Movies of War

Listen via: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Podcasts | More Platforms Randy Blythe has never exactly been known for optimism, but the Lamb of God frontman may have delivered one of the band’s most brutally reflective statements yet with their 10th album, Into Oblivion. Speaking with Kyle Meredith, Blythe traced the record’s origins back to the night of the ’24 presidential election, when he took a solitary drive through rural North Carolina listening to the latest album by The Cure and started sketching the first lines that would become the album’s opening track. The result is a heavy, gothic meditation on modern collapse, technology’s false promises, and the increasingly fragile connections between people. Listen to the episode above or wherever you get your podcasts. Get Lamb of God Tickets Here Related Video “It was kind of a beautiful night,” Blythe says of the moment the record began to take shape. “I had gotten the new record by The Cure… I wanted to listen to the whole thing in one piece in my truck, driving alone.” Somewhere between those songs and the election-night atmosphere, the opening lines emerged: “On the eve of the great unraveling, I took the long way home.” The track “Sepsis” became the album’s starting point, colored not just by that evening but also by Blythe’s longtime admiration for Nick Cave. “There’s a lot more Birthday-Party-era Nick Cave in the vocal delivery in that song,” he says, noting that while the band’s music rarely shares influences, the mood certainly crept in. Across Into Oblivion, Blythe sees the songs as an examination of what he calls the breakdown of the social contract, accelerated by technology and the illusion of digital connection. “The idea that true connection can occur via this digital medium — it’s a false equivalency,” he says. “It’s a sewer.” Yet even within the album’s darkness, he insists there’s a sliver of solidarity. Discussing the track “St. Catherine’s Wheel,” he explains, “People feel like the world is spinning out of control… but if we remember we’re all experiencing this together, we won’t be broken on the wheel.” It’s a sentiment that fits squarely within the band’s decades-long lyrical themes. “I’ve been writing different variations of the same thing for 30 years,” Blythe admits. “It just feels like the zeitgeist is finally catching up.” Advertisement Listen to Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe talk about Into Oblivion and more in the new episode above or by watching the video below. The band is heading out on the road to support the new record, touring through March and April. Get tickets here. Keep up on all the latest episodes by following Kyle Meredith With… on your favorite podcast platform; plus, check out all the series on the Consequence Podcast Network. Load More