A naked Randy Blythe being fed whiskey in a handstand position and Mastodon's Brent Hinds drinking beer wearing just swimming goggles – that's just another night on Children Of Bodom's tour bus.
Bassist Henkka Seppala has recalled the night when his band’s nightliner was invaded by a bunch of touring buddies, resulting in Lamb Of God frontman Blythe getting into something of a state, while Mastodon’s Brent Hinds donned a rather fetching swimming ensemble.
They say what goes on tour stays on tour – but Seppala was only too willing to share this particular tale of on-the-road excess.
He tells Digital Tour Bus: “We were with Lamb Of God, Mastodon and Slayer in the States, and we have this tradition of doing this ‘Hate Crew’ initiation.
“We take them to the back lounge, what used to be the party lounge, and the person gets totally naked. We get him or her to do a handstand against the wall and we pour whiskey in their mouth, which usually also means in their nose.
“It’s not so easy – and it doesn’t feel good when it goes inside your nostrils. Randy chose to do it by himself, because we don’t force anybody.”
But that wasn’t enough for one night. Seppala says things became even more outlandish when he returned to the bus later and discovered Hinds “wearing only my swimming cap, my swimming pants and my swimming goggles, and drinking beers.” He adds: “The other guys were dressed normally…I think it looked pretty hilarious.”
