Randy Blythe says most guitar solos sound like “jerking off.”
The Lamb Of God frontman is not a fan of showing off just for the sake of it, saying he prefers a big riff any day.
Blythe tells Exclaim.ca: “No offence to my dudes, or any other guitar players out there, but when I hear solos, I really don’t pay attention to them.
“There are only a few solos that I’m like, ‘That is freaking awesome.’ Most of the time it sounds like jerking off to me. I’m a riff kind of dude. I come from the punk rock school. I don’t care about noodling.”
Lamb Of God released latest album VII: Sturm Und Drang last month, earning their highest ever UK chart position when it landed at no.7. Blythe says they intentionally set out to make a short, impactful album in the vein of Metallica and Slayer classics.
He adds: “Everybody wants bonus tracks now, and we all wanted a 10-song record. You look at Master Of Puppets or Reign In Blood, and they’re short.
”Reign In Blood is 30 minutes, and it’s just a pummelling masterpiece. For an album that you’re going to have any sort of longer songs, I think constant sonic barrage, just constant ass-beating, it gets old on the listener. You need some dynamics, some ebbs and flows.”
Lamb Of God head out on a tour of the UK and Ireland with Megadeth in November. Drummer Chris Adler, who’ll appear on the as-yet-untitled Megadeth album, will play with both bands on the run of dates.
Lamb Of God feature in the latest edition of Metal Hammer – out now in print, digital and via TeamRock+.