LAMB OF GOD Drummer Says New Material Is Turning Out 'Fantastic'

Drummer Chris Adler of Richmond, Virginia metallers LAMB OF GOD has issued the following update:

"Things are moving along very well these days in my world. A few big surprises are in the works and the expected is as expected.

"We have been busting our butts full-time for months writing the new record. It's fantastic so far, to say the very least. Now switched into prep mode for Montreal show Friday, our only show in 2011. It will mark the middle of the year that we are taking to write new record and reconnect with our families. It's come up fast, but the hard work is now behind us.

"Surprises are more specific to me and will come about later this year. Will say they have to do with Epic (not our record label) cameras, large drumfest overseas and a recording opportunity with a different band that will push me to every limit! All good stuff but first and foremost my top priority is my daughter's third birthday this weekend. It's gonna be a rager! We did 'Sesame St.' LIVE last weekend and we are PUMPED! LOL."

LAMB OF GOD's follow-up to 2009's "Wrath" is tentatively due in late 2011 or early 2012.

In a recent interview with the Artisan News Service, Adler stated about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's next CD, "We've done a bit more... Now, because of the amount of time we've spent on the road and the guys spending time alone in hotel rooms, there's a lot more material coming into the process than we've had in the past. Normally, we would tour, then get together and write. But the guitar players, with the technology changing and improving, have been able to do a lot on their own coming in, so there's a lot more ideas than we've ever had, which is great. Normally, it takes... We weed through all the stuff and it takes a really long time to get to what everybody agrees on. Now we've got a plethora of material, so I think it's gonna be... It's always an interesting process, but I think we're coming a little more armed this time."

When asked if "Wrath" set the standard for what fans can expect to hear on LAMB OF GOD's next album, Adler said, "In the past, my perspective has always been very reactive to what the immediate previous album was, as in 'Wrath' was more aggressive than [2006's] 'Sacrament' and 'Sacrament' was more produced than [2004's] 'Ashes Of The Wake', and those were choices that we made. But this time I feel that with all the records we've covered the bases and creatively gotten a lot of stuff out, grown as a band, evolved, made interesting choices along the way, and I think, this time, there's no real... I can't speak for [the rest of] the band, but myself, I'm not really particularly reactive to 'Wrath' in that I was very happy with the way 'Wrath' came out. So I feel a little more free coming into this album to not be so driven in one particular direction. I think we might be a little more wide open this time."

"Wrath" landed at position No. 2 on The Billboard 200 chart back in February 2009 with first-week sales of over 67,000 copies.