Chris Adler Says He Left Lamb of God Because It Was ‘Toxic’
Former Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler has offered an explanation for his departure from the extremely successful band. While speaking to the MetalSucks Quarantinecast, Adler claims he left because he felt the group was “toxic,” calling it “frown-town all the time.”
Adler spent a huge part of his life in Lamb of God, becoming one of modern metal’s most celebrated drummers. “We’ve spent 26 years in a bus, a train, a plane. There’s not much left to talk about. We’ve explored our friendships to the fullest,” Adler says.
He continues by comparing his relationship with new Firstborne bandmate Hugh Myrone to the guys in LoG. “Now [discovering Myrone’s music] didn’t necessarily start us off into a process of making music together. Shortly after that was kind of my departure from Lamb where it’s like, well I’m not leaving this ’cause I don’t want to play music and I’m not leaving this ’cause I don’t want to play the kind of music Lamb is playing. I’m leaving this ’cause… it’s just toxic. Everywhere. Everything. And I’ve got to be a better father, husband, person than what this is dragging me into.”
Adler goes on to talk about “fun” being his first priority as a musician, with Lamb of God no longer fulfilling that need. “I always want to have fun doing this. And we did in Lamb of God for a very long time, but it got bogged down in everything else and what we’re supposed to do and who we supposedly are. I love this idea about stretching it out.”
“There’s a lot of hate [from fans] like, ‘Oh my god, you left Lamb of God for this, what the fuck is this?’ It’s like, ‘Uhh… fun?’ Like… I’m just living my life with a smile. Because before it was like frown-town all the time. Like what the hell is going on here, we don’t know what the hell is going on, hopefully everybody beats the shit out of each other and we just get a check. So you know, it’s just time for me as an adult to kind of move on.” [via Metal Injection]
Firstborne, which also features former Megadeth / Black Label Society bassist James LoMenzo, released a video for “Sacred Lights” in late 2020, while also putting out a thrashy cover of a Journey classic.