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Chris Adler

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Chris Adler
Adler in 2015
Adler in 2015
Background information
Birth nameChristopher James Adler
Born (1972-11-23) November 23, 1972 (age 51)[1]
OriginWashington, D.C., U.S.
Genres
OccupationMusician
InstrumentDrums
Formerly of
Websitechrisadler.com
For other people named Christopher Adler, see Christopher Adler (disambiguation).

Christopher James Adler (born November 23, 1972) is an American musician, best known as the founder and longtime drummer of heavy metal band Lamb of God from 1994 to 2019, and Grammy Award winning member of Megadeth.

Adler was a member of Megadeth from 2015 to 2016, appearing on their fifteenth album, Dystopia, and performed some touring dates in support of that album, as well as the touring and creative obligations with Lamb of God. Adler played in several local bands including Calibra, Jettison Charlie, Grouser and Darker Days before founding Lamb of God in 1994.

Adler is well recognized for his open-handed technique, his use of the heel-toe technique, and his unusual approach to the drum kit as a left handed player on a right handed kit.

Early life and influences

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His influences include former Wrathchild America and current Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkin,[2] and Stewart Copeland[3] of The Police. Other influences are John Bonham, Dave Lombardo, Gar Samuelson, Lars Ulrich, Billy Cobham, and Gene Hoglan.[4]

In an interview with DRUM! magazine, Adler describes his first drum kit as a disaster:

"The bass drum legs were different lengths so they wouldn't touch the ground at the same time. Every time I would hit it, it would wobble from left to right. The cymbal stands were duct taped together, and I think after two or three times playing the kit, the pedalboard actually broke in half because it was made of that crappy old fake metal."[5]

Career

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In 2014, he contributed several drum tracks to the Testament album Dark Roots of Earth. The same year, he said that he could neither "confirm nor deny" whether he had performed on the Slipknot single "The Negative One". He dismissed this in a later interview.[6]

Adler performing with Lamb of God at Rock am Ring 2015

On February 12, 2017, Dystopia won the Best Metal Performance award at the 59th Grammy Awards.[7]

On July 19, 2019, after a year in which he did not tour with the band, Adler parted ways with Lamb of God. Art Cruz later became his permanent replacement.[8]

In September of 2019, Adler took a job at The Home Depot in his hometown of Richmond, Virginia. Chris is an Associate Store Manager, providing warehouse and store management services.[9]

Personal life

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In February 2019, Adler announced his engagement to his longtime girlfriend.[10] Adler is interested in animal rights and is a vegetarian.[11][12]

Equipment

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Current tour kit

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  • Drums – Mapex Saturn in Satin Black Maple Burl[13]
    • 10"x9" Tom
    • 12"×10" Tom
    • 16"×16" Floor Tom
    • 18"×16" Floor Tom
    • 22"×18" Bass Drum (×2)
    • 12"×5.5" Mapex Warbird (Chris Adler Signature)
  • Cymbals – Meinl[14]

Current:

    • 18" Byzance Traditional China
    • 14" Pure Alloy Medium Hihat
    • 8" HCS High Bell
    • 8" Byzance Traditional Splash
    • 16" Pure Alloy Medium Crash
    • 16" Pure Alloy Custom Medium Thin Crash
    • 10" Byzance Traditional Splash
    • 18" Byzance Traditional Medium Thin Crash
    • 14" Byzance Dark Hihat
    • 24" Byzance Brilliant Pure Metal Ride
    • 18" Byzance Traditional China

Cymbals circa 2016:

