You’ve gotta hand it to Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe. Since his arrest and acquittal several years ago in Prague on manslaughter charges, he seems to have become a more enlightened person. He’s written a book, had a photography exhibit, and launched a lifestyle magazine, all while remaining frontman of Lamb of God. It turns out that he’s got an activism streak in him as well, as he’s currently on a road trip to North Dakota to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline.
You may have heard of the protests at the Dakota Access Pipeline, a proposed oil pipeline that the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has been protesting, perhaps by your friends checking into Standing Falls on Facebook. The pipeline would run very close to their property, potentially contaminating their water supply and endangering wildlife. This past weekend, as protests continued, law enforcement used water cannons on protesters in freezing weather, injuring over 25 people. You can read a pretty thorough explanation of what’s gone on so far here. Here, Blythe explains what he’s doing and why.
A photo posted by D. Randall Blythe (@drandallblythe) on
That’s pretty noble and also pretty punk rock of Blythe to do. As far as we know, there aren’t any other celebrity protesters there, and he’ll be able to use his influence to educate others about this. Hell, we’re writing about it, and this is the first time we’ve mentioned the Pipeline protests, and we’d imagine we’re not the only metal website that hasn’t written about it before today, either.