source: Nathan Katsiaficas, https://www.facebook.com/Chris-Adler-196137456576/, Wes Orshoski
Here is a little known Metal tidbit… We all have major life decisions to make, whether you are a bank president, a school principal, or a well known heavy metal drummer. When Lamb of God’s Chris Adler was given the opportunity to man the drum kit for Megadeth, he turned to fellow drummer and friend, Lars Ulrich for some advice before making his decision. After all, who’s better to ask for the 411 on Megadeth’s leader Dave Mustaine than longtime friend and ex-bandmate, Lars? The storied relationship between Mustaine and Metallica is the stuff of legends and helped determine the direction of heavy metal. Ulrich offered Adler some insight into what he could expect.
Metal Injection spoke to Adler about working with Mustaine as Adler revealed:
“After I got the call, I actually called Lars. We had toured together and connected to some degree. And I said, ‘Hey, man, I just got, like, a legit offer to play, or at least try out, I guess, for the new Megadeth record. And I think heavy metal, in general, is a bigger genre because of the drama between you guys. So, what, if anything, would you allow me to know about what am I getting into if I go into this?’ And Lars told me what was exactly the truth: Dave is an absolute pussycat. He is a sweetheart – he really is. But he’s driven.
He has a vision in mind and it’s perfectly defined and nothing outside of it is acceptable. And I love that. I’ve had the same idea. In my career, that’s exactly the way that I have kind of come up, and that’s why Dave and I got along. Now, that doesn’t mean you have the people skills to make it work or the ability to actually get to that end. I mean, those are difficult things that we all go through in whatever it is that we do. You know where you wanna be, you find that point on the horizon, and that is how you get it done – you believe in yourself and do it.”
Getting some insight into the situation ahead of time seems to have worked out well for Adler who recorded Dystopia with Megadeth in 2016. From the sound of it, it was a great experience for Adler who left Megadeth shortly after laying down drums for the record and after only a few live performances due to scheduling issues. Megadeth has since recruited ex-Soilwork drummer Dirk Verbeuren as Soilwork added Bastian Thusgaard as Verbeuren’s replacement.
Listen to the full discussion below:
