Metal fans rejoice! The new wave of American heavy metal is in full effect, and at the helm are Lamb of God. They are coming off of the hugely successful 2006 release of ""Sacrament"" into an equally successful multinational tour with metal giants Machine Head, Trivium and critically-acclaimed French metalmeisters Gojira. John Campbell plays bass for Lamb of God, and somehow still has his sense of hearing. The Daily Cardinal caught up with a geographically disoriented Campbell in a phone interview between shows.
The Daily Cardinal: How's the tour going so far?
John Campbell: The tour is going great, man. We've all sold out the first 18 shows and kids are showing up early, checking out all the bands that are playing, and it's been a great success so far.
DC: You're going to Australia and Japan in May—Have you been to either country before?
JC: Yeah. We ended up going there last year and played at the Loud Park in Japan and then did like three dates in Australia with Killswitch [Engage]. Yeah, it was amazing and we're anxious to be back.
DC: How do Japanese metal fans compare to American metal fans?
JC: They're pretty nuts. They show up at the hotel bearing gifts and when you're done playing they cheer and applaud, and then they shut up and wait for the next thing you're going to do.
DC: What types of gifts would they bring you?
JC: It's just little stuff. I got sake glasses one time. A lot of times it's pictures or drawings, little hand-bag things—I don't even understand what that is—but it's usually something small but something pretty cool.
DC: A lot of people don't know that Lamb of God began as an instrumental group under the name Burn the Priest. Did that name bring any problems with it?
JC: No, because when we were playing when we were Burn the Priest we were playing basements and house parties and V.F.W. halls where people wanted something crazy and extreme. I think the name initially helped us out quite a bit.
DC: Do you miss the name?
JC: Well, I was the last one to say ""OK, we can change it."" But I understand why people wanted to drop the name. We were getting pigeonholed as a satanic metal band, and it was kind of frustrating.
DC: How cool is it to have your song, ""Laid to Rest,"" in ""Guitar Hero 2?""
JC: It's cool as fuck, man. I play a lot of video games, so for me that's especially cool.
DC: As a musician, do you ever play ""Guitar Hero?""
JC: I have played it before. I have a copy of the game, but I don't have a Playstation, and I wasn't very good at the game.
DC: Your song ""Pathetic"" was nominated for a Grammy for best metal song. I read that Randy [Blythe, vocals] boycotted the ceremony because he thought going meant selling out. Did that cause any strife within the band?
JC: No, not in the slightest. The only reason I went is because my wife wanted to go and it was a great thing for me to be able to bring my wife to it. I enjoyed myself, but Randy was just being punk-rock. Sometimes it's like kicking yourself real hard in the ass.
DC: You're a vegetarian, right?
JC: I am.
DC: Is it hard being in a heavy metal band and being a vegetarian?
JC: No, not particularly.
DC: How do you respond to people who think that being a vegetarian isn't a very ""metal"" thing to do?
JC: Fuck those people. I play bass in a heavy metal band, if that's not metal you can go fuck yourself.
DC: Why did you decide to become a vegetarian?
JC: Basically it's my one-man boycott against the disrespectful life that goes on in the production of meat for a large population. I'm not here to change anybody's mind on that kind of stuff. It's a very personal decision, and who knows, it could be wrong. I'm doing what I feel is right.
DC: A lot of people are comparing the huge metalcore movement with nu-metal of the late '90s. What's your take on metalcore—yay or nay?
JC: It seems to me that the labels people put on music have more to do with the perceptions of the people that listen to the music and less to do with the music itself. Phil [Labonte, vocalist] from All That Remains is a good friend of mine, we get on Xbox Live and play video games together from time to time. Hell yeah, I love it.
—Interview conducted
by Brian Sweeney
Lamb of God will play at the Rave in Milwaukee on March 14 at 7 p.m. Hitchhike, take a scooter or bribe a friend for a ride—this show is sure to be worth the trip.
