Christopher James Adler (born November 23, 1972) is an American musician, best-known as a founding member and the longtime drummer of heavy metal band

Lamb of God Lamb of God (; , ) is a Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at wikisource:Bible (American Standard)/John#1:29, John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, " ...

from 1994 to 2019. He was also a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

winning member of

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal—alo ...

from 2015 to 2016, appearing on their fifteenth album, ''

Dystopia A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmen ...

.'' He performed some touring-dates in support of that album, as well as adhering to the touring and creative obligations of Lamb of God. Adler played in several local bands including Calibra, Jettison Charlie, Grouser, and Darker Days before founding Lamb of God in 1994. Adler is well-recognized for his open-handed technique, his use of the heel-toe technique, and his unusual approach to the drum kit as a left-handed player on a right-handed kit.

Early life and influences

His influences include former

Wrathchild America Wrathchild America was an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Martinsburg, West Virginia, in 1978. Before settling on the Wrathchild America name in 1988, the band had performed under the names Atlantis, Tyrant, and Wrathchi ...

and former

Godsmack Godsmack is an American Rock music, rock band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is currently composed of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Sully Erna and bassist Robbie Merrill. Since its formation, Godsmack has released eig ...

drummer Shannon Larkin, and

Stewart Copeland Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is an American musician and composer. He is best known for his work as the drummer of the British rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008. Before playing with the Polic ...

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussi ...

. Other influences are

John Bonham John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician who was the drummer of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Noted for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove, John Bonh ...

Dave Lombardo David Lombardo (born February 16, 1965) is a Cuban-American drummer, best known as a co-founding member of the thrash metal band Slayer. He currently plays drums with Fantômas, Dead Cross, Mr. Bungle, Empire State Bastard, and Misfits. Lo ...

Gar Samuelson Gary Charles "Gar" Samuelson (February 18, 1958 – July 14, 1999) was an American musician best remembered for being the drummer for thrash metal band Megadeth from 1984 to 1987, contributing to their first two albums, '' Killing Is My Busines ...

Lars Ulrich Lars Ulrich (; ; born 26 December 1963) is a Danish musician who is the drummer and a founding member of American heavy metal band Metallica. Along with James Hetfield, Ulrich has songwriting credits on almost all of the band's songs, and the ...

Billy Cobham William Emanuel Cobham Jr. (born May 16, 1944) is a Panamanian–American jazz drummer who came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with trumpeter Miles Davis and then with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. He was inducted into the '' Mode ...

, and

Gene Hoglan Eugene Victor Hoglan II (born August 31, 1967) is an American drummer, acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including use of abstract devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms. Though his pla ...

. In an interview with ''

DRUM! ''Drum!'' is an American educational drumming magazine. It features artist profiles, product reviews, lessons and advanced transcriptions covering rock, pop and related styles of music. The magazine was launched in 1991 with Andy Doerschuk as ed ...

'' magazine, Adler describes his first drum kit as a disaster:

"The bass drum legs were different lengths so they wouldn't touch the ground at the same time. Every time I would hit it, it would wobble from left to right. The cymbal stands were duct taped together, and I think after two or three times playing the kit, the pedalboard actually broke in half because it was made of that crappy old fake metal."

Career

In 2014, he contributed several drum tracks to the

Testament A testament is a document that the author has sworn to be true. In law it usually means last will and testament. Testament or The Testament can also refer to: Books * ''Testament'' (comic book), a 2005 comic book * ''Testament'', a thriller no ...

album '' Dark Roots of Earth''. The same year, he said that he could neither "confirm nor deny" whether he had performed on the Slipknot single "

The Negative One "The Negative One" is a song by American heavy metal band Slipknot. Released on August 1, 2014, it was the band's first new song since the death of bassist Paul Gray in 2010 and the 2013 firing of drummer Joey Jordison. An accompanying music v ...

". He dismissed this in a later interview. On February 12, 2017, ''Dystopia'' won the

Best Metal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing quality performances in the heavy metal music genre. The Grammy Awards is an annual ceremony, where ...

award at the 59th

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

. On July 19, 2019, after a year in which he did not tour with the band, Adler parted ways with Lamb of God. Shortly after leaving Lamb of God, Adler was hired at The Home Depot in his hometown of Richmond, Virginia, providing warehouse and management services. In early May 2025, Adler revealed that his dismissal from Lamb of God was partly due to "developing Musician's

Dystonia Dystonia is a neurology, neurological Hyperkinesia, hyperkinetic Movement disorders, movement disorder in which sustained or repetitive muscle contractions occur involuntarily, resulting in twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal fixed po ...

