When we last spoke with Chris Adler, drummer of Lamb Of God, things were going very well with the band. They were about to release their seventh album, Resolution, and had big plans for a year filled with touring and performances all over the world. Since then, a lot has happened to the band, with the lion’s share of attention and discussion focusing on the arrest of vocalist Randy Blythe in Prague, Czech Republic on June 28. Charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of a fan following a Lamb Of God concert in Prague on May 24, 2010, Blythe and the band have categorically denied the validity of the charges from the moment they were made public. Nonetheless, Blythe was forced to remain behind bars in Prague for over a month before he was released on bail, and he still must return to the Czech Republic in January 2013 to formally stand trial.
When we recently got back in touch with Chris Adler to talk about the tour Lamb Of God is currently on, and what the band has coming up in the near future, we assumed he was probably sick to death of talking about Randy’s ongoing legal situation. However, he brought up the subject before we did, and had a better attitude about the situation than we ever could have expected. “We’re coming to this with a renewed sense of how lucky we are, and how fortunate we are to be doing what we’re doing,” he said. “It’s beautiful to be back onstage again.”
Once Blythe was released and allowed to return home, the band got right to work booking a full US tour. In the interest of making the show as awesome as possible, they put a lot of thought into exactly who they wanted to bring along on tour with them, and it shows. “I don’t want to have a show of three or four bands that sound exactly like us,” Adler explained. “We’re trying to spread the love a little bit, and put on a good show for everybody.” To that end, the tour features several opening acts hand-picked by Lamb Of God--including such legends as metallic hardcore stalwarts Hatebreed and titans of Swedish metal In Flames, as well as up-and-coming groups like England’s Sylosis and American supergroup Hellyeah (which features former members of Pantera, Damageplan, and Mudvayne, among others).
Discussion of the American tour quickly led us to the subject of returning to Europe. “We want to get back to Europe,” Adler assured me. “I don’t know that Randy's gonna be first in line to go back to Prague, but we definitely want to.” He also expressed regret at the consequences of having to cut their previous European tour short. “It’s a real trickle-down effect when something like that happens. It’s not just the promoters and the band losing a little bit of money. The people on the buses, the crew and their families--everybody really starts to suffer. Then we had to cancel our summer tour. So those bands, those crews, those production elements that were lined up and rented, all suffered.”
Unfortunately, the continued effect of the band’s legal troubles make returning to Europe impossible for the time being. “Right now, we're literally not allowed to leave [the United States],” Adler explained. “Randy has a trial set for January in Prague. He’s intending to return to face the charges. He’s facing everything head-on and with a clear mind, and obviously we're very proud of him. [But] until that process comes to some sort of end, we can’t leave. As soon as it is decided, our thoughts are that Randy will be a free man, we'll be able to travel again, and we’ll be right back at it.”
Fan support in general has been a big part of Lamb Of God’s last year as a band--a big comfort to the members during the troubled times they went through this summer. “We’ve been very surprised by the amount of support that we’ve gotten, and I think it has to do with us having a very grassroots fanbase,” Adler said. He also attributes the excellent reception with which Resolution was greeted upon its release earlier this year to the band’s longevity. The album debuted at #3 on the Billboard charts, sold more in its first week than any previous Lamb Of God album, and receiving nearly universal critical acclaim. All of this was quite a pleasant surprise for Adler. “To have that kind of continued success is pretty unprecedented for a metal band that I’m familiar with, other than obviously Metallica. So I think we're beginning to get into some pretty good company as far as that goes.”
The fact that there’s been no backlash to speak of is another pleasant surprise. “When you get to a certain point in your career, especially when you continue to do well, as we have, everybody wants to beat you up,” he said. “You become the target. Instead of the underdog that everybody loves, you're kind of the bad guy that everybody wants to see fail.” The fact that Lamb Of God hasn’t been forced into this role is something Adler attributes to the deliberate pace with which they built their career. “We didn't come out of nowhere. It's been a pretty slow burn. There wasn't any one particular standout moment that made the band what it is today.”
With some time to gain perspective on the album, he’s very happy with the music on Resolution as well. “I feel like the music is as good and as relevant as anything that we have done before. We were able to objectively look back at the catalog and understand where we did something right and where we did something wrong. On this record, we tried to pool all the things we did right, and to improve upon them. I think it offers a lot of different sides of the band, and I'm very proud of it.”
Lamb Of God’s current US tour is in full swing, and Adler and the rest of the band consider the Richmond date on the tour to be very important. “It was really important to us to ask the booking agent and the promoters to do a hometown show,” he said. “There's been so much support for us here--whether it be the fans, the local media, people that really helped out while Randy was locked up, the generosity of the fans that put on benefit shows and did auctions--and I think it's time that we come home and try to put on a special show for everybody that was there to support us.”
Rather than the tour beginning here at home, Lamb Of God actually started this tour in the Southwestern United States, with the RVA date not occurring until nearly a month into the tour. “So we've got about a month to fine-tune everything and make sure that nobody gets set on fire before we get to Richmond,” Adler explained. “We're gonna pull out all the stops. We're putting more into this particular run of shows, production-wise, than we've ever done before. We want people walking out impressed with the show. It should be a fun night for everybody.” And after everything the band has been through over the past year, playing music and having fun has become more important than ever. “Honestly, we didn't know if we were going to be able to work at all this year, or even past this year,” he admitted. “We're very fortunate that things have worked out. We do a certain thing fairly well, and we're gonna keep going as long as we're having a good time doing it.”
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Lamb Of God will perform at The National (708 E. Broad St.) on Wednesday, November 28, along with In Flames, Sylosis, and Hellyeah. Doors open at 6 PM. Admission is $38.50 in advance, $42.50 at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased at The National box office, or by clicking HERE.