In an interview with Greg Prato for Long Island Pulse, Lamb Of God frontman Randy Blythe discusses the band’s summer tour with Slayer and Behemoth.

Greg Prato: Let’s discuss the tour with Slayer and Behemoth. Is it as difficult opening for Slayer as everyone says it is?

Randy Blythe: “For us? No. And I’ll tell you why. Our first real tour that we ever did we were opening for GWAR. And GWAR fans…they can be as passionate and as ruthless as Slayer fans. If you give them a chance, if they smell weakness, they will attack. And all you’ll hear is, “GWAR! GWAR! GWAR!” It’s certainly the same situation with Slayer - they will “SLAYER!” chant you off the stage, if you don’t come correct. When we went out on this tour with GWAR, we knew it was like that, so we played at a breakneck speed, three to four songs in a row… never even gave them a chance, no space in between songs, to start chanting. And that sort of “hit it hard” and “hit it aggressive” mentality has stayed with us.

“Touring Germany opening up for Slayer… that was interesting. We didn’t get chanted off the stage, but at that time, the German Slayer fans were very much there for Slayer. It was kind of like crickets. They’re looking at you like [says in German accent], “Why are you not Slayer? We are here to see Slayer?” [Our video guy] even made up this character called Baron von Nobody Cares. He was this German guy who would sit there and look at you and go, “Ah! You are not Slayer”.

“When you open up for a band like Slayer, you have to come out and you have to be confident and hit it really hard. And that’s what we’ve done from the beginning, and it’s served us well. You can’t slack when you play with Slayer, that’s for sure. Their fans… God knows what they’ll do to you.” [Laughs]

Read more at LongIslandPulse.com.

July
18 - Express Live! - Columbus, OH
20 - Red Hat Amphitheater - Raleigh, NC
21 - St. Augustine Amphitheater - St. Augustine, FL
23 - Electric Factory Outdoors - Philadelphia, PA
25 - Blue Hills Bank Pavilion - Boston, MA
27 - Theater at Madison Square Garden - New York, NY
28 - Pier Six Pavilion - Baltimore, MD
30 - Municipal Auditorium - Nashville, TN

August
1 - Providence Medical Center Amphitheater - Bonner Springs, KS
2 - 1stBank Center - Denver, CO
4 - The Joint - Las Vegas, NV
5 - The Forum - Los Angeles, CA
9 - Bill Graham Civic Auditorium - San Francisco, CA
11 - The Cuthbert Amphitheater - Eugene, OR
12 - WaMu Theatre - Seattle, WA
14 - Encana Events Center - Dawson Creek, BC
15 - SMS Equipment Stadium - Fort McMurray, AB
17 - KettleHouse Amphitheater - Missoula, MT
19 - Isleta Amphitheater - Albuquerque, NM
20 - Comerica Theater - Phoenix, AZ