Randy Blythe (Lamb of God) encourages musicians to speak up on political matters

A recent Substack post by Randy Blythe of Lamb of God denouncing the Trump administration, its use of ICE, and America’s slide toward fascism has sparked outrage on the internet, as per MetalSucks. Blythe was asked why he wrote such a politically heated message during an interview with Consequence on their YouTube channel (as transcribed by Metal Injection). As you might expect, his response is based on his upbringing and the idea that in order to truly affect change in the present political climate, individuals must become enraged and take action.

You know, read the essay. That explains everything. I think people are just beaten down now, a lot of people feel as if their voice doesn’t matter, and their vote doesn’t matter, and they’re becoming ground down by the daily insanity that is life here now. I mean, everything is constantly exploding, it seems like not just here in America but everywhere, and if people want things to get better, they have to remain engaged. Tweeting, and having this online outrage and stuff is not enough. You have to become politically engaged. Sometimes you have to protest, sometimes you have to go to the ballot box.

And the selection of candidates presented from both parties is less than ideal to put it mildly, so I think people have to start reading up on issues, they have to start reading on candidates, they have to start looking at candidates and asking where is their money coming from. Ever since Citizens United and the where basically corporations are given personhood legally as far as donating to political campaigns, our electoral process has just been corrupted.

The Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United (2010) that the government may not restrict independent political contributions from corporations, unions, and groups due to the First Amendment (the free speech clause). In essence, it made bribery legal by giving extremely wealthy corporations the freedom to donate enormous sums of money to candidates of either party, typically via the use of Super PACs. Since then, it has been a huge problem, with politicians doing all in their power to win reelection and lobbying groups like AIPAC and the NRA bringing the American political system under financial and coercive control.

We need candidates who are not beholden to corporations and special interest groups. It’s time for people to start looking deeply at their local politicians, at their Congress people, to become engaged, to act like they give a fuck, rather than just sitting here and hand-wringing silently or in some weird social media echo chamber.

I’m not Taylor Swift… I’m not a mass entertainer. I don’t care about appeasing the algorithm, or streaming numbers, or any of that bullshit. I come from the underground music scene, that’s just the way it is, the world I come from has always come from a political background. I think there’s this false feeling of disaster will unfold if you lose your opinion, you’re going to lose this or that. Get over it. Grow a spine.

Upcoming shows:

• March 24  Minneapolis, MN  Armory
• March 25  Chicago, IL  Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
• March 27  Denver, CO  Fillmore Auditorium
• March 28  Salt Lake City, UT  The Union Event Center
• March 30  Portland, OR  Theater of the Clouds
• March 31  Seattle, WA  WAMU Theater
• April 1  Vancouver, BC  PNE Forum
• April 3  San Francisco, CA  The Masonic
• April 4  Inglewood, CA  YouTube Theater
• April 5  Phoenix, AZ  Arizona Financial Theatre
• April 7  Albuquerque, NM  Revel Entertainment Center
• April 10  Austin, TX  Moody Amphitheater
• April 11  Irving, TX  The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
• April 12  Houston, TX  713 Music Hall
• April 14  Nashville, TN  War Memorial Auditorium
• April 15  Atlanta, GA  Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre
• April 16  Raleigh, NC  Red Hat Amphitheater
• April 18  Reading, PA  Santander Arena 
• April 19  Virginia Beach, VA  The Dome
• April 21  Buffalo, NY  Buffalo RiverWorks
• April 23  Brooklyn, NY  Brooklyn Paramount
• April 25  Uncasville, CT  Mohegan Sun Arena 
• April 26  Boston, MA  MGM Music Hall at Fenway
• May 9  Daytona Beach, FL  Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival
• May 17  Dayton, OH  Welcome to Rockville
• May 20  San Juan, PR  Coliseo de Puerto Rico
• Friday, July 24, 2026 – Istanbul, Turkey – Bonus Parkorman
• Saturday, July 25, 2026 – Plovdiv, Bulgaria – Hills of Rock
• Wednesday, July 29, 2026 – Râșnov, Romania – Rockstadt Extreme Fest
• Saturday, August 1, 2026 – Wacken, Germany – Wacken Open Air
• Monday, August 3, 2026 – Leipzig, Germany – Haus Auensee
• Wednesday, August 5, 2026 – Lisbon, Portugal – Vagos Open Air
• Friday, August 7, 2026 – Walton‑on‑Trent, United Kingdom – Bloodstock Open Air
• Sunday, August 9, 2026 – Kortrijk, Belgium – Alcatraz Open Air
• Tuesday, August 11, 2026 – Copenhagen, Denmark – K.B. Hallen
• Thursday, August 13, 2026 – Sulingen, Germany – Reload Festival
• Friday, August 14, 2026 – Dinkelsbühl, Germany – Summer Breeze
• Saturday, August 15, 2026 – Eindhoven, Netherlands – Dynamo Metalfest
• October 30 – November 3  Miami, FL  Headbangers Boat