Randy Blythe, the singer with American heavy metal group Lamb of God, has said that he was assaulted while sightseeing in Dublin ahead of his band's show with Megadeth on Monday night.
The alleged assault took place late Sunday night going into Monday morning as Blythe was taking photographs in the vicinity of the Samuel Beckett Bridge.
"I looked up and saw 5 or 6 teenage dudes (16- to 18-year-olds?) in hoodies and track pants spreading out around me," he wrote on Instagram.
Blythe then said he was hit on the head from behind with an object. He heard car horns as a taxi driver came to his aid, forcing the gang to flee.
"Like all cowards and weaklings all over the world, they came at me in numbers and struck from behind," Blythe recounted.
He said his glasses, hat, and e-cigarette were now "gone" and that he had sustained a cut on his elbow and was suffering a "bit of a headache".
"But it could have been much, much worse— I could have caught a knife," he added. "I remain grateful. I'M FINE."
Blythe made reference to, and light of, events while on stage at the 3Arena on Monday night, dedicating the song 512 to the youths.
Later on Instagram he said he still loved Dublin and that what had happened was the result of him losing his "street smarts" for a couple of minutes.
"I'm NOT afraid to come here, it's a lovely city," he wrote. "BUT... please neuter and spay your feral children, because next time they might club someone whose head isn't as hard as mine and kill them.
"They didn't even try to rob me, they just wanted to hurt someone, anyone. It was nothing personal for them. This makes me very SAD for these children. So Dublin, sorry if tonight's show was a little rough- I did my best for y'all..."
The photo Blythe was taking at the time of the alleged incident
In 2012, Blythe was charged with manslaughter by Czech authorities following the death of a fan who had sustained head injuries during a Lamb of God concert in Prague in May 2010. Blythe was subsequently acquitted with an appeals court upholding the verdict. He wrote the song 512 about his experiences on remand in Prague's Pankrác Prison before he was granted bail.
