. It's just so much different now. If I'm singing to a tape, my dudes aren't there. I don't feel this visceral connection to them and the music as it's being made that I do on stage. Yeah, I really feel it. And it makes it. I don't know, it makes it just so much better. I hate singing to tape.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You feed off the crowd too, or it is, oh, 100. Even with the lights where you can't see anybody, or does that not happen at your kind of shows?

[Randy Blythe]

The lights can definitely blind you. But I'm very well aware of the audience. I'm hyper aware of how the music is going over with the audience. It's my job to make sure the. To facilitate the audience's good time.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Sure.

[Randy Blythe]

As a front man, not to be egotistical, but it's your job to make sure that these people are enjoying the music.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's what they're paying for.

[Randy Blythe]

Involves encouragement at times. So I'm very much aware of the audience's status.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You know, what's better than doing time in a Nazi Czech prison castle? The great deals and discounts on the fine products and services that support this show. We'll be right back. This episode is sponsored in part by Audible. People always ask me how I manage to get through so much content, especially since I prep for every interview. I'm talking two to three books a week. And it's all thanks to Audible. I've got Audible in my ears while I'm getting my 10,000 steps in running errands, even doing stuff around the house. I don't mess with physical books anymore at all. Audible is just way more efficient. I listen on 2 or even 3x speed, which lets me cover a lot of ground without sacrificing quality. Right now, I'm listening to Good Inside by Dr. Becky Kennedy. She's got this really down to earth way of talking about parenting that is not preachy. And here's what a lot of people don't realize. Audible is not just audiobooks. Anymore, you get access to thousands of titles with your membership, podcasts, Audible originals, and cool stuff like their Words and music series, where artists tell their stories in their own words. The variety makes the membership way more valuable, so you never run out of great stuff to check out. One day I'm deep in a parenting guide, the next it's a podcast or a spy thriller. So whether you're into suspense, self development, or you just want to make traffic suck less, Audible's got you covered.

[Jordan Harbinger]

Start listening and discover what's beyond the edge of your seat. New members can try Audible now free for 30 days, and dive into a world of new thrills. Visit audible.com jhs or text jhs to 500500 that's audible.com jhs or text JHS.

[Ryan Reynolds]

To 500500 I've got homes.com as a sponsor for this episode. Homes.com knows when it comes to home shopping, it's never just about the house or the condo. It's about the homes. And what makes a home is more than just the house or property. It's the location. It's the neighborhood. If you got kids, it's also schools, nearby, parks, transportation options. That's why homes.com goes above and beyond to bring home shoppers the in depth information they need to find the right home. It's so hard not to say home every single time. And when I say in depth information, I'm talking deep. Each listing features comprehensive information about the neighborhood, complete with a video guide. They also have details about local schools with test scores, state rankings, student teacher ratio. They even have an agent directory with the sales history of each agent. So when it comes to finding a home, not just a house, this is everything you need to know, all in1place.homes.com We've done your homework.

[Jordan Harbinger]

This episode is also sponsored in part by AG1. Some big news about AG1. They just dropped their next generation formula. It's the same easy routine, just one scoop once a day. But now it's packed with more vitamins, minerals and upgraded probiotics. And now it's also backed by four human clinical trials, which is wild because most supplements never even get one. AG1 is such an easy positive habit that I don't even need to think about. I mix one scoop with water, drink it while I'm driving Jaden to school in the morning, and it helps me feel like I'm starting the day off dialed in. If you want to check out the science behind it, go to drinkag1.com science I love it when brands actually back up their claims, and AG1's next gen is one of the rare ones that went way beyond the usual fluff. Now clinically backed with an advanced formula, this is the perfect time to try AG1. If you haven't yet, we've been drinking AG1 for years now and we're so happy to be partnering with them. So subscribe today to try the next gen of AG1. If you use our link, you'll also get a free bottle of AG D3K2, an AG1 Welcome Kit, and five of the upgraded AG1 Travel Packs with your first order. So make sure to check out drinkag1.com Jordan to get started with AG1's next gen and notice the benefits for yourself. That's drinkag1.com Jordan if you like this.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Episode of the show, I invite you to do what smart and considerate listeners do. That is take a moment and support the amazing sponsors who make this show possible. All of the deals, discount codes and ways to support this podcast are searchable and clickable over on the [e-mail] deals if you can't remember the name of a sponsor, you're not sure if there's a code. Seriously, just email us jordanordanharbinger.com, the team is happy to surface those codes for you. It is that important that you support those who support the show. All right, now for the rest of my conversation with Randy Blythe. What is this Czech prison story? I know a little bit about it, but Stacy, who's out there, who I think is maybe my boss, I'm not sure.

[Randy Blythe]

Right.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Basically, if the company had to choose one of us, they would choose her over me. But anyway, she was like, you gotta ask him about the Czech prison story. And I thought it was going to be like some hilarious night out that ended in you going to prison. Not really the case, no.

[Randy Blythe]

No, no, no, not really the case. That's what my first book, Dark Days is about. And it's a 500 page book. But basically in 2010, Lamb of God played a concert in Prague. Their security was non existent. Kids were on stage, off and on the whole time. Very dangerous, small club. Our equipment was ready to fall on people. We played that show. We're like, thank God that's over. We came back two years later, we flew from Norway to Prague, landed in Prague airport, got off the plane and they diverted myself and my band into another room. And in the room there were five or six dudes in like mask, balaclavas, Machine guns and stuff. Three big, huge, Slavic meathead. They look like Dolph from the Rocky movie.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, sure.

