Just For Fun

Randy Blythe's "Dark Days" Memoir Leaked To The Press

An advance pressing of the highly anticipated new memoir "Dark Days," chronicling the bleak period between Randy Blythe's arrest and acquittal in the Czech Republic, was recently unveiled at a media event hosted by Amazon Books. Details of the new tome, scheduled for July 14th release, have been leaked to the press.

Promising to be the literary tour-de-force of the year and hailed by the NY Times Book Review as "an unabashedly gritty exercise of a man up against unsurmountable odds," we have a sneak look here at MU on what to expect from the 25 chapter opus.

The 288 page diary that Randall Blythe kept during his detention at the Prague Pankrac Prison traverses the realm of his mundane harsh reality of being on 23-hour daily lockdown to the gripping fear of uncertainty about his situation.

Blythe, an articulate wordsmith with his own Randonesia blog and Liquid Metal show "The Crucible," sets the scene for the memoir with a riveting preface he penned. Below is an excerpt:

More and more, I’m seeing that writing all this painful stuff down is actually good for me. I hate to use this phrase, because it’s even more trite than some of my more unimaginative lyrics, but getting all this stuff down on paper is, well, cathartic. I need to process some stuff, to engage in some heavy-duty self-examination, and order my thoughts.

I need to be still for a moment, catch my breath, and ask myself: “What you’ve just been through- what does it mean in the overall context of your life? What have you learned? What lessons can you take away from this awful tragedy?” Because if I don’t learn anything from this ordeal, I’ve failed myself, and further more, I’ve failed as a human being.

Below is a very quick look at some of the chapters:

Chapter 1: "Soldier"

Sometimes when you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares into you. That was the beginning of my dark days. Arrested on my way to performing a gig, I was scared but had no choice but to take it like a soldier. Confused and not conversant in the Czech language, I was thrown into a 4x8 holding cell with four other guys.

One was crying, saying he wanted to go home, saying he didn't belong there. I have no patience for cry babies on tour, nor did I here. 99.99999% of the time you better just rub some dirt on it and do work, son. Go hard, or go home.

There are no clocks here, so the daily routine reminds you of the time. I hear the footsteps of the guard echo through the hallway as his flashlight shines into my darkened cell.

Chapter 2: "Chameleons"

For me, being on tour is no place for such deep introspection. My head is busy maintaining the brutally myopic state of mind it takes for me to get up there and entertain people by going nuts night after night. Now I had nothing but four walls with peeling paint and a rec yard full of prisoners to keep me company.

The common man behaves interestingly when confined. Some turn to God and others exhibit gay tendencies. They adapt to their surroundings of Bible study and the vast pool of men. They're gay for the stay and straight at the gate.

You wonder if any will adhere to the scriptures once they're released. No one hassles me except one older bearded metal fan who asked for my signature on a toilet paper roll.

Chapter 3: "Nothing for Granted"

I used to just get drunk if I got uncomfortable with life- I can’t do that anymore, so I have to accept the totality of all the circumstances in my life and try to improve the aspects of it that can. As I say this, my Mongolian bunkie is making hooch out of the apples and bread he saved off of his dinner tray.

Looking down at the mystery meat slop, I realize how all the simple necessities can easily be taken for granted in the daily muddle of freedom. I couldn't even get a plastic spork with my meal, since a psych ward inmate tried slashing his wrists with one.

I am writing this from lock down. Myself and three other inmates were playing a heated game of Spades. The young guy named Grigor was caught reneging and got beaten to a pulp by this 300 pound Bulgarian dude. The corrections officers all put us in a headlock and stripped us of our free time.

Chapter 4: "Obfuscation"

To put it mildly, my time of imprisonment isn't exactly the most pleasant topic for me to reminisce about. But I’ve come to realize during this process that that’s one of the biggest reasons I need to write it: it’s uncomfortable for me. After a week of lying on a metal cot with no contact from the outside world, I was granted access to the payphone during free time and able to make a collect call to my manager and lovely wife Cindy.

I learned more about my situation and how the band paid my bail twice. I now didn't have enough money on my books to even afford stationery and stamps. I couldn't get any meds for for this flu I came down with either, since it takes the nurse a month to process the kite I turned in at pill call.

Chapter 5: "Hustle"

A robin would land on my cell window each morning, it's plaintive song almost mocking me - a constant reminder of how it was free and I wasn't. The funds on my books weren't exactly looking too good either after the Czech jurisprudence system took me to the cleaners. In this instance I knew I'd have to hustle.

I earned hygiene products by braiding other inmates' hair, something I used to do when I had dreadlocks. I learned to light cigarettes by unscrewing an outlet cover plate and touching a pencil lead to the wires. I got a write up for cadillacing a lit one on a comb and thread from my pajamas to the cell next to mine.

Chapter 6: "Apotheosis"

There is a law of cause and effect in this universe. If you do not do the right thing, it will always, always, always eventually catch up to you. As I sit here in court, my legal counsel Martin is preparing for my imminent release. I will have time to prepare my defense because I will return.

A true man owns up to his responsibilities no matter how painful they are, and I was not raised to run. At the end of the day, a mother has lost her son and needs answers. That young man was a fan of mine and I have an obligation to the truth.

The engrossing memoir continues through twenty more chapters, encompassing the harsh days of his trial, touring to remain solvent, returning to the Czech republic and introspection about the death of the 19 year old fan.

More chapters will be featured here as it gets closer to the book release date. "Dark Days": My Tribulations and Trials" can be preordered on kindle or hardcover at Amazon.

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