Chris Adler Opens Up About His Departure From Lamb Of God

Former Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler is finally opening up about what really led to his departure from the iconic metal band. In a candid new interview, Adler shared the personal and professional struggles that pushed him to leave, including serious health issues and growing tension within the group.

“People are interested in, ‘What the fuck happened?’” Adler said. He explained that a motorcycle accident in 2018 on an island off Thailand messed up his shoulder. But he recovered quickly thanks to a great surgeon:

“I had a great surgeon who works for the Indianapolis Colts, who got me up and running.”

But that injury wasn’t the main issue.

A Long-Term Health Problem He Couldn’t Ignore

Adler revealed that the bigger problem had started way earlier—back in 2003. “I started noticing something with my right foot doing weird things when I didn’t want it to be doing weird things,” he shared. For years, it didn’t really interfere with his drumming. But by 2016, while touring with both Lamb of God and Megadeth, it started to seriously affect his playing.

“They put me through a battery of tests, and I was diagnosed with a thing called musician’s dystonia,” Adler explained. The condition made it hard to control his foot, which is crucial for any metal drummer known for fast and complex double-kick patterns.

Band Tensions Were Brewing

While the physical challenges were serious, Adler also pointed to rising tensions in the band. “Like I said, we were dysfunctional,” he admitted. “We weren’t always best friends. It was strained. Whoever was not in the room was getting picked on. I was the guy out of the room.”

He also said his decision to tour with Megadeth didn’t sit well with his Lamb of God bandmates. “Nobody said, ‘We don’t want you to do it,’ or ‘You’re cheating on us.’ That was still the vibe,” Adler recalled. Things got even more awkward when Megadeth won a Grammy during his stint with them. “That pushed it further,” he added, noting that he had also previously won a Juno Award with Protest the Hero.

Trying to Work Around the Problem

Adler eventually tried to find a way to keep going with Lamb of God, despite his dystonia. “I went to them and said, ‘This doesn’t happen all the time. It happens on these particular songs. Can we work around it? We have a pretty large body of work.’” But according to Adler, “Nobody wanted to do that. There wasn’t anything I could do about it.”

After 25 years with the band he helped form, it all came to an end.

Fired by Email and Starting Fresh

Adler co-founded Lamb of God back in 1994 with his brother, Willie Adler. They originally went by the name Burn the Priest before changing it. So it hit hard when, according to Ultimate Guitar, he was fired by email in 2019. The move shocked fans and Adler alike. AXS TV reported that Adler called the firing “devastating,” adding that he didn’t choose to walk away from what he considered his “life’s work.”

Art Cruz had already been filling in for Adler on tour while he was recovering, and he became the band’s permanent replacement.

Since leaving Lamb of God, Adler has focused on healing and moving forward. He formed a new band called Firstborne and continues to play music on his own terms. His story is a reminder of how health issues and personal conflict can change even the most successful careers—and that sometimes, even founding members can get pushed out.

The full interview offers a raw, honest look at what really went down behind the scenes, and it’s clear Adler is finally ready to tell his side of the story.