[Randy Blythe]

These plainclothes detectives. And then this woman, this woman who was the head detective, handed me a piece of paper saying that I was being charged with the equivalent of manslaughter because a young man. They said, I purposely pushed a young man off the stage, attacked him, he fell, hit his head, went into a coma, died a month later. And we had no idea anyone had.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Been hurt at the previous show.

[Randy Blythe]

No clue. And the American government had been contacted about this by the Czech government two years previously. And the American government said, this is nonsense. We're not going to cooperate. But the American government never let me know.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I was going to say, they just didn't tell you.

[Randy Blythe]

No, no.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Flown back there.

[Randy Blythe]

Obviously, I would have gone back there to handle this. It's not a parking ticket.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Randy Blythe]

So I'm in total shock. What are you talking about? This makes no sense. I thought it was a mistake. And then I went to a prison in Prague for 37 days.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, shoot. So this wasn't like a long weekend in the.

[Randy Blythe]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And so they granted me bail, which was almost half a million dollars. We borrowed that from the record label. And then unlike America, where when you pay bail, you're free to go there, we paid bail. The prosecuting attorney did not like it, so he objected, so they doubled the bail. So we're pushing towards half a million dollars.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, I see. Wow.

[Randy Blythe]

Luckily, some rather wealthy friends of ours were like, we'll loan you guys the other half, which they did.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yikes.

[Randy Blythe]

And then I got bailed out and I went back to America and immediately went on tour in order to pay for all the lawyers. And then six months later, went back to trial in the Czech Republic and I was found not guilty.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So I'm sure that everyone said, hey, don't go back there, because the trial could go anyway and you have no control and they're not going to extradite you.

[Randy Blythe]

Yes.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Especially if the US government said, this is nonsense, they're not going to cooperate. So why did you go back?

[Randy Blythe]

Because the family of this young man who died, they never attacked me in the press. The Czech press attacked me particularly. This one tabloid newspaper painted me as this marauding American Viking come to murder people, or whatever they said, printed all sorts of nonsense. They said I had kicked a woman to death in the head. All sorts of just made up, Just made up nonsense. And then just painting me as a really bad guy. To the point where my attorneys had to threaten to sue the paper. My Czech attorneys did. But the family of this young man who tragically died, they deserved answers. All they knew is that their son went to go see my band. He was injured somehow, and he died a month later.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's horrible.

[Randy Blythe]

As a parent, it's horrible. And I. My first marriage, I lost the only child we had. She died shortly after birth due to a heart defect. And I have empathy for those parents. I know what it's like. Probably even worse for them because he had lived.

[Ryan Reynolds]

How old was he? 18.

[Randy Blythe]

18 or 19. And my daughter only lives less than a day.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Sorry to hear that, though.

[Randy Blythe]

Well, you're a parent. So. The only thing these parents knew was that their son had gone to see my band. And then this sort of rumors of me attacking him and all this other stuff. I felt honor bound to try and give them the answers that I could, to the best of my ability, not to hide in America like a coward. Sure, because their son is dead. That's horrifying. And B, although I know I was sober that night, I know because I'd been writing about it in a journal. Also, memory is a tricky thing. And memory, it's not like people think we have this hard drive that all you gotta do is press a button and everything is replayable. That's not how memory works. It's like recreating a puzzle almost every time you remember something. I learned a lot about the science of memory during this. So I needed to make sure that if I was, in fact culpable here, if I had done something that I did not remember or had falsely construed in my mind, if that came out in a trial, then I need to be held responsible for my actions because I ran away from my problems for so long and alcohol, but I was a sober man then. If I am not willing to take responsibility, or at least look at the possibility to examine myself and what may come out, evidence I'm unaware of, then I am not being accountable in my life. And if I can convince myself that I am not accountable in this one area just because it's scary, because it's scary, then it's only a hop, skip and a jump for me to convince myself that I'm not accountable in all sorts of areas. And from there, it's very easy for me to be like, you've been sober a long time. Maybe you can just take a drink and it'll be all right.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I see.

[Randy Blythe]

And then if I hadn't gone back, I'd be dead now, one way or the other.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Really?

[Randy Blythe]

Yes, because I would have either drank myself to death, I know it. Or I would have killed myself because I couldn't look at myself in the mirror.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's fascinating that you can draw a line from that to being dead, essentially. Yeah, that's fascinating. I was not really expecting that. That's quite fascinating. What is Czech prison like, dare I ask? Have you been to a jail in America?

[Randy Blythe]

Sure, I've been to the drunk tank overnight a few times.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What's Czech prison like, comparatively to the.

[Randy Blythe]

Prison I went to? It's called Penkrat's prison. It's in Prague. At the time, I believe it was 127 or 137 years old.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, wow. So it's like a dungeon or something like that?

[Randy Blythe]

Well, it was for the first half of it. They put you in one tier to see if you're depressed and suicidal.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Supposedly we're going to put you in the most depressed.

[Randy Blythe]

Exactly. So they put you in the basement.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, my gosh. And if you're not suicidal, you're going to be when you get out of here.

[Randy Blythe]

I talked to this one guy who spoke English. He's, look, the doctor is going to come for psychological development. When they ask you what you think, do not tell them you do not like it here because they will keep you in the basement longer. He told me that when they ask him, what do you think of the presence of? I said, what the. Pardon my French. What do you think? I think about this. It sucks. And they're like, you're depressed. Maybe you ought to stay down here in isolation a little bit longer. So it was very heavy.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I love the history, just these walls, the stories they could tell.

[Randy Blythe]

The stories that prison can tell are from 1939, I think, to 1945. And the Nazis had it.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, geez.

