Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler sat down with Rob to talk about a myriad of topics including the band's new documentary feature, As The Palaces Burn (read our review here), and when the band will potentially be writing again.
Here are some excerpts:
As for how it was decided that the Czech trial would be a part of the documentary:
When Randy got arrested that original film, all the concepts and places we wanted to go was done. It had been completed. Then, this situation happened and Don, the guy who did the documentary, got on the phone with management saying "there is no way this can’t be, somehow, documented in this film, or at least documented for something." I think everybody was a bit skeptical of that and it was difficult to get any kind of word or information from Randy. There is no email in jail so it was very difficult to find out how he was, how he was being treated. The last thing we wanted to do was bother the system with "Oh, can we bring a documentary crew to film this tragic event and into the prison and all this stuff." So we were kind of hesitant, and we were being told to shut up on all levels, because anything we might say could be used against [Randy]. But we knew it would be important to do our best to document it. So, Don and Randy’s wife, Cindy, went over to visit him and Cindy was allowed to see [Randy] briefly. During that discussion, it was brought up that, you know, do you have any interest in continuing documenting what’s going on here. From what I understand, he said to her that if Don is doing it, I respect the work he’s done, so it’s fine, let’s let it continue and see how it plays out. That was kind of a silly discussion to have at the time considering how heavy everything else was.
Adler added that the completed documentary about the fans will be released on the DVD-version of As The Palaces Burn. Asked how he assumed the trial would end before the verdict was read, Adler responded:
I went over to the trial with Randy and the filmmakers. The entire defense team as well as everybody in the court room all expected him to be charged with some sort of lesser charge. There was no evidence of any sort of intentional homicide, or anything like that. But it was very confusing as to how the two sides presented their information of what happened that night and the witnesses were all contradicting each other. But, we kind of knew like with the situation happening with the bail and the fact that there was this American rock star on trial in Prague that maybe they’re going to try to set an example, so we thought there would be some sort of large fine, maybe some time in jail. He was facing 10 years. That wasn’t off the table, but the lawyers did tell us that him totally being exhorted was very unlikely. So we all expected some sort of charge, which would drastically slow down, if not stop, the band entirely.
If there is any sort of timeline on jamming new material:
Yeah, I know Randy said something a couple weeks ago where he wants to take a lot of time away from the band and work on his own things and get his head straight, I can’t blame him, all of us need to get our head on straight. But, last November, at the end of our tour, we all spoke for a little while about a time table and we don’t really need Randy in there when we’re writing music. Normally, he comes in with the lyrics last, sometimes even in the studio. So, we can a great head start while he does his own thing. We talked about getting around June-ish. As time has gone on, since that tour, I think the situation remains sort of fluid and continues to affect us in different ways. Not because of the exoneration or how things have gone, but really because of the death of the fan, because really, it’s the one thing we want people to really understand. The movie is dedicated to Daniel [Nosek, the fan who lost his life at a Lamb of God show in the Czech Republic]. It’s about how this tragedy happened and how this person certainly didn’t do anything wrong. It’s very difficult to process that information and we want our fans to have fun and now we know this event where this kid came to have fun is the last thing he ever saw. It’s really very tough. So I think we’re all, emotionally, going to deal with that in different ways. But I can see how it’s draining everyone as we continue on. So, maybe we need a little more time to process that emotionally. As far as music goes, I don’t think anybody’s thinking that we’re not going to get together. In fact, at the premiere in Philadelphia, my brother Willie and I, were talking about getting together and jamming already. So I think we’re ready musically. I don’t know if we’re ready mentally to get in and put it back together.
Watch our video report from the As The Palaces Burn premiere.
