As The Palaces Burn

In 2012, Virginia-based hardcore metal band Lamb of God set out on a world tour accompanied by a small film crew. The plan wasn’t just to make a regular tour documentary but to talk with fans in far-flung places to find out why this huge-selling but not exactly mainstream band inspires such devotion. Then, halfway through the tour, lead singer Randy Blythe was arrested in the Czech Republic, charged with manslaughter over the death of a fan two years previously. So the doc was transformed into something altogether more tense, fascinating and ultimately inspiring. Despite the band’s relentlessly aggressive sound – even their own guitarist describes them as ‘unlistenable’ – Lamb of God are a strangely loveable bunch, coming together to support their frontman in his hour of need. And as Blythe’s plight deepens, ‘As the Palaces Burn’ metamorphoses from slam-dancing rock doc to genuinely gripping courtroom drama. The result is a startling examination of how artistic principles translate into real-world actions, and a moving portrait of a genuinely, unexpectedly brave man.