[Randy Blythe]

They were putting Czech dissidents, black marketers, some Jews, I think these political undesirables there, and they were executing them by firing a squad. Then that got too expensive, so they started hanging them. And then that took too long, so they installed a guillotine. And so in about a year and a half, they executed over 2,000 people. I think it was by the guillotine.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, my God, that blade's dull.

[Randy Blythe]

By the way, the guillotine was down the hall from me.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It was still in there.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah. I didn't get to see it. But they keep it there because at the end of the war, the Nazis took it and threw it in the Vltava River. In order to hide the evidence of their atrocities. But the Czech divers went and got it and brought it back.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Good for them.

[Randy Blythe]

And the head executioner of that prison, maybe it was Even in the 2000s, he applied for his retirement benefits from the German army in Germany.

[Ryan Reynolds]

My God.

[Randy Blythe]

Because he's, yes, I served in this and this. And they're like, what did you do? He's, I was the executioner at Pankratz prison. He wrote the check government. He's, I need proof so I can get my government benefits.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yikes.

[Randy Blythe]

From killing thousands of you. And then the German government gave it to him.

[Ryan Reynolds]

They have to, okay, we had you do this work for us. We don't like it. Are we then going to also stiff you on the payment? What an awkward situation that is.

[Randy Blythe]

So being in that prison was like being in a misfit song. I don't know if you know that band.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Of course. Yeah.

[Randy Blythe]

It was crazy.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You've had bandmates say, like, I hate touring. This is prison.

[Randy Blythe]

And it's.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Are you sure about that?

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah. My guitar player Mark said that one time. I was just like, this is like prison. I just looked at him, I'm just like. Like, nah, dude.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Not really.

[Randy Blythe]

No, bro. Let's think about this.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Wow. Yeah. The Nazi prison that was then probably like a communist gulag.

[Randy Blythe]

Sure. And then you go straight into the history of the Eastern Bloc. The communists came from Russia and Poland and Czechoslovakia at the time. And Prague is a beautiful city.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It is.

[Randy Blythe]

It's beautiful. But that's only since what they call The Velvet Revolution, 1989. Their first president of the Czech Republic, Bachelor Havel, I believe that's how you say his name, was a big rock and roll fan.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, I didn't know that.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah. And the Velvet Underground, one of his favorite bands. Very important political writer. People do well to read his stuff right now. But he was the first president, and he had done time in that prison I was in. Oh, wow. He was the first president of the Czech Republic. You go to Prague now. It's beautiful and colorful, but I talk to people, including a lot of my lawyers and people my age who remembered growing up under communist rule in Czechoslovakia. And just gray. The buildings were gray. You go to the grocery store lines, all they have is potatoes. Just grim, grim, grim. And I recommend anyone to go to Prague. Beautiful city, great food, but it wasn't that way.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Have you been back since the acquittal? Is that no, thank you? Or is it like, oh, we just haven't had a tour there.

[Randy Blythe]

I will go and play Prague, if the conditions are right. Meaning that, A, it would be for charity, and B, that the family of the young man who passed gives me the blessing, but they have suffered enough. And if I went back to play the Czech Republic, it would be a huge news story.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I see. So you don't want it to come out, and they're like, oh, we're reliving this now.

[Randy Blythe]

I don't want my face, my existence, and my band's existence have caused them immense pain. I don't wish to do anything further to hurt them.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, that's understandable. You're very passionate about this charity, Be the Match, which is funny, because I've done this and I'm waiting for my call so I can pat myself on the back for saving someone's life. But I just thought, oh, I'm gonna get a call, like, next week after. It's been, like, 15 years. It's not like a blood type thing.

[Randy Blythe]

No, it's much more specific. And that is the two bookends of the story of my book. It starts with the story of a fan I befriended during the last couple of months of his life who was dying of leukemia. And I wrote a song in his honor called the Duke. And around the release of that, we released it as a single. We did a fundraising thing where we raised almost $15,000 for the leukemia and Lymphoma Society. But we also raised awareness for the Be the Match, which is now called the National Bone Marrow Registry. Okay, but if you go to bethematch. Org, it'll still carry you to it.

[Ryan Reynolds]

We'll link to it in the show notes, because people should do this. All you do is spit into a vial.

[Randy Blythe]

So we wrote this song and we put it out, and there's an awareness campaign to register for this, Particularly not that if you're white, you don't need to do it, but particularly for ethnic minorities, because blood marrow bone types are highly specific, as you're saying. And I think black or African American people are the most underrepresented group on the bone marrow registry. If you're white, I think you have a 70% chance of matching with a bone marrow donor. If you're black, I think it's 20%.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, that's significant.

[Randy Blythe]

Yes. So they need more from black people, Hispanic people, native people, Asian people here in America. So we did this awareness campaign because it's free. All you gotta do is spit in a tube. And I have a friend from another band who beat leukemia because he had a donor. And then Lamb of God's old merch girl died of leukemia. She was diagnosed, and a week later, she was dead.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I didn't even know you could die that fast. That's terrible.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah, it was awful. So pretty passionate about it.

[Ryan Reynolds]

How does it. I can't even wrap my mind around.

