Lamb Of God drummer Chris Adler’s status with the band seems to be up in the air. In an interview with radio station WSOU’s DJ Chewie recorded during Sonic Temple Fest and aired this past Friday (31st), frontman Randy Blythe declined to comment on whether or not Adler will still be playing in the band.
Back in 2017, Adler got into a motorcycle accident that left him with a shattered collarbone and right shoulder. The injury, the surgery needed to repair it and the physical and occupational therapy needed to help him recover put him on the sidelines on and off for the last two years. Art Cruz (Prong, Winds of Plague) has been filling in for Adler on tour since July of 2018.
When questioned about whether Adler would be joining the band on tour any time soon, Blythe decided not to give an answer. “It’s hard to say what’s gonna happen with Chris Adler,” said Blythe. “I have no comment on him.”
Adler wasn’t the only hot-button issue Blythe declined to talk about during the interview. When asked about whether the band was working on a follow-up to 2015’s VII: Sturm Und Drang, he said that people shouldn’t believe anything they hear about it on the internet. Said Blythe:
“I don’t ever talk about records until they’re done. In fact, I will say this: the record doesn’t exist. That’s a fact. So, if the record doesn’t exist, I’m not gonna talk about it. That would be like talking about plans you’re gonna make with all this money you’re gonna earn at your job to go on vacation. And it’s bad luck.”
Work on the album had previously been confirmed by guitarist Mark Morton as he revealed to us in a recent interview, stating:
“We’ve got a bunch of new material we’ve been working on. We’re well into the writing process. We’re not completed writing but we’re pretty far along into the writing process. We’ve been making demos and what we call pre-production for the new album. So I don’t have a date, I don’t know if it’ll be the end of this year or some time early next year but it’s in full swing. There’s good progress.”
Lamb Of God will be headed to Europe for a festival and arena tour in June and July. The band is also slated to make appearances at Sacramento, CA’s Aftershock Festival and Manchester, TN’s Exit 111 Festival on October 11 and 13, respectively. A listing of dates can be found on the band’s website.
