Former LAMB OF GOD drummer Chris Adler has opened up about the personal and professional fallout from his departure from the band — including the fact that he hasn’t spoken to his brother, guitarist Willie Adler, since receiving the news via email.
In a new interview with Blabbermouth, Adler described the experience of being dismissed from the group he co-founded as both shocking and painful. “It was as big of a shock to me,” he said. “It was, ‘I don’t know how to make this work.’ I wasn’t given much of a choice. It was one of those e-mails: ‘Services no longer required.’”
Adler officially parted ways with LAMB OF GOD in July 2019, following a motorcycle accident and a subsequent diagnosis of musician’s dystonia, a neurological condition that severely impacted his ability to play drums. While the band moved forward with drummer Art Cruz, Adler was left to process not only the physical toll of his condition but also the emotional weight of being cut off from the group — and his brother.
Asked whether he’s still in touch with Willie, Chris responded candidly: “I guess the best way to put it is that I was sideswiped with the whole thing. I wish him all the best; I’m wishing them all the best, and I think about him all the time, but I would say we are estranged. Since that e-mail that I got, where he was not even willing to talk to me about it, we haven’t spoken.”
He continued: “At this point, I’ve got to work through resentments and regrets and all that stuff. I’m happy where I’m at. I hope he’s happy where he is. Everything is cool with me.”
In the interview, Adler also detailed the events leading to his exit — from his 2018 motorcycle crash to the devastating loss of his mother and a difficult divorce. He spoke extensively about the progression of his dystonia and the resulting depression: “It kept getting worse and worse. That happened at the same time that all this stuff did. I took the medical work to the band. They knew I was in the middle of a big divorce.”
Despite efforts to work around the issue by focusing on songs that were less physically taxing, Adler said the band showed little interest in compromise. “Nobody wanted to do that. There wasn’t anything I could do about it,” he explained.
He also acknowledged that tensions may have been brewing for a while, especially after he accepted a temporary gig with MEGADETH and later won a Grammy with them: “I think when I took the MEGADETH gig, that really strained things even further. Nobody said, ‘We don’t want you to do it,’ or ‘You’re cheating on us.’ That was still the vibe… when MEGADETH won a Grammy, that pushed it further.”
Adler has since shifted his focus to new projects, including FIRSTBORNE, and has retrained himself to play drums by leading with his left foot — a workaround to compensate for the neurological issues in his right.
“Now, I lead with my left foot, which throws the right foot in a loop mentally. I have to build a different connection for it to work. That connection is now strong.”
Though the departure from LAMB OF GOD marked the end of a major chapter in his life, Adler said he’s now in a better place, personally and professionally: “Today, I’m grateful and happy for where I am. Like I said, my home life is awesome, and I’m looking forward to doing some shows with these guys [in FIRSTBORNE], having more fun and feeling a lot less pressure.”
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