[Randy Blythe]

I don't know.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I'm like, oh, I'm feeling tired. And then it's like, you just die.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah. And she was dead, I think, seven to 10 days later. Evie Carano. I miss her. So that's the beginning chapter, and it's pushing towards awareness. And the chapter is about mortality, basically because this young man who died, I befriended faced his own mortality with such grace and a very stoic demeanor. And I learned a lot from this inspirational guy named Wayne Ford. Six years after or so that song came out. We're in the middle of the COVID 19 pandemic. Nobody's touring, nobody's doing anything. And I'm walking one afternoon over a bridge in Richmond, Virginia, and I'm like, what's going on with my life? This is crazy. And I check my email, and I get an email forwarded to me from our old publicist from a dude who's like, hey, man, because of your song, I signed up for Be the Match, and I matched with a patient. It's the late 60s person, and I'm going to donate. And I immediately emailed this young man. His name is Todd Seaman from Arkansas. We're great friends to this day. And eventually, when the time came for him to donate his bone marrow, I went up to D.C. where he did it and documented it. A photographer as well, and hung out. And it was two days before Christmas, and it was just wonderful. It was like the best Christmas gift ever.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Randy Blythe]

You know, I felt like this song in my friendship with this guy who had died and a fan where we're doing something, he donated. And because of HIPAA laws, you can't know what happened to your donor.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, that would drive me nuts.

[Randy Blythe]

So after a year, you can write a letter. After a year, the recipient will make the decision whether or not they want to contact you.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You okay? That would drive me crazy.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah, me and my buddy Todd, who donated through the whole year, we're like, I hope this person, because we were told he survived after a couple months, but we didn't know how long, Whatever. So we were talking about it, and we joke too. We're like, what if he's like the grand wizard of the KKK or something? Like, it's the total jerk. What if we did the wrong thing? Yeah, we joke about it, but after a year goes by, shortly after a year, my buddy Todd hits me. Dude, I heard from him. He's 69. He lives in Denver, Colorado. He's a photographer.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Not the Klan.

[Randy Blythe]

He's a photographer. He's an old rock and roll musician. He's awesome. And so he went and surprised this man, whose name is Michael, in Denver on his 70th birthday.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's pretty cool.

[Randy Blythe]

Then a few months later, I came to Denver on tour, and I met this man who lives to this day and spent the afternoon walking around Denver taking photos with him because of this.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Song, so Be the Match. We'll link to it in the show notes. And I know a lot of people say, I'm scared to do it because they have to drill into your bone. They don't have to do that anymore.

[Randy Blythe]

No. They use what is called an apheresis machine. It's very interesting. You sit there and you have to take this medicine a week before. And what it does is it basically makes your bones leaky. They leak white platelets.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It doesn't hurt?

[Randy Blythe]

No, it doesn't hurt.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I want to make it clear because I don't want to scare people off.

[Randy Blythe]

No, it doesn't hurt. There's white platelets that come from your bones, and then they put it into this machine, which is like a centrifuge. They draw the blood from you. It spins it around, and then the healthy bone marrow cells and plasma is separated by the centrifuge, and then they put the blood back into you. So from the machine. So you're just sitting there, hooked up.

[Ryan Reynolds]

To an iv, you're basically fancy giving blood, playing on your iPhone for two hours.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah. And it used to be the drill, the painful thing, and in rare cases, it still is. And my buddy, though, who did it, he's like, they drill me. I don't care. Because once, you know, dude, if I do this, this person might have a chance.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, you would do it. Yeah.

[Randy Blythe]

You meet this guy Michael and talk to him, who's alive because of this stuff. It's like he gets more time with his grandkids.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Exactly.

[Randy Blythe]

You can't put a price on that.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You mentioned, oh, I hope he's not a Grand wizard of the Klu Klux Klan. I think, honestly, there would be some rich karmic justice in me as a Jew donating blood to this person. I'd write him a letter, and they're like, yeah, I'm a Grand wizard of the clan. And I'm like, I got some Bad news.

[Randy Blythe]

I got you yet, bud.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You now have Jewish blood.

[Randy Blythe]

In a sense, he would be Jewish now.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's right.

[Randy Blythe]

Because your DNA he takes on. In a sense, he is you.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, that's weird.

[Randy Blythe]

So like people who do this, theoretically one of them could commit a murder and DNA found on the scene of the crime, it would match. Precisely.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Now you're scaring people off from donating the platelet.

[Randy Blythe]

No, no, no, no, no.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I don't want to get caught for murder.

[Randy Blythe]

But they match. The person who receives this will inherit any allergies you have.

[Ryan Reynolds]

No kidding?

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, wow. I don't have any.

[Randy Blythe]

Neither do I. Alcohol, I break out in handcuffs. But he, at 70 years old, had the immune system of a 35 year old man. Because his DNA changes. Sometimes it replaces, sometimes it's an additional set. But it would be really neat if you could turn the grand wizard into one of the chosen people.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. Boom.

[Randy Blythe]

Shalom, buddy.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Exactly. Oh man. Now you gotta come over for Passover.

[Randy Blythe]

You can't eat shrimp anymore, bro.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Exactly. Yeah. Remember all those guys you used to make fun of? You're one of them now. Here's your hat. Tell me about punk rock guilt. This is such an interesting concept. Essentially like you make money by doing something that's great and then you're like, oh, I gotta feel bad about this now. Yes.

[Randy Blythe]

In the punk rock scene, at least in the scene as I came up up. I'm not talking about just pop punk stuff you might hear on the radio singing about boys and girls. There is a strong anti materialistic, anti authoritarian, anti, I don't know, pursuit of riches vibe.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You gotta live in the gutter and got that metal spike bracelet that can.

[Randy Blythe]

Be, if you take it the wrong way. But it's more this sort of consciousness.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Sure.

