Lamb of God will release their new self-titled album on May 8. The record is their first with drummer Art Cruz (Prong, Winds of Plague), who officially joined the band in 2019 after having filled-in for Chris Adler live since 2017. Adler broke his silence on the split this year, saying "I was not given a choice in this and my dream is alive."
Lamb of God vocalist Randy Blythe recently sat down with SiriusXM's Trunk Nation to discuss Cruz's playing on the new album. Blythe said Cruz did a fantastic job and "there's a lot of different things he does differently, I guess, than our former drummer did."
"It was interesting to watch him go through it, because writing a Lamb of God record, even though it was pleasant this time, is generally not a pleasant experience to undergo; it's just not, because we are so fucking brutal on ourselves," he explained. "That's why it doesn't fucking matter to us, really, if a song comes out and a few people are, 'That sucks. I wish it sounded more like 'As The Palaces Burn',' or whatever. I don't give a fuck what you think, because we have put ourselves through absolute hell already to make this. We are our own worst critics by far — it's ridiculous how hard we are on ourselves. That being said, it doesn't make for a very pleasant writing and recording experience sometimes. And watching kind of step into this world… I'm sure he was nervous, because it's your first record with a band, and we are a 25-year established band with a large fanbase. I'm sure he was nervous, but he handled it — he did a really good job. It was definitely the longest time he'd ever had to record a record, 'cause he's recorded with Prong, he's recorded with his other band, Winds of Plague. And I think a lot of it was get in there, get it done, 'cause the budget isn't there for you to take all day. And I think he was a bit more directed by his bandmates in those other projects: 'We want you to do this. We want you to do that.' With this, we were, like, 'Okay, kid. Let's see what you've got.' And he just did a fantastic job."
"It has that Lamb of God sound. Because we are Lamb of God; we're not trying to, all of a sudden, play polka beats or something. But definitely he adds his own flavor to it; there's a lot of different things he does differently, I guess, than our former drummer did. It's just different, and drum nerds will pick that apart."
Blythe also briefly commented on the split with Adler and how their issues were resolved.
"The way it's been resolved is that Chris Adler is no longer in Lamb of God — that's been publicly said — and Art Cruz is our new drummer. And that's about all we have to say about that."
Lamb of God will hit the road this summer with Megadeth, Trivium, and In Flames.
6/12/20 Bristow, VA Jiffy Lube Live [Tickets]
6/13/20 Charlotte, NC PNC Music Pavilion [Tickets]
6/14/20 Raleigh, NC Red Hat Amphitheater [Tickets]
6/16/20 Virginia Beach, VA Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater [Tickets]
6/17/20 Wantagh, NY Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater [Tickets]
6/18/20 Camden, NJ BB&T Pavilion [Tickets]
6/20/20 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center [Tickets]
6/21/20 Boston, MA Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion [Tickets]
6/23/20 Syracuse, NY St. Joseph's Health Amphitheater at Lakeview [Tickets]
6/24/20 Providence, RI Bold Point Park [Tickets]
6/26/20 Darien Center, NY Darien Lake Amphitheater [Tickets]
6/28/20 Burgettstown, PA S&T Bank Music Park* [Tickets]
6/29/20 Toronto, ON Budweiser Stage [Tickets]
7/1/20 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre [Tickets]
7/2/20 Mount Pleasant, MI Soaring Eagle Casino Amphitheatre [Tickets]
7/3/20 Indianapolis, IN Ruoff Music Center [Tickets]
7/5/20 Atlanta, GA Ameris Bank Amphitheatre [Tickets]
7/7/20 Cincinnati, OH PNC PAVILION [Tickets]
7/8/20 Cleveland, OH Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica [Tickets]
7/10/20 Chicago, IL Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – Chicago, IL [Tickets]
7/11/20 St. Louis, MO Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – St. Louis, MO* [Tickets]
7/12/20 Nashville, TN Nashville Municipal Auditorium [Tickets]
7/14/20 Rogers, AR Walmart AMP* [Tickets]
7/16/20 Austin, TX Germania Insurance Amphitheater [Tickets]
7/17/20 Houston, TX The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion [Tickets]
7/18/20 Irving, TX The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory+ [Tickets]
7/20/20 Albuquerque, NM Isleta Amphitheater [Tickets]
7/21/20 Phoenix, AZ Arizona Federal Theatre [Tickets]
7/23/20 Irvine, CA FivePoint Amphitheatre [Tickets]
7/25/20 Auburn, WA White River Amphitheatre [Tickets]
7/26/20 Portland, OR Moda Center [Tickets]
7/29/20 Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheatre [Tickets]
7/30/20 Pocatello, ID Portneuf Health Trust Amphitheatre [Tickets]
8/1/20 Concord, CA Concord Pavilion
9/2/20 West Palm Beach, FL iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre [Tickets]
9/6/20 Birmingham, AL Oak Mountain Amphitheatre [Tickets]
9/7/20 New Orleans, LA UNO Lakefront Arena [Tickets]
9/9/20 Corpus Christi, TX American Bank Center Arena [Tickets]
9/11/20 El Paso, TX Don Haskins Center [Tickets]
9/14/20 Springfield, MO JQH Arena [Tickets]
9/16/20 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center [Tickets]
9/21/20 Columbus, OH Schottenstein Center [Tickets]
9/23/20 Huntington, WV Mountain Health Arena [Tickets]
9/24/20 Bethlehem, PA The Wind Creek Event Center [Tickets]
9/27/20 Quebec City, QC Centre Videotron [Tickets]
9/28/20 Laval, QC Place Bell [Tickets]
9/30/20 St. Paul, MN Armory [Tickets]
9/31/20 Green Bay, WI Resch Center* [Tickets]
10/2/20 Omaha, NE Baxter Arena [Tickets]
10/3/20 Sioux Falls, SD Denny Sanford PREMIER Center [Tickets]
10/5/20 Denver, CO Pepsi Center [Tickets]
10/7/20 Las Vegas, NV Mandalay Bay Events Center [Tickets]
10/10/20 Spokane, WA Spokane Arena [Tickets]
10/11/20 Nampa, ID Ford Idaho Center Arena [Tickets]
10/13/20 Reno, NV Reno Events Center [Tickets]
