Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe opened up about his heroes in D.C. hardcore legends Bad Brains, explaining why every music fan should know about them.
“They’re my favorite band of all time and their frontman H.R., at the height of his powers, was the greatest living frontman on the face of the planet,” Blythe said.
“The musicians played with a conviction you felt on a visceral level — their music shook the audience into an ecstatic state. And the frontman, H.R., had a stage presence that was literally life-altering to witness. The man moved and sang like a human lightning rod, as if he were communicating with the heavens, channeling some sort of vast cosmic power through his voice and body. … It was like a religious experience. There was no one else like that.”
“If you don’t know about them, you’re a defective human being.”
“I’ve done three shows with them. H.R. had brain surgery awhile back… he doesn’t really do the super-fast punk-rock stuff off their first album anymore. He’ll do the mid-tempo stuff and the reggae stuff. They asked me to help them out with the fast stuff. I’ve done Riot Fest in Chicago, a really cool art opening in Brooklyn, and Growlers Fest out in the water in L.A. Every time has been overwhelming to me, to be singing with my favorite band.”
“If I watch old footage of H.R. I will [go], Oh I gotta step my shit up. [Laughs] It’s like someone plugged him into a wall socket or something. I don’t think I’ll ever learn to do a standing backflip though. … They’d be playing “At the Movies” or something and he’d just stand still and do a backflip and land on the beat. It’s intense.”
Blythe’s praise is more than nostalgia. The band’s history and H.R.’s long-running health issues explain why the Lamb of God singer has ended up on stage with his favorite band instead of just watching from the crowd.
Bad Brains formed in Washington, D.C., in 1976 as a jazz fusion act called Mind Power before the members switched directions and became one of the defining bands of hardcore punk. The group’s speed, precision and musicianship set them apart from their peers in the D.C. scene.
The lineup of vocalist H.R., guitarist Dr. Know, bassist Darryl Jenifer and drummer Earl Hudson took punk’s sped-up approach and pushed it even further, then broke the mold by adding reggae to the mix. That combination went on to influence acts ranging from Slayer and Guns N’ Roses to Dave Grohl.
“When we added reggae, and they started skanking like they’d come to see The Specials,” the band recalled of the reaction their hybrid sound provoked.
H.R., whose given name is Paul Hudson, has dealt with serious health problems in recent years. He has suffered from SUNCT syndrome, a rare and severe headache disorder, and underwent brain surgery that has affected his ability to perform the band’s fastest early material.
That is where Blythe comes in. He has stepped in on vocals for Bad Brains at Riot Fest in Chicago, a Brooklyn art opening and Growlers Fest in Los Angeles, covering the fast songs while H.R. handles the mid-tempo and reggae material.
Those performances have only deepened his respect for the band. Blythe said watching old footage of H.R. pushes him to raise his own game, and he marveled at the singer’s physicality, recalling that H.R. could move, sing and land a backflip in time with the music.