[Randy Blythe]

Being like some sort of rich famous person that why would you aspire to that? And the thing with the punk rock scene is when you come up in that and the bands you love, most of which amazingly enough I'm friends with now, the bands that I listened to in high school, all of them, I know em all, basically they're alive.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Randy Blythe]

So when you come up in that scene, there's a very anti rock star mentality. You are a regular person. So when you come to see like the first show I ever saw was ZZ Top. Right. I saw ZZ Top when I was 12, I think at the Hampton Coliseum in Virginia. And they're these gods on stage and they have lasers and all that's cool and stuff. But after their show's gone. Poof, they're gone. They're disappeared. They're these magical creatures. These exalted creative types are rather otherworldly in the punk rock scene. You go see the bands that you like and then you want a T shirt and you go to the merch table and the bass player's selling the.

[Ryan Reynolds]

T shirt to you, right? Sure, yeah.

[Randy Blythe]

The drummers loading the equipment, the. So there's this sort of purposeful erasing of the barrier between audience and performer. And that's the world I come from. And as my band got bigger and bigger and bigger, and I'm not in a punk rock band, I'm in a metal band with punk rock roots in parts. So I'm not in a strictly punk rock band. As the band gets bigger and it's goes away from the sort of punk rock touring environment and stuff, and you actually start making a living and stuff and being able to support family. There's a strange guilt thing. It's a strange thing. In some ways I think it's good because people could be a bit more conscious about, I think the things that they view as valuable or things to aspire to. Being a super rich dude does not interest me.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I can relate.

[Randy Blythe]

It does not interest me. I'm not allergic to making money, don't get me wrong. But having money for the sake of having money to sit around and buy designer things is zero interest.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It doesn't seem like a worthwhile goal at all.

[Randy Blythe]

No. And that is not something that I aspire to. And I think with the youth once again and social media and influencers and all that stuff, you gotta have this. You gotta have this. No, you don't. That doesn't say anything about your worth as a person. And you don't need to have money to have worth as a person. Or the latest Jordans or the fanciest car or any of that crap. You don't need that. You're a good person no matter what you own. So in a sense, I think punk rock guilt is good in that it makes you keep it real and not forget where you come from. But in the other sense, it can be counterproductive. Because punk rock guilt, the reason why I write about it is because I have a reforestation project in Ecuador. And I bought this property at the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic, when things had gone just sideways in my life personally and for everyone. It was a nightmare. And my job had disappeared because I am a glorified traveling black cotton salesman. That's how musicians make their Money T shirts.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Black cotton salesman. Okay, that's right.

[Randy Blythe]

Black cotton. I'm a black T shirt salesman. The taxes say musician. In reality, I'm slinging merch. So I bought this Catalan.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What's a Catalan?

[Randy Blythe]

Cattle land. Cattle.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, cattle land.

[Randy Blythe]

Pardon my southern accent. Cattle land.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Is that like a catamaran Catalan Boy.

[Randy Blythe]

Got it. But I bought this because I have Ecuadorian friends who are doing a lot of the same things. And I was like, I'll just make my money back once I go back on tour. But that didn't happen. So I didn't go back on tour because Covid and we live in Richmond, Virginia, where expenses are not what they are. Although it's gotten much more expensive in, say, Los Angeles or New York or wherever. Cost of living is comparatively doable. But even not making any money, I need to make this money back somehow. And this company Cameo, who Celebrity greetings. Which I don't think of myself as a celebrity at all. They had been bothering me for years. You need to do this. You need to do this. And other friends of mine had done it. One of my buddies did it to pay his back taxes. I finally. I'm like, okay, I need to make my money back. I don't have any other way to making money right now. And I don't know when my job is going to come back. I better start singing some happy birthdays.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, exactly.

[Randy Blythe]

One reason why I didn't do it is because punk rock guilt for so long. Who do you think you are? Do you think you're Elvis? The dudes in Black Flag never sang Happy birthday for $20. I also used it for charitable purposes. I raised money for respirators in India at the beginning of COVID 19. Because our guy who books us in India and another girl I know, they're like, they're burning bodies on the sidewalk outside.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So gross. That's post apocalyptic.

[Randy Blythe]

Yes, post apocalyptics. And sent me videos and I got video of people on fire.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh my God.

[Randy Blythe]

On the sidewalk. Because it's wild.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Ecuador is a crazy place, man. Isn't that where they shot the presidential candidate? And then the TV station got taken over by gangsters. That was like a Batman movie.

[Randy Blythe]

Sadly, yes, they did. This is cartel activity in Ecuador, which was formerly known as Ilha de Paz. I believe that's how you say in Spaniel. Island of peace. In between Colombia and Peru, I think two big cocaine producing nations. Ecuador was not part of that. And over the last few years, it's gotten worse since I've been there. The Cartels have moved in. Also the Colombian crime syndicates who are producing the coca because it's a shipping lane. They aren't really producing cocaine there, but it's become a really valuable shipping lane. And also the Armenian mafia. Very strange.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's a weird connection.

[Randy Blythe]

Very strange. Armenian mafia, Colombian crime groups and. And the Mexican cartels are there. And it is now a contested shipping lane. So there's violence. It's gotten a little bit better recently. They had a young president come in who did some no nonsense, like, El Salvador type stuff. Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Like he's going to arrest everybody.

[Randy Blythe]

Yes. That kind of stuff, which is bothersome for human rights. But the other thing is that my friends there, Dude. Like bodies hanging from bridges.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Scary.

[Randy Blythe]

And the cartels did come into the national TV station during broadcast and with guns to heads and they tell the politicians to leave us alone or else.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That was crazy. People should look this video up. It literally is. Oh, is this a Batman movie trailer that.