, a neurological condition that causes nerve deterioration in limbs most frequently used by musicians", in Adler's case his right foot. After years of growing tensions within the band, particularly after his time serving as Megadeth's drummer and in tandem with his condition, Lamb of God eventually told Adler "that his services were no longer required" despite being aware of his MD.

Personal life

In February 2019, Adler announced his engagement to his longtime girlfriend. Adler is interested in

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...

and is a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

Equipment

Current tour kit

*Drums - Mapex Saturn in Satin Black Maple Burl **10"x9" Tom **12"×10" Tom **16"×16" Floor Tom **18"×16" Floor Tom **22"×18" Bass Drum (×2) **12"×5.5" Mapex Warbird (Chris Adler Signature) *Cymbals - Meinl Current: ** 18" Byzance Traditional China ** 14" Pure Alloy Medium Hihat ** 8" HCS High Bell ** 8" Byzance Traditional Splash ** 16" Pure Alloy Medium Crash ** 16" Pure Alloy Custom Medium Thin Crash ** 10" Byzance Traditional Splash ** 18" Byzance Traditional Medium Thin Crash ** 14" Byzance Dark Hihat ** 24" Byzance Brilliant Pure Metal Ride ** 18" Byzance Traditional China Cymbals circa 2016: **14" Generation X Filter China **16" Generation X Filter China **14" Soundcaster Custom Medium Soundwave Hihat or 14" Byzance Dark Hihat **8" Byzance Traditional Splash **12" Soundcaster Custom Distortion Splash **14" Soundcaster Custom Medium Crash **8" Classics Custom High Bell **14" Soundcaster Custom Medium Crash **16" Mb8 Medium Crash **8" Byzance Traditional Splash **18" Byzance Traditional Medium Thin Crash **24" MB20 Pure Metal Ride **17" Byzance Traditional China (Prototype) *Drumheads - Evans **Toms: EC2S Clear - G1 Clear **Bass: EMAD Heavyweight - Custom Resonant **Snare: Heavyweight snare batter - 300 snare side *Hardware **Trick Pro V pedals **Gibraltar Rack System and Clamps **Mapex Cymbal Boom Arms *Other **Roland TD-7 Electronic Percussion Module and Single Trigger Pad **Roland trigger modules **Pro-Mark TX5AXW Chris Adler Signature Sticks

Discography

;With Calibra *Demo Tape (1989, independently released) ;With Cry Havoc *Demo Tape (1993, independently released) ;With Jettison Charlie *''Hitchhiking to Budapest'' (1994, Turn of the Century) *''Legions of the Unjazzed / I Love You, You Bastard'' EP (1996, Peas Kor Records) ;With EvilDeathInc. *Bedroom Compilation Cassette (1995, Funeral) *"Full On" Now That's Metal Compilation CD (1996,

mp3.com MP3.com was a website operated by Paramount Global publishing tabloid-style news items about digital music and artists, songs, services, and technologies. It is better known for its original incarnation as a legal, free music-sharing service, ...

) *'' Sevens and More'' (1998,

) ;With Burn the Priest *Demo Tape (1995, independently released) *Split with ZED (1997, Goatboy Records) *Split with Agents of Satan (1998, Deaf American Recordings) *'' Sevens and More'' (1998,

) *'' Burn the Priest'' (1998, Legion Records) *'' Legion: XX'' (2018, Epic / Nuclear Blast) ;With Grouser *Demo tape (1996, independently released) ;With Lamb of God *'' New American Gospel'' (2000) *'' As the Palaces Burn'' (2003) *'' Ashes of the Wake'' (2004) *''

Sacrament A sacrament is a Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol ...

'' (2006) *''

Wrath Anger, also known as wrath ( ; ) or rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong, uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt, or threat. A person experiencing anger will often experience physical ef ...

'' (2009) *'' Resolution'' (2012) *'' VII: Sturm und Drang'' (2015) ;Solo * Drum Nation Volume 3 (2006, Magna Carta) feat. Ron Jarzombek * Chris Adler and Jason Bittner: Live at Modern Drummer Festival 2005 DVD (2006, Hudson Music) ;With Testament *'' Dark Roots of Earth'' song "A Day in the Death" (2012, Nuclear Blast) ;With Protest the Hero *'' Volition'' (2013) ;With Megadeth *''

'' (2016) ;With Thaikkudam Bridge * Namah (2019) ;With Firstborne * Firstborne (2020, Firstborne Records)

References

External links

Official website

Official Lamb of God website

Interview with musician Chris Adler on Rockdetector.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adler, Chris 1972 births Grammy Award winners Drummers from Washington, D.C. Living people American heavy metal drummers Lamb of God (band) members Nitro (band) members Virginia Commonwealth University alumni 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Megadeth members Blotted Science members 21st-century American drummers Thrash metal musicians