Lamb of God’s John Campbell opened up to Crave Online about the band’s recently released documentaryAs The Palaces Burn and talked about the effect the trial had on him personally as well as the effect on the band.

CO:The first thirty minutes of As The Palaces is very different than what it ends up as. What was this film original supposed to be?

JC:We had already done two DVDs of backstage stuff and us being the morons that we are. This time we decided to turn the cameras outward, and focus on the power of music and how it affects people. Specifically howourmusic affects people. We decided to take that to some unusual places. The girl in India who is the singer for a heavy metal band, and the taxi driver in Columbia, we had a lot of footage, until the record skipped and it became something else. To (director) Don (Argott) and (producer) Sheenas (Joyce) credit, right at the end of making one movie, they had to completely scrap the film and rethink everything they had done. They just went with it the way that it happened. Its almost like two movies in one.

CO:In beginning of the film you have the line Were not best friends,talking about the troubles within the band. How has this altered that whole dynamic?

JC:Weve weathered this incredible storm as friends and as members of the band. It changed our perspectives. Youre right, it shook up the dynamic and when it got put back together we had clearer thinking, especially with most of us now being non-drinkers. We had to prioritize things and be adults.

CO:What was the most terrifying point of all this for you personally?

JC:I went through a psychological shock of this might be all over. Even if Randy doesnt do time, he could come back and sayYknowwhat guys. I dont want to do this anymore. I cant point to one specific moment, but those forty initial days before he was first released were gut wrenching. We wanted to be respectful to the family of the fan who died, and it also gave us a way to work through our own emotions. It was an incredibly hard time in my life, but I didnt lose a child and I wasnt sitting in a Czech prison. I dont want to spill too many tears on my own accord.

CO:Recently Randy stated that hes taking a long break from Lamb Of God. Is it just a break, or does that mean something else? Whats the truth on the future of Lamb Of God?

JC:Randy called what were doing a hiatus on Instagram. Hes a frontman and has a flair for the dramatic. We have a planned break, and then the members of the band will come together and start working on ideas, so it will be several months before Randy even puts an ear to that stuff. So he will have his break and then wewillcome together and work on a new Lamb Of God record.

Check out the rest of the interview at Crave Online