[Randy Blythe]

No, no, no, no. It's very real. And the last time I was there, one of my homies was driving me and my girl to a village where I have some property surfing spots. And we were getting on the outskirts of the village and I saw a motorcycle accident on the side of the road. And people were gathered around. I'm like, honey, don't look. This is going to be bad. Motorcycle accidents are not pretty.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Randy Blythe]

We get up closer and I look and this man was laying on top of his motorcycle. That's not how motorcycle accidents happen.

[Ryan Reynolds]

No.

[Randy Blythe]

We get a little bit closer. Back of his head is blown off. So they know me there. I ask some questions of people and they're like, like, he was handled. He was a bad person. And the locals, oh, I see.

[Ryan Reynolds]

One of those where nobody saw anything.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah, that's right. He got handled. And then that's how it is there. But it wasn't like that, man. It's gotten better now. But the cocaine trade has made it bad, man. Friends of mine, not good things happened. Not good things happened. So people can sit up up snorting crap and talking insincere all night long. And I've done enough Peruvian marching powder to keep this whole block of Los Angeles awake for a year. So I'm not an angel.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Gotcha.

[Randy Blythe]

But I've seen the human cost of this up close. And people need to think about that.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's hard to ethically wrap your mind around that. And now you get a single grain of fentanyl in there and you're dead. So it's not worth it anymore, Dude.

[Randy Blythe]

I have friends who are dead. I'm in the music business and in that scene, and people still party and.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Look, man, stick to your MDMA or whatever.

[Randy Blythe]

You can't trust anything now. You can't trust anything because I loved pills. So did my guitar player, Mark. He's six years clean and sober now. Wrote a book about it. I'm not talking out in school, but he got real bad on opiates. Luckily, I quit before this happened. But now there's counterfeit prescription pills.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's really scary.

[Randy Blythe]

They have their own pill presses and it's fentanyl.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's not even all drug addicts. I read an article about this. It'll be like, let's say that you don't have healthcare, you're an undocumented person, or something like that, and you are existing off the good graces of your grandkids who are giving you a hundred bucks a month so you get your prescription for your back pain. This is $300. Oh, no. There's a guy down the block.

[Randy Blythe]

That's the Juan down the block. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And it looks the same, so why not? But it's counterfeit. Juan's making it in the kitchen. And it's got a gram of fentanyl is mixed in with a thousand grams. The real. Whatever. Or it was fentanyl diluted so that you could take it orally. Oops. I misread the dosing and the decimals moved over one place.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Good night, grandma.

[Randy Blythe]

And people go to get cocaine and stuff. And I was asking, why is there fentanyl in the cocaine? Why? That makes no sense. Cocaine makes you go up.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Randy Blythe]

And someone's like, oh, to make it more addictive. And I'm like, I don't think that really makes sense.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Just an accident.

[Randy Blythe]

Just sloppy, sloppy mixing. And sometimes machines, they use that to process fentanyl.

[Ryan Reynolds]

They're not going to clean their pill press in a way that's sterilized. They're just going to throw the cocaine in after the fentanyl and, oh, well, the first batch is a little gross. Whoopsie. But whatever.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Typically, somebody making drugs in their kitchen is not going to be the most terrible kind of conscientious supplier of medical devices. Pharmaceuticals, man. You said you look at everything in your life as building blocks for a potential song, as fuel for a creative reality. What's that process like? Do you have an example of like, oh, I'm gonna make a song out of this particular thing that I saw or learned?

[Randy Blythe]

Sure. When I was in the Czech Republic waiting trial. I love history and I learned a lot about the history of the Czech Republic during World War II and further into it was Czechoslovakia then, then through the communist era.

[Ryan Reynolds]

But did they let you read in there and stuff? Like, what did you do in prison?

[Randy Blythe]

I finally got some English books. I wrote a lot before no English books. I read my insurance card like a million times over. That was really cool. And then my lawyer finally brought me some English books. But no, I did not do much. I worked out and read and wrote. But Anyway, World War II, the Nazis obviously invaded and took over. And the only, I think high ranking Nazi official to be assassinated happened in Prague. And his name was Reinhard Heydrich. I think that was his name. He was known as the Butcher of Prague.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh yeah.

[Randy Blythe]

And there was a group of Czech and Slovakian dudes who had gone to England. They had already been out fighting by the time the Nazis took over. So they were in England when the Nazis took over. They trained up in Scotland as guerrillas and paratroopers, special forces. They parachuted back into Nazi occupied Czech, went into Prague and then two of them made an assassination tip on Reinhard Heydrich as he was driving his car, the Butcher of Prague. And one of them's machine gun jammed. The other one threw a grenade and it went off beneath Heydrich's car. And they thought they hadn't gotten him, but they did because the upholstery had horse hair in it. The shrapnel pushed horsehair into Heydrich's blood and poisoned him. He got sepsis and he died.

[Ryan Reynolds]

He didn't die right away.

[Randy Blythe]

No, he died. So this group of paratroopers go into hiding and eventually they wind up hiding in this basement of a church, in the crypt where they buried people. And they get ratted out. I can't remember. I think one of them turned and ratted them out and so forth for full 24 hours. Something like seven dudes held off 1400 Nazi stormtroopers or 900. They had to flood them out. Eventually the Nazis came to the church. They held them off to guns, eventually retreated to the crypt. They were trying to flood them out. They were throwing grenades down there and stuff. Finally at the end, they ran out of bullets. They tried to dig out through tunnel into the sewers. They couldn't do that. And finally they only had a few bullets left, so they shot themselves. This was known as Operation Anthropoid. There's a movie called Anthropoid you can watch and you can go into the basement of that church. And you can see where they were trying to dig out. And you can see the bullet holes inside of it.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Wow.

