LAMB OF GOD's ART CRUZ Is Moving To Richmond To Be Closer To His Bandmates: 'It's For My Career'

In a new interview with "The Garza Podcast", hosted by SUICIDE SILENCE guitarist Chris Garza, LAMB OF GOD drummer Art Cruz revealed that he is relocating to the East Coast to be closer to his bandmates.

"What's today? Tuesday? I'm moving to Richmond, Virginia on Thursday," he said. "I've lived in Toronto [before], yeah, but this time is different in my career. It's for my career, it's for my future and it's for myself as a person and my mental health and everything in between.

"I love L.A.," Cruz continued, referring to his hometown. 'To live and die, I'll tell you what, I will be back, but I think at this point in life I need to be with the guys, and I think we're gonna create something very special because of it."

Cruz, who filled in for original LAMB OF GOD drummer Chris Adler on several of the band's tours before being named Adler's official replacement in July 2019, also talked about the upcoming LAMB OF GOD album, "Omens", which will arrive on October 7 via Epic Records.

"The first, self-titled one we did, it was great, man — we wrote some great songs," he said, referring to 2020's "Lamb Of God", which marked his recording debut with LAMB OF GOD. "But I was still learning their vibe. I was green to that level of… Those guys had been doing it for 28, 29 years — almost 30 years — and I'm the new guy, a young kid coming in. You have to go through the trenches in every which way. And that first album was a very secure, safe way for all of us to just, 'Here's the tunes. Let's figure it out. Learn how we work.' And this one that's coming out, 'Omens', they really let me spread my wings and they really let me play me — they let me be me.

"I'm always inspired by LAMB, and LAMB is a signature sound," he continued. "LAMB OF GOD, to me, is that sound as a unit. It's a unit — it's not one individual. It's Randy [Blythe, vocals], it's Mark [Morton, guitar], it's Willie [Adler, guitar], it's John [Campbell, bass], it's Chris. That's, to me, what LAMB OF GOD was. So I'm not far off from that. That's what inspired me to be listening to metal and shit. It's my favorite metal band of all time. So to take that inspiration and then become my own person, my own player, from WINDS OF PLAGUE to AZUSA to my first band ENTHRAL to PRONG, to finally come to this point, and this is the album. It's all of those bands, it's all of those struggles, all of those trenches, all of those challenges, all of those tours — this is the album that I was able to really… And then the last LAMB OF GOD album, that is what built me to be to this 'Omens' album, for real. And we're just getting started, man — we're so just getting started. And I'm ready. And I'm mentally in a better place to do that, and I'm ready to do it. And the band is, they're my brothers."

The band tracked "Omens" with longtime collaborator Josh Wilbur (KORN, MEGADETH) live in the room together at Henson Recording Studios (formerly A&M Studios) in Los Angeles, California, a location that birthed classics from THE DOORS, PINK FLOYD, RAMONES and SOUNDGARDEN, among others.

LAMB OF GOD will support the new album with a massive Live Nation-produced U.S. headlining tour featuring special guests KILLSWITCH ENGAGE on all dates. Different legs will also see support from BARONESS, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, SPIRITBOX, ANIMALS AS LEADERS as well as SUICIDE SILENCE and FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY. The tour kicks off September 9 in Brooklyn and runs through October 20.