Walk With Lamb of God In Hell in their new documentary

To regular people, a metal show must sound like hell on earth. Hundreds of sweaty guys and girls pushing each other, throwing beer everywhere, moshing and generally causing a bit of a ruckus. It must be exceptionally difficult then, to try and explain this to three Czech judges as you try to exonerate yourself from charges of manslaughter due to the death of a stage diving fan at one of your very own shows.

As the Palaces Burn Lamb of God Director: Don Argott - Genre: Documentary Feature - Year: 2014

This is what happened to Randy Blythe, singer of one of heavy metal's finest exports, Lamb of God and is documented in the new feature film, 'As The Palaces Burn'. The documentary starts out detailing the band's world touring cycle for 2012 album 'Resolution', with fantastic vignettes that show how much LoG mean to fans in Columbia and India, where people will travel up to two days straight to see a show (yeah, think about that the next time your favourite band aren't playing in Manchester so you have to get to Leeds, woe is you). As the band reach Europe for the Summer festival season however, the documentary abruptly turns into a hellish tale as they enter Prague, Czech Republic.

In 2010, an incident occurred at a Lamb of God show in Prague that ultimately led to the death of 19 year-old fan, Daniel Nosek. Two years later as the band enter Prague again, they are met by police and Randy is taken away and held for 38 days.

Full details of the trial can be found here, but watching 'As The Palaces Burn' will take you behind the scenes into Randy's world, the difficulties faced by him and the band's management and the heartache felt by his bandmates. The excruciating waiting game is broken up by interviews with guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, bassist John Campbell and drummer Chris Adler, who despite having a turbulent past with Randy as a band, clearly have love for their almost lost brother.

From the arrest, to the trial, to Randy's emotional landing back in Richmond and a triumphant return to the stage at Knot Fest in Iowa, the documentary is an ultimately uplifting vision into perseverance and self belief. It's a crying shame that a fan died at a concert, but Randy was not the one to blame. He knew it and felt it was only right to clear his name the right way.

This documentary is a first-hand look inside a band operation at it's most brutal. No one could have ever seen what happened coming and it almost seems like a miracle that they made it through, especially Randy. You don't need to be a fan of Lamb of God to watch it. You don't even need to like metal. What you do need is an open mind, accepting of the fact that these people aren't monsters, they're human beings, just like anyone else. At times heart breaking, at times heart warming and at times outright TENSE, As The Palaces Burn is a riveting documentary that should be essential watching for any modern metal fan and anyone interested in the human condition.

9/10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB6k-Ev_H7c

Find more info over at http://asthepalacesburn.com/

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