Although the popular Virginia heavy metal band Lamb of God liked to consider themselves missionaries of “pure American death metal,” the four-time Grammy nominees hardly expected the “death” part to be taken literally.
But things took an odd twist in June 2012, when the band arrived in Prague. That’s when lead singer Randy Blythe — known for screaming lyrics to songs like “Walk With Me in Hell” — was arrested for manslaughter. He was charged in the 2010 death of a 19-year-old fan who succumbed to injuries he sustained at a Lamb of God show at a Prague club.
As we see in a new documentary on the band, “As the Palaces Burn” — screening Monday night at the Highline Ballroom — Blythe didn’t remember interacting with the Czech fan, Daniel Nosek, much less harming him.
After the airport bust, one band member says in the film that the police presence was so intimidating it looked like they were out to capture “the biggest drug dealer in the world.”
Blythe was imprisoned for 37 days, where he spent most of his time reading, writing and working out. The band had to raise almost $500,000 to get him out — with the understanding that he would return to the country for trial.
The singer explains that he was empathetic about the parents’ loss of their son — his newborn daughter died of a heart defect in 2000. “For me, knowing how that affected me, I knew that these people were hurting very, very deeply,” he says.
Plus, Blythe continues, “I wasn’t going to be tried by some tribal council in Afghanistan or something. It wasn’t like I was being indicted for blasphemy in some strictly religious country. The Czech Republic is a modern country. They’re no longer behind the Iron Curtain,” he says.
“I didn’t think I was going to go over there and get my head sawed off on videocassette. I just had to have faith that what I was saying was the truth, and that I would get a fair shake.”
At his trial, Blythe faced a three-judge panel, in accordance with the Czech system. And while some of Nosek’s friends testified Blythe pushed him off the stage, the singer was found not guilty in March 2013.
Although Blythe did face a long prison sentence, he says, “I just did the right thing. The fact that people are sort of amazed by that makes me sad.”