Lamb Of God frontman Randy Blythe’s trial is now underway. It was in December of last year that Blythe was indicted on the charge of manslaughter following his arrest at Prague airport on 27th June, 2012 over the accidental death of fan Daniel Nosek during a Lamb Of God show in Prague on 24th May, 2010.
As reported by Metal Sucks, both Blythe and Lamb Of God drummer Chris Adler have given testimony at the trial, and Google translations taken from a Czech news report are now circulating online. Adler’s testimony sees the drummer defend Blythe and describe the singer as a peaceful and intelligent person:
“In court testimony and drummer, who said he did not see anything behind. The injured fan is in his own words learned only at the moment when the singer arrested by the police. He added that the roughness of the band leader at concerts is just a show for the audience, otherwise it is said to be calm, gentle and well-read.”
Make of that what you will.
Meanwhile Blythe’s testimony, if translated accurately, reveals that Blythe had confronted another fan about not coming up onstage and later mistook Nosek for that fan, being that Blythe is short-sighted and apparently doesn’t use corrective eyewear onstage. This means that Blythe can only see the basic outline or silhouettes of fans:
“I thought he might be dangerous. He was hugging me. [That’s] when I decided to give him clear that the stage is not welcome,” said the singer. Then he described that while singing, he grabbed the fan’s shirt, knocked him to the ground, knelt beside him, and told him repeatedly and emphatically: ‘Do not go on stage, stop it.’”
Blythe’s trial is expected to conclude this Friday, 8th February, meaning a verdict could be made as early as next week. Should Blythe be found guilty he may serve significant jail time and be forced to pay Nosek’s parents up to 10 million Czech Koruna, (approximately US$530,000).