[Randy Blythe]

But these were hard men.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Randy Blythe]

They knew they were going to die.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Suicide mission. That's crazy.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah. But they went and touched the Great Butcher of Prague. They're like, ha, we're here. And they gave the Czech people hope. Even though the Nazis did bad reprisals. They wiped a whole village out of existence. Killed several thousand people. But I wrote a song called Anthropoid and it's written from the perspective of those dudes in the basement of the church waiting to die.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's an interesting way to look at. You said once you start to view your life this way, things begin to appear very differently in that everything is fuel for a song. Just how a skater views an urban environment very differently than a non skater does. Which I thought was a really good analogy.

[Randy Blythe]

I used to lifelong skater, mostly surfing. But I look everywhere. I was doing it yesterday, I saw a bank. I was like, oh, that looks good.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, that's a really cool way to look at things. I always wonder how people get inspired to write songs. When I hear an interesting story, it's a pretty easy straight line to would this person make a good interview? Yes. And I just get that story. Other stories, other elements of their life. It's not that hard. But you're creating essentially ear splitting poetry about something that's historical.

[Randy Blythe]

Right. Or something that happens in my life. I'd never know. I think that is one of the main building blocks of being an artist is just being a noticer. Just noticing something that everybody else might pass by and shining light on it. That's what art is.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You describe the artistic writing process as boxing with yourself. What do you mean by that?

[Randy Blythe]

I mean when I'm sitting down to write, particularly at the beginning of the process of every day before I develop any sort of flow and get into it, I'm sitting there like, oh my God. I have to find something worth saying. I have to express this in a sentence that will not make me sound like an idiot. Do you write every day? Cliche. When I'm working on a book, yes. And lately, more and more, I've been on this book tour, averaging five hours of sleep on this tour because of.

[Ryan Reynolds]

A lot of that sucks. That's terrible.

[Randy Blythe]

A lot of flying and then speaking two and a half hours every night.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, I could not do that.

[Randy Blythe]

So there hasn't been the room to write. But as soon as I get done with this, I've been feeling the need to do it, but I think people have a misconception about writing, that people sit down and write. They're immediately spilling out these beautiful sentences.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Randy Blythe]

And it's. Everything is just perfect. Hemingway just sat down.

[Ryan Reynolds]

This is this typewriter. Ryan Holiday talks about this. Right? He said, Write 10 shitty pages a day.

[Randy Blythe]

100%. 100% pressfield. Genius. His book, War of Art. Great book. Don't know him, but shout out to you, Steven Pressfield. And I mention him at the book. But for me, it's really about trying to punch above my weight intellectually and stylistically. I'm trying to write above and beyond my capabilities. I really am. And I think good writers do that. Not everybody sits around and speaks profound thoughts.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Tell me about it.

[Randy Blythe]

Tripping off the tongue effortlessly.

[Ryan Reynolds]

If they did, my job would be a lot easier.

[Randy Blythe]

Not everybody does that. And I think also, I think that's rather indicative of everybody's need to share everything all the time. Blah, blah, blah, blah. Now, like with Dial it Back, maybe you'll say some smarter shit if you think about it a little bit first. So, like, that's what writing is for me. It's a process. If I have a thought about your watch, and it reminds me of the way a wave breaks and I want to write a poetic paragraph about it. I just don't sit down and like, Harbinger's watch curled to the left like. Like the way I like to surf. And it doesn't come out perfectly. I have to write and think and look for a path to make it beautiful.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What kept you going in the early days when basically nobody cared about your music at all? Nobody paid attention. You guys are on stage, people are just like, now's a good time to pee and get a drink while these. Whoever this is finishes up.

[Randy Blythe]

We want to make music. We didn't start making music for other people. And I say this again, internal motivation.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Basically, yes.

[Randy Blythe]

Again and again. We make music for the five dudes in Lamb of God. And it's wonderful that we have fans and it's wonderful that they have provided us with this living, which is beyond my wildest dreams. And it's wonderful that our music helps people and it brings them joy. It's. All of that is great, but that's not the reason why we make music. We make music because we are musicians. And there is a need to express yourself through that chosen medium. That's why I write. I hear songs all the time. Just like I see pictures or think about possibilities for stories. It goes Back to seeing things through the eyes of an artist. I can still remember things from prison that I want to put into rhythmically into songs.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, that's interesting. When I think of things and don't write them down and then I can't remember them later. That is painful for me. I hate feeling.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah. I can still hear when they would do inspections. They'd bring a stick and they come in and you had your metal locker and they would go. And it would go clink, clink, clink, clink, with the stick across the spines on the frame of your bed. So it was always boom, clink, clink, boom, clink, clink, clink, clink, clink, clink, clink, clink. And really echoey. A lot of natural reverb in this prison. I can still hear that and I want to put that rhythmically into a song.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, I see. That's fascinating. This basement prison was made out of stone and stuff, right? This is so old.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

This is like you're like in a castle dungeon type situation. And that's spooky.

[Randy Blythe]

It's pretty gross.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. You say in the book, expect to be mocked as an artist. Expect for people to root for you to fail. Never give it a crap about anyone's opinion who isn't successful at what you are trying to do. That's pretty wise. Although it's gotta be hard to not care about people's opinions. It's taken me 18 years and I still get reviews. And I'm like, this person is 15 years old, but they're like, I hate your show. And I'm like, I don't take it personally, but it's still in there somewhere.

[Randy Blythe]

Sure, it's in there. So when you put yourself into something, whether artistic or any project, and someone just poo poos it for no reason because people are dicks, particularly online on the Internet, it's removed this impulsive thought filter. That's what I call. Because in real life, the impulsive thought filter is there because you might get punched in the mouth if you say some dumb shit.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Face that negative body language where you've made someone sad and yeah, you go, oh, that wasn't nice of me.

