Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe Feared Death Was Coming If He Didn’t Get Sober

Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe has spoken about his sobriety in the past and he recently reflected on the destructive path he was on for a recent “Life Lessons” piece for Metal Hammer, revealing his drive for getting sober was based on a fear he was heading towards death.

Blythe states, “It’s a well known fact that I was a fuckin’ alcoholic and I’ve not had a drink in well over 10 years now. Unfortunately, I’ve known people who didn’t embrace the choice to try something different… and they’re dead now.”

According to Blythe, he spent four-and-a-half years contemplating getting sober before he finally was able to successfully start his journey.

“One morning on tour in Australia I woke up and just felt horrible and empty,” he admits. “I was in a good place; we were on tour with Metallica – it doesn’t get much better than that – I had money in the bank, and my personal life wasn’t too much in tatters. On the outside, everything looked good, but I just felt like there was this horrific void. I realized I had to try something different.”

“I don’t know what it is within me,” says the singer. “I’m certainly not saying I’m special, or made of stronger moral fibre than anyone else – that I made that conscious decision, but I did, and I feel pretty fucking lucky. The driving force was, ‘I’m going to quit drinking, or I’m going to die.’”

During the discussion, Blythe revealed that he doesn’t have issue with those who do drink, but adds, “There was something wrong with drinking for myself, and drinking in the way I did.”

Back in 2013, Blythe spoke of his approach to drinking, telling RVA News, “For me, as a creative person, drinking and opiate-based pain pills – I used those back in the day to some effect – they unlocked a certain part of my consciousness. But then that stopped working, and for years it was me drinking and eating pills, sitting in my shed listening to Black Sabbath and pretending to write lyrics. Justifying it.”

As stated, Lamb of God were on tour with Metallica when Blythe was finally able to embrace his quest for sobriety. In 2019, after James Hetfield had been readmitted to rehab to address his own sobriety issues, the singer spoke of Hetfield’s role in helping him in his sober quest.

“He knew I had been trying to quit drinking, it wasn’t working for me anymore and it all came to an end in Australia,” said Blythe. “A HUGE FACTOR in my willingness and ability to get sober while on fucking heavy metal tour was the fact that I had James and some of his crew who were also sober to talk to – I didn’t have to do it alone.”

“James and his crew babied me through my first month of sobriety out there on the road – it was a heavy trip. I couldn’t have done it without them.”

Blythe channeled some of his energies after sobriety into his photography work and he also started writing his memoir. Plus Lamb of God have continued down a successful path following the singer’s sobriety, with their most recent album, 2020’s self-titled release, hitting No. 15 on the Billboard 200 charts and appearing on numerous critics lists for the best metal releases of the year.

If you or someone you know if struggling with drug and/or alcohol dependence, help is available through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website. To speak to someone on the phone, dial 1-800-622-HELP (1-800-622-4357) or send a text message to 1-800-487-4889.