Lamb Of God have made their new track The Duke available to stream.
It’s the title track from the band’s upcoming EP and was written by frontman Randy Blythe as a tribute to Wayne Ford, who died last year, aged 33, after a five-year battle against leukaemia.
Blythe had known Lamb Of God fan Ford since 2012 and this week he revealed he will auction his gold record for Lamb Of God’s Ashes Of The Wake to raise funds for The Leukaemia & Lymphoma Society, in a further tribute to Ford.
Blythe tells Rolling Stone: “He was just a really inspiring guy to talk to in the way he handled everything. He was just very levelheaded. You hear about people in their old age, when they get accepting of their mortality, that’s kind of natural.
“This is what that dude went through at age 33, and from talking to his family and his wife, it wasn’t like it was a show he was putting on for the singer of his favourite band like, ‘I am Mr Calm Guy.’ That’s just the way he was.
“So it was very impressive to me. I learned a lot. I was like, ‘Man, this guy has some dignity. I can only hope I have half of that when it comes to my time.’
“We had this track that I hadn’t finished vocals on, so I wrote it from his perspective. I tried to put myself in his headspace. There’s some personal stuff in there that is in his voice and that’s to his wife. She’ll recognise it.
“And other stuff was just stuff I drew from our conversation and other stuff was just out of my head. It was just really a way to honour this guy I had gotten to know.”
The Duke EP arrives on December 2. The band have nine shows remaining on their 2016 touring schedule.
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Lamb Of God The Duke EP tracklist
- The Duke
- Culling
- Still Echoes (live at Rock Am Ring)
- 512 (live at Rock Am Ring)
- Engage The Fear Machine (live at Bonnaroo)
Lamb Of God tour dates 2016
Oct 26: Auckland Vector Arena, New Zealand
Oct 28: Boondall Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Australia
Oct 29: Sydney Qudos Bank Arena, Australia
Oct 31: Melbourne Rod Laver Arena, Australia
Nov 01: Adelaide HQ Complex, Australia
Nov 03: Fremantle Metropolis, Australia
Nov 06: Chiba Knotfest, Japan
Nov 11: Mexico City Pepsi Center, Mexico
Nov 12: Monterrey Northside Festival, Mexico
