Lamb of God Part Ways with Chris Adler, Name Art Cruz as New Drummer

Cruz has been a touring member of the band since last year

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished Jul 19, 2019

For nearly a full calendar year, Lamb of God have been touring Winds of Plague/Prong drummer Art Cruz as longtime member Chris Adler recovered from a motorcycle accident. Now, the band have revealed Cruz will take Adler's place behind the kit going forward.

In a statement posted to Facebook, the band revealed the lineup change comes ahead of beginning work on a new album.

"We'd like to officially welcome Art Cruz, who has been playing drums with us on tour for the last year, as the new drummer of Lamb of God," they wrote. "Art will be joining us in the studio as we begin pre-production and recording of a new album."

While not giving a reason for Adler's departure, the band continued, "We're very proud of everything this band has accomplished over the last two decades. We would like to thank Chris Adler for his contributions over the years and wish him the best in his future endeavors." You can find the band's statement below.

Adler was absent from Lamb of God's lineup when the band supported Slayer on the second leg of their farewell tour last year. While his absence was first attributed to "unforeseen circumstances," Adler later revealed the injuries sustained in the 2017 accident, which included a shattered collarbone and right shoulder, and bone chips in his hip.

"While surgery corrected the broken bones and I was able to play earlier this year, I experienced some issues related to the injuries that needed to be addressed with a rigorous schedule of physical and occupational therapy which, is what I have been doing regularly since July," Adler wrote in a Facebook post last September. "I am making great progress in addition to playing/practicing every day."

Adler co-founded Lamb of God in 1994 (then dubbed Burn the Priest) and played drums on each of the band's studio albums. His playing also appears on Testament's 2012 LP Dark Roots of Earth, Protest the Hero's 2013 album Volition and Megadeth's 2016 album Dystopia.

Lamb of God's most recent studio album was 2015's VII: Sturm und Drang. Earlier this year, they treated their acclaimed Ashes of the Wake LP to a 15th anniversary reissue.

Recently, guitarist Mark Morton delivered his debut solo album, while vocalist Randy Blythe formed new band Over It All with members of Animals as Leaders and Sworn Enemy.

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