Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
Lamb Of God vocalist Randy Blythe shares safety advice for concerts following the Astroworld tragedy
The music world has been rocked recently by the horrors of the Astroworld event, created by rapper Travis Scott. During Scott’s concert, the violence became so intense that nine people in the audience were crushed to death and several were injured.
Now, Randy Blythe, frontman of metal band Lamb of God, has decided to raise the issue of safety at metal concerts. Blythe posted his thoughts on social media just before Lamb of God’s performance at the Welcome To Rockville festival.
“I will not retroactively armchair quarterback the whole Astroworld thing- suffice it to say, A LOT of shit went wrong in many ways.However, I BELIEVE THE BUCK ULTIMATELY STOPS WITH THE PERSON HOLDING THE MIC- anyone who knows my story knows that I have very sad, personal experience with not stopping an out of control show- it’s something I will carry with me to my grave. Being a spokesperson for safer shows is both my responsibility as a good man & the fulfillment of a face-to-face promise I made to the family of a dead fan”, Blythe says.
Next, Blythe shares some of his thoughts on how to act for the safety of all. The singer recognises that it can be difficult to judge the situation in the audience from the stage:
“If someone is hurt, screaming ‘STOP THE SHOW!’ at the band onstage doesn’t really work, because unless the entire audience is chanting that, it’s just gonna blend into all the noise. Waving your hands frantically in the air doesn’t really help either— it just looks like more movement in a sea of movement.”
Instead, Blythe urges people to cross their arms above their heads or display a “time-out” sign. Both are internationally understood symbols.
You can read Blythe’s post in full below.