Lamb Of God’s Chris Adler: The Gun Shy Interview
Posted by Chris Harris on December 1, 2010 in Exclusive, Gun Shy Interview
Chris Adler
There aren’t many bands that can tour behind a single record for two years straight. But then again, most bands aren’t Virginia’s Lamb of God, who are arguably one of the biggest metal outfits in all the world. I mean, think about it — who else can tour two years running on a metal record? Metallica did it on Death Magnetic, but other than that, there’s only Slayer and Megadeth.
Plus, the band’s last record, Wrath, debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top 200 back in early 2009, selling more than 68,000 copies. Such achievements are unheard of for a group so brutal, but Lamb of God have been slowly built an allegiant, underground following that appreciates the fact that the band’s never softened, even after inking a major label deal. But two years is a long time to be away from home, and so now, the band’s taking some time to unwind…and then they will start to write new material.
“We just finished all the touring for Wrath which ended up taking, in full, about two years; I think the longest we were home at any time during those two years was about three weeks, so it’s not often that — just kind of seeing what’s going on out there — bands are able to tour that long,” Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler tells Gun Shy Assassin, who you can tell truly appreciates the position his band’s in and the opportunities that brings. “In fact, most bands are struggling to do anything and they’re putting out an album a year. We’ve been lucky to be able to keep going and it’s been cool, but its also been really exhausting, so we’re going to kind of lay low for the holidays, and then I think probably February, get together and start writing the new one which we hope to have done by the end of next year.”
Yes, people. That’s right. Gun Shy Assassin spoke with the very humble Adler exclusively about Lamb of God and the plan for the foreseeable future and it goes something like this: In early 2011, start writing songs and be recording stuff by July, with an eye on releasing the new record sometime before the band starts a tour that’s already been booked for January 2012.
“We’re already booked for several tours in 2012, so, we’ve already got the schedule rolling and a little job security, so things are good. We’re booked through the end of July of 2012…if we can hold it together.”
Lamb of God have come along way since the Devin Townsend-produced As The Palaces Burn, the record that — in my opinion — was the beginning of LOG’s mercurial rise.
“It’s pretty bizarre,” Adler admits. “We’ve been keeping our nose to the grindstone, and taking advantage of the opportunities and make smart moves. There’s been very little time to reflect on that. We really don’t even know our place anymore. We just keep trudging along at our own pace. I don’t think any of us really recognize the size of what we’ve accomplished. Yet. I don’t know what that will happen but…we’ll see.”
For Adler — who said being away from his wife and daughter the last two years was “really tough, emotional torture” — and the rest of Lamb of God, the next couple of months will be about unraveling, reconnecting with family, taking care of long-overdue home improvements, and “trying to get the creative juices flowing.”
Because 2011 is all about the new Lamb of God record, Adler says. “It’s going to take a minute, but hopefully February, we’ll start knocking around ideas,” he says. ”I know there are a lot of ideas already. I think [guitarists] Willie [Adler, Chris’ brother] and Mark [Morton] have eight or nine really good long ideas of what they want to do. We are working with Josh Wilbur again and hoping by July, we will be in a studio somewhere, with songs written, kind of banging ‘em out.”
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