    • 14" Generation X Filter China
    • 16" Generation X Filter China
    • 14" Soundcaster Custom Medium Soundwave Hihat or 14" Byzance Dark Hihat
    • 8" Byzance Traditional Splash
    • 12" Soundcaster Custom Distortion Splash
    • 14" Soundcaster Custom Medium Crash
    • 8" Classics Custom High Bell
    • 14" Soundcaster Custom Medium Crash
    • 16" Mb8 Medium Crash
    • 8" Byzance Traditional Splash
    • 18" Byzance Traditional Medium Thin Crash
    • 24" MB20 Pure Metal Ride
    • 17" Byzance Traditional China (Prototype)
  • Drumheads[13] – Evans
    • Toms: EC2S Clear – G1 Clear
    • Bass: EMAD Heavyweight – Custom Resonant
    • Snare: Heavyweight snare batter – 300 snare side
  • Hardware[15]
    • Trick Pro V pedals
    • Gibraltar Rack System and Clamps
    • Mapex Cymbal Boom Arms
  • Other[16]
    • Roland TD-7 Electronic Percussion Module and Single Trigger Pad
    • Roland trigger modules
    • Pro-Mark TX5AXW Chris Adler Signature Sticks

Discography

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With Calibra
  • Demo Tape (1989, independently released)
With Cry Havoc
  • Demo Tape (1993, independently released)
With Jettison Charlie
  • Hitchhiking to Budapest (1994, Turn of the Century)
  • Legions of the Unjazzed / I Love You, You Bastard EP (1996, Peas Kor Records)
With EvilDeathInc.
With Burn the Priest
With Grouser
  • Demo tape (1996, independently released)
With Lamb of God
Main article: Lamb of God discography
Solo
  • Drum Nation Volume 3 (2006, Magna Carta) feat. Ron Jarzombek
  • Chris Adler and Jason Bittner: Live at Modern Drummer Festival 2005 DVD (2006, Hudson Music)
With Testament
With Protest the Hero
With Megadeth
With Thaikkudam Bridge
With Firstborne
  • Firstborne (2020, Firstborne Records)

References

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  1. ^ "Chris Adler Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic.
  2. ^ "Lamb of God's Chris Adler Talks Drums (w/ Audio) – in Interviews". Metal Underground.com. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  3. ^ Linda Friedel (March 16, 2011). "Drum clinic rocks local music store – Wednesday Sun News Story – Kansas City". Kccommunitynews.com. Archived from the original on March 26, 2011. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  4. ^ Phil Freeman (February 24, 2012). "Lamb of God's Chris Adler's Five Favorite Drummers". wonderingsound.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  5. ^ "Chris Adler: Working Man's Metal". DRUM! Magazine. Archived from the original on September 14, 2010.
  6. ^ "LAMB OF GOD's CHRIS ADLER: 'I Have No Involvement' In SLIPKNOT's New Album". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. August 14, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  7. ^ "Chris Adler | GRAMMY.com". Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  8. ^ Hammer, Alice Pattillo2019-07-19T22:21:48Z Metal (July 19, 2019). "Lamb of God officially part ways with drummer Chris Adler". Metal Hammer Magazine. Retrieved July 28, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "Chris Adler Professional LinkeIn". LinkedIn. April 28, 2024. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  10. ^ "Chris Adler on Instagram". Archived from the original on December 24, 2021.
  11. ^ "Lamb Of God's Chris Adler Is Proud Vegetarian". Metalunderground.com. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  12. ^ "Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler speaks up for animals". Gmanetwork.com. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  13. ^ a b "Chris Adler". Chris Adler. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  14. ^ "MEINL cymbals 2008.pdf" (PDF). Retrieved October 1, 2011.[permanent dead link]
  15. ^ "Drummerworld video showing Adler talk about his pedals and bass drum technique". Pearl Drummers Forum. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  16. ^ "DRUMHEAD Magazine". Drumheadmag.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  17. ^ "Testament: New Album Title Revealed; Tour With Anthrax, Overkill, Death Angel Planned". Archived from the original on July 17, 2011.
  18. ^ Lamb Of God's Chris Adler Is Officially The Drummer For Megadeth's New Album
  19. ^ Shefeek, Afrin (November 30, 2019). "Namah, saluting the luminary". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
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