Chris Adler has opened up about his departure from LAMB OF GOD, explaining that it was “devastating” for him to be fired from what he considered to be his “life’s work”.

LAMB OF GOD officially parted ways with the drummer in July 2019. He was replaced by Art Cruz, who had previously played with PRONG and WINDS OF PLAGUE, and filled in for Adler on several LAMB OF GOD tours in 2018 and early 2019.

Adler, who has also played drums with a number of metal artists, including MEGADETH, NITRO, BLOTTED SCIENCE and PROTEST THE HERO, spoke about the circumstances that led to his exit from LAMB OF GOD in a new interview with Scott Penfold of Loaded Radio. He said: “If anybody knows LAMB OF GOD from the beginning, I think they know that I put a lot into that band. The first practice ever was at my house, I kind of picked the guys out and I worked really hard for myself and for the guys the entire time. So that became, really, my identity. That was about as personal as it’s ever been.

“When I got to do the PROTEST THE HERO record (2013’s ‘Volition’), that was one of my favorite bands at the time, so that was a real rush for me to be able to do something. And that was by far the most difficult recording that I did and probably I’m most proud of. I’m really happy for them that they won the Canadian Grammy (equivalent) for that. And so that felt like a personal challenge — can you actually pull this off? — which was amazing. And then, of course, getting the call to do the MEGADETH thing (recording the 2016 album ‘Dystopia’ and touring with the band briefly in support of the record). When I was 14 years old skateboarding around and trading cassettes of music, I heard a MEGADETH song for the first time — and I remember the day, I remember the ramp, I remember the board I had — that set me on the path to do exactly this. MEGADETH was the thing that just flipped the switch. So when I got that call, that was the greatest thing, and I was jumping up and down. I could not believe that I was gonna be a part of my favorite band of all time. And to have that record win a Grammy, it was just amazing.”

Reflecting on some of the other issues that were going on in his life prior to his departure from LAMB OF GOD, Adler said: “My mom passed away. I was in the middle of a terrible divorce. I’d had the motorcycle accident. And I haven’t talked about this before, but at the same time, in 2016, ’17, right at the end of ’16, I was diagnosed with something called musician’s dystonia. I didn’t wanna talk about it at the time because I felt like it would really hinder my career, but I’ve gone through an incredible amount of work to be able to come back from it. What it is, and I’ve heard Alex Webster (CANNIBAL CORPSE) talk about this before, and I’m buddies with him, and I recently saw the NICKELBACK documentary. I’m not the biggest NICKELBACK fan, but it’s a great documentary, if you haven’t seen it. Their drummer Daniel (Adair) went through the same thing. It may have been with his arm or his hand, but he was diagnosed with dystonia. And for a drummer — really, for anybody that plays an instrument — it’s kind of a death sentence.”

Detailing his battle with musician’s dystonia, a neurological disorder characterized by involuntary muscle contractions and loss of fine motor control during specific musical tasks, particularly those requiring complex and repeated movements, Chris added: “Mine was with my right foot. Dystonia is basically a neurological condition where the nerve that controls the movement of any particular body part basically deteriorates to the point where that motion becomes impossible. So people that repeat the same repetitive motion for decades at a time, this happens to them. It happens a lot to golfers, quarterbacks, first-chair violinists, people that just practice the hell out of what they’re doing. And this happened to me with my right foot. So I would be playing a song, and my foot, when I intended it to depress the pedal, would shoot off to the side or shoot back. And that was at the point where I was coming off stage just so depressed with my performance. I think the band was very frustrated with my performance. I did give them the medical paperwork: ‘Here’s what it is. Here’s what we can do. There’s just a couple songs that are really aggravating this. The rest I can get through, if you’re willing to change ’em.’ I think at the time I had also joined MEGADETH, so tensions were really high. And we were never like the most functional group of people traveling around the world, if you know anything about the band. So, whoever was not in the room was basically getting picked on. And I think the combination of things got to the point where they didn’t wanna deal with it and I wasn’t happy with my performances, so that kind of stopped the train. It was one of those e-mails, ‘service is no longer required’ kind of thing, and that was devastating, ’cause I felt like it was my baby, it was my project and I put my life into it. It was my identity, so I had to take some time. And, of course, these other things that were going on, and, really, just trying to find a purpose, trying to decide what chapter two was gonna be about.”

Regarding how he managed to recover from his battle with musician’s dystonia and learn to live with the condition, Chris said: “I knew that I wanted to play. I knew that it would be stupid for me to try to compete with what I had done before because we really did way more than anybody, including ourselves, thought we could have done. 22 years of traveling the world, and I don’t really count the awards or accolades, but there really wasn’t, I didn’t feel, a whole lot more to achieve other than just proving that we were still around. So it wasn’t a total death sentence. I think I got off the train at a very good time. It was just because of the other circumstances that contributed to it, that it was difficult for me to find any relief in that. I was more depressed and kind of searching for who I am and what I’m gonna do next. So a couple years of like intense practice, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and really the only way around dystonia is learning to do what you do in a different way. So in that, my right foot was the issue, I really learned how to play drums backwards, where my left foot became my main foot, which would kind of trick my brain into trying to figure out how to get the right foot to not be the lead, which was using a different pathway. So I, over time, practiced that to the point where I was able to do the stuff that you’re hearing on the FIRSTBORNE record,” he added, referencing his post-LAMB OF GOD project.

When Penfold expressed his surprise that Adler would have been fired from LAMB OF GOD via e-mail after being in the band for 25 years, Chris admitted: “It was devastating to me. It really was. Like I said, I really considered that kind of my life’s work. But from my side of the street, I understand. I wasn’t capable of playing the songs that we really needed to be playing. These were the songs that were — not all of them, but there were two or three songs that were fairly popular songs, and I understand that would cause them pause as far as why we can’t play that. And again, with me taking on the MEGADETH record and that doing so well, with me taking on the PROTEST record and that doing so well, I think the tensions were just high. And like the metal sites always say, everybody’s replaceable, right? So, I did take it hard, I did take it personally, and it sent me spiraling for a little while. But I’ve worked through those resentments, and I’ve got nothing but love for them continuing on and for each one of them. It was a difficult time, I think, for everybody, and, yeah, it hurt me a lot. But thankfully things have drastically improved in my life. I’ve gotten remarried, we’ve got three teenagers, I’ve got a nice little house, we’ve got dogs, cats. And now I’ve got FIRSTBORNE that is keeping me busy all the time. So I could look back on that and really be very, very proud of the time, effort and career that I had with them. And I wouldn’t do it any other way. It’s unfortunate it ended the way it did, but in the end, looking back on it, I also think that I in that I was forced at the time to walk away from it, since that time, I don’t know that there would’ve been a better time for anybody to depart. At least personally, I do feel like we achieved more than we ever set out to do, and it had gotten to the point where, again, it doesn’t really matter what the accolades were, but we had received basically all of them. So now it’s just kind of this rinse and repeat proving to everybody that we’re still around. And I didn’t feel like there was much higher to go. We reached, again, way higher than I ever thought we would. And all the best to them and good luck continuing on. But looking back now, despite where my headspace was at the time, but looking back now in a different mindset, it was probably a very good time to walk away.”

Asked if there has been any communication between him and the members of LAMB OF GOD since his official exit from the band six years ago, Chris said: “There hasn’t been any. And again, I’ve worked through those resentments and I think about those guys all the time in a positive way. But since that letter — I believe it was in 2018 — or the e-mail, there’s been absolutely no communication whatsoever from either side.”