As has been scheduled since December, Lamb of God vocalist Randy Blythe’s manslaughter trial in the Czech Republic began earlier today. According to this Czech news outlet, the trial is scheduled to last until this Friday, February 8 — meaning by this time next week, we should know if Blythe has been found guilty or not.

Photos taken in court show Blythe in a suit, with a fresh haircut, looking alternately appropriately somber and downright upset. Which is obviously completely 110% understandable. In addition to facing significant jail time, the parents of the deceased, nineteen-year-old Daniel Nosek, are seeking 10 million Czech Koruna — slightly less than $530,000 U.S. — from Blythe. And for those of you who think that’s a pittance for a “rock star” like Blythe, you should know that’s more than two years’ salary for him.

It’s hard for me to understand this Czech news report, seeing as I’m working off a Google translation, but it seems that drummer Chris Adler is also present at the trial, and has already taken the stand to testify in his bandmate’s defense. Here’s the very rough translation:

“In court testimony and drummer, who said he did not see anything behind.The injured fan is in his own words learned only at the moment when the singer arrested by the police.He added that the roughness of the band leader at concerts is just a show for the audience, otherwise it is said to be calm, gentle and well-read.”

Blythe has apparently also taken the stand, emphasizing that LoG do not/did not encourage fans to come on stage, and that when he pushed Nosek, he mistook him for another fan who had already been warned against jumping up at the band (Blythe is apparently near-sighted, and since he doesn’t wear glasses on stage, he “recognizes more or less just silhouettes”):

“‘I thought he might be dangerous. He was hugging me. [That’s] when I decided to give him clear that the stage is not welcome,’ said the singer. Then he described that while singing, he grabbed the fan’s shirt, knocked him to the ground, knelt beside him, and told him repeatedly and emphatically: ‘Do not go on stage, stop it.’”

At this point, I don’t even know what to say about this anymore… the whole thing is just upsetting beyond belief. We’ll (obviously) continue to keep you updated as more news develops throughout the week. Fingers crossed, the metal community can finally put this whole disturbing incident behind them by February 9.