For Those About to Govern

Randy Blythe is giddy.

The vocalist for Richmond-based groove metal band Lamb of God, Blythe took to the blogosphere yesterday to celebrate the election of Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo as Indonesia's next President. Widodo is, well, let's let Blythe tell it:

Incredibly, ladies & gentlemen, the new President of Indonesia is a metal head AND a lamb of god fan. No, this is not a joke, yes the photos are real, yes he digs Napalm Death, Metallica, Megadeth, & lamb of god amongst others- holy crap! THE WORLD’S FIRST HEAVY METAL PRESIDENT! Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, the governor of Jakarta & former furniture salesman who was born into poverty, has won the election. I do not know much at all about Indonesian politics, so I can’t comment of their political situation one way or the other, but from what I can tell, Jokowi seems to be a man of the people. Wow. A metal head president- who would have thought? AMAZING. I mean, can you IMAGINE it? This is THE ONLY PRESIDENT IN THE WORLD with whom you can sit down and argue about which Slayer record is the best. Holy crap, it’s too much! I want the Prez to take me on a diplomatic surf summit to Bali. Maybe I can get ambassadorial status. #jokowipleasetakemetoyourislandparadise

The 53 year-old Widodo won a hotly contested election against Indonesian general Probowo Subianto, who plans to appeal the result. Should Widodo prevail, and most observers expect that he will, he'll preside over the world's third-largest democracy. He'll also have to deal with a host of pressing concerns, including rising unemployment, high deficits, a slowing economy, a trade imbalance, and widespread government corruption.

He'll have to ride the lightning, sad but true, unless he chooses to just kill 'em all. The people of the vast Indonesian archipelago hope he turns out to be more master of puppets than harvester of sorrows. But for now, for both Indonesians and the metal community, nothing else matters.