Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe to Participate in Protests Against the Dakota Access Oil Pipeline

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you are no doubt aware of the current controversy surrounding the Dakota Access oil pipeline. But if have been living under a rock, here’s the short version: they’re trying to construct a pipeline for oil in North Dakota. Because this could contaminate the sole source of water for the nearby Standing Rock Indian Reservation, the construction has been plagued by protests. These have led to arrests and authorities using tear gas, rubber bullets, and water hoses against the protestors — and did the latter despite the freezing temperatures in which the protests are occurring.

It now seems that one of those protestors is going to be Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe:

I am a surfer, and a true son of the South Eastern Coast of the United States. This means I spend a lot of time in the relatively warm waters of Virginia & North Carolina; in fact I spend as much time in those waters as possible given my job as a touring musician- whenever I can I ride waves, I fish, & I swim in the ocean. I have not been able to surf for a few months now because of touring with 2 different bands, & I am dying to go catch a wave. So now when I am finally off tour, why am I going far inland to freezing North Dakota (of all places), where people are getting tear gassed & arrested, instead of to the much warmer beach to chill? I am going because as a surfer, I know that all of our planet’s water is connected, and that you cannot poison a river without it eventually leading to the sea. I am going because there are people trying to stop a river from being poisoned, & they need firewood, coffee, wool blankets, winter sleeping bags, & strong hands that know how to swing an ax- I have those things, so I am driving them there. I am going & bringing my Ojibwe bro David so that he can hoist his tribal flag & represent his people, & I can represent the South Eastern punk rock wave riders. I am going because I have been planning this for weeks, my heart tells me it is the right thing to do, & my spirit is restless & will not sit still inside of me until I do something besides talk about how horrible it is we are destroying our planet. So people of Standing Rock, @rollingcloud1 & I are on our way from Minnesota- we come in peace, but make no mistake- we are coming in full effect, & we are coming to stand with you. #nodapl #waterislife #hokahey

A photo posted by D. Randall Blythe (@drandallblythe) on Nov 21, 2016 at 7:52pm PST

Blythe has always been outspoken about his politics — it’s one of the reasons we love him! — so this isn’t a surprise. Everyone in the metal community should be proud of him for taking a stand and putting his own well-being on the line. We hope he’s safe, and we hope he’s successful.

[via The PRP]