Lamb of God's Randy Blythe is aiding the fight against deforestation, together with an Ecuadorian friend named Carlos, whom the heavy metal musician met on his travels.
In collaboration with with Carlos and his family, Blythe purchased a swath of land in the South American country to replant native trees and help regrow the forest there.
It was the Lamb of God vocalist's love of surfing that led him to Ecuador, as the musician explains in Rewilding, a new mini-documentary the musician made about his conservationist quest. He shared it on Monday (July 25).
Watch the video down toward the bottom of this post.
Blythe was able to buy the land in Ecuador with support from his Cameo. Cameo is the online video-sharing platform where a fan can pay a fee to have a participating celebrity, such as the Lamb of God vocalist, send a personalized video message to themselves or others.
"I made this short film as a thank you to all the folks who have paid me to sing them goofy happy birthday songs, wish their spouse happy anniversary [and] sometimes viciously roast their friends [on Cameo]," Blythe explained alongside the short movie on Monday.
In the film itself, the frontman narrates, "When you pull away from [Ecuador's] beach, the country is so much more than just beautiful coastline and great waves. I think this gets forgotten all too often by people, like myself, who go to different countries."
He continues, "But … Ecuador also has the highest annual rate of deforestation of any nation in the Western hemisphere."
That's why the rocker and Carlos had their land "fenced off, broke up the compacted earth, and planted indigenous trees and fruit vines. At the same time, [we're] preserving several acres of existing secondary forest."
Blythe adds, "Ecuador is on the equator, so plants flower and grow all year-round. [Our] land is healing rapidly. In 30 years, it will look like … pure jungle."
Lamb of God's Omens album is due out on Oct. 7. Listen to the band's latest single, "Nevermore." They hit the road with Killswitch Engage and others this fall.
Randy Blythe, Rewilding Mini-Documentary