[Randy Blythe]

I've seen that in some conversations on the Internet before where someone actually bothered to write back, hey, that hurt my feelings. Why are you doing this? And a person would respond, I'm just having a bad day. I'm sorry.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I'm so sorry about that.

[Randy Blythe]

But don't take that out on me. So that impulsive thought filter is not there. That being said, when you put something out, like you put yourself in this. I put out a song or something. If someone doesn't like it and they're just poo pooing it out of nowhere, there's a little sting. Yeah, there's a little sting, but. But the way I look at it is I come from a band where we were playing on the floor of squats, in basements and in bars and stuff. If you've never had a beer bottle thrown at your head while someone yells, I have not, you suck. That puts things in perspective. Okay, that's a little bit more real life than I don't like your show on Instagram or whatever. And also, I can't remember who said this. I've read it a few times recently. Why would you pay attention to someone commenting if they're a person you wouldn't take advice from?

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's a good point.

[Randy Blythe]

And I think about the people I would take advice from that I value as friends, advisors, mentors. None of those people would ever go on the Internet and talk shit.

[Ryan Reynolds]

No.

[Randy Blythe]

And so the trolls and the thoughtless people, I think they're really ultimately only damaging themselves because they're unable to deal with conflict in the real world.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's a really good observation. What's this about being caught in a riot in Asia?

[Randy Blythe]

Oh, I've been a few riots over the years.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, you can pick any riot you want. I just chose the yes.

[Randy Blythe]

We were in Thailand and we were in Bangkok and there was the red shirts protest. I believe that was going on.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What is that? I don't even know what that is.

[Randy Blythe]

Thailand is a monarchy and the King and Queen of Thailand are very revered.

[Ryan Reynolds]

The new king is a weird dude.

[Randy Blythe]

Look, this was the old king.

[Ryan Reynolds]

He was well respected.

[Randy Blythe]

You don't talk smack on the King or the Queen. Like, I have friends who. Expatriates who live in Thailand. I met them in Bangkok and when they referred to something weird the King was doing out in public, they called him Elvis. Where if they're like, we don't like that Elvis did this. They don't want anybody to know that they were talking about the King.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I see.

[Randy Blythe]

It's real serious there. Yeah. So there was some political strife going on to where these people had come into Bangkok, into the financial district, I guess, and had taken it over. And they were drawing buckets of human blood, like people were donated blood, and they were throwing it on. I think it was the Prime Minister's house or something. Just buckets.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Gross.

[Randy Blythe]

In protest. And they were there for like a month, man. And. And we landed in the middle of.

[Ryan Reynolds]

All this, and I'm like, very metal scene. Blood everywhere.

[Randy Blythe]

What's going on here before us, exactly? Dear friend. Friends of ours. And they were still peaceful. It was peaceful. Then we went on stage that night, and two minutes before we went on stage, the government had enough of these protesters who had taken over all of downtown Bangkok. And they were like, okay, martial law is in effect and you got to go home or you're going to go to jail. And nobody left our show. We played the show, whatever. And so then I. To my friends, I'm like, I want to go downtown and see what's happening. They're like, are you sure?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Can't get enough of foreign prison.

[Randy Blythe]

Yeah, this is before I went to the other one. I'm like, yeah, I want to go down there, man. I want to see what's going down. And I went down there and all these people were gearing up and they had homemade armor and, like, all this crazy stuff. And I got pictures with several of these people. They gave me a red headband for their cause or whatever. They're like, I have it somewhere at home. And then it started kicking off as I was leaving. It wasn't too bad the first night, but as we were flying out the next day, all of a sudden, like, 37 people were dead because. Including an American, I think, Japanese journalist. The cops just.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, my God.

[Randy Blythe]

So it popped off real hard, man.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You guys go to some crazy places.

[Randy Blythe]

I looked you up a little bit. You've managed to get in a little trouble over.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Since we are those outcasts, man, the kids that grew up. Oh, you don't like sports? How about some reading? How about go to another country and get arrested? We have a lot in common, actually. Yeah, we sure do. And thanks for coming in, man.

[Randy Blythe]

Thank you so much, Jordan. Appreciate it.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It was a lot of fun. All things Randy Blythe will be in the show notes@jordan harbinger.com advertisers, deals, discounts, ways to support the show. All searchable and clickable over@jordan harbinger.com deals. Please consider supporting those who support the show. Also, our newsletter. You guys are great with this. I send it out. I get a ton of replies. I love the engagement. Apparently you love reading it as much as I love writing it. For those of you not in the loop, it is something specific and practical that'll have an immediate impact on your decisions, on your psychology, on your relationships. In under two minutes, we send it out on Wednesdays. If you haven't signed up yet, I invite you to come check it out. It really is a great companion to the show. Jordanharbinger.com News is where you can find it. Don't forget about our course Six Minute Networking. It is free. There are no shenanigans. SixMinuteTworking.com I'm ordanharbinger on Twitter and Instagram. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn and this show is created in association with podcast one. My team is Jen Harbinger, Jace Sanderson, Robert Fogarty, Ian Baird, Gabriel Mizrahi. Remember, we rise by lifting others. The fee for the show is you share it with friends when you find something useful or interesting. The greatest compliment you can give us is to share the show with those you care about. So if you know somebody who's interested in heavy metal, Lamb of God, Randy Blythe, the recording industry at large, definitely share this episode with them. And hey, in the meantime, I hope you apply what you hear on the show so you can live what you learn and we'll see you next time.