LAMB OF GOD's CHRIS ADLER Would 'Really Love' To Keep Playing With MEGADETH

LAMB OF GOD drummer Chris Adler was interviewed for this week's edition of the MetalSucks podcast. You can now listen to the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On his current status with MEGADETH after he recently laid down the drum tracks for the band's new album:

Adler: "It was widely reported, when this all first went down, that I was gonna be the session guy for the [new MEGADETH] record, and that really never came from me or from [MEGADETH mainman] Dave [Mustaine]. I think it was just assumed, because LAMB is doing fairly well, and we have a record coming out, and nobody is in jail currently, so I think everybody thought that it would just be a session deal. And I think that's probably fairly accurate in the long run. But I'd really like to work it out. I'd really love to play drums in MEGADETH. I can't do that instead of LAMB, so the two have to be, kind of, massaged, and I don't know if that's possible. And if it's not, obviously, I'm gonna stay with LAMB OF GOD, because that's my baby. But I would absolutely love to do it. So, yeah, on my bucket list?! Record an album with MEGADETH. Also on that list: play some shows with MEGADETH. So, if I can hold on to this, if I can keep it going for a little while, I definitely wanna do it. And Dave has asked me repeatedly: 'Please become a member of the band.' I would love to take him up on that offer, but I've got my own project. And that's what I told him. I was, like, 'MEGADETH is your baby, and LAMB OF GOD is mine, and if we can make both work, I'd love to do this with you, 'cause I love MEGADETH and I want you to win. And I know there's a lot of people out there that give you a hard time, and that's just because you're the guy that changed the world with your guitar, so it's easy to pick on the king. But I still want you to win, so I wanna be involved, and I'll help you in any and every way that I can."

On whether he could pull double duty with LAMB OF GOD and MEGADETH by having the two bands tour together in the future:

Adler: "It's not gonna be up to me. I've gotta let that play itself out. I'm certainly not gonna steer LAMB OF GOD in any direction. I think it's gotta make sense for everybody, if we are gonna do some touring together. There is, actually, some stuff being talked about, currently, for later on in the year. So there is more than this one show in July [on July 18 at the Festival D'été De Québec in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada] that I'm talking to them about doing, and I would really love to be involved further down the road. It just can't… I promised the guys in LAMB that it won't get in the way, and I don't want it to get in the way. LAMB is my priority."

On other issues that are standing in the way of him being able to juggle the two bands:

Adler: "It's tough, man, because I think, really… If I was single, I'd figure it out, but, you know, I'm married, I've got a kid. I need [my wife and my kid], [and] they need me. The LAMB OF GOD schedule from here, starting, literally, today, as we're heading over to Munich [Germany], for the next twelve to eighteen months, is gonna be pretty gnarly, as far as touring goes, being home… or not being home, I should say. So to add another full-time legacy act to that would be devastating on the home front. So, we're just gonna have to see how it goes."

On MEGADETH's failed attempt earlier this year to reunite the classic "Rust In Peace" lineup of the band — featuring Nick Menza on drums and Marty Friedman on guitar:

Adler: "There's been so much talk, with Nick saying stuff [online and in interviews] and Dave, really… I saw an interview with [MEGADETH bassist] David Ellefson yesterday about how those guys really did try to make the reunion happen. And I've talked to Dave [Mustaine] about it. And I told him… Even when he called me and said, 'Hey, Chris, do you wanna make a record with me?' I said, 'You know what?! Of course I do, Dave, but everybody wants Nick and Marty in it. I think you should take the time and try to make that work.' And he said, 'Well, I did. And it just… For a lot of reasons, it's not where it should be. It's not working out. We tried playing together, we tried sorting out the money, and it's just not a good fit.' And I was, like, 'Well, I'm not your business manager, but if I was, I would tell you, whatever it takes, that is the second wind of your career. I think that's the move you need to make.' And this is me on the phone with him, he's offering me a job, and I'm telling him: 'Go get this other guy.' So I have nothing but respect for Nick. I think he's an amazing drummer. I'm stepping into enormous shoes, and I was not trying to take his job. But, after talking to David, it just seemed obvious that, for whatever reason — personality-wise, playing-wise, money-wise — it just was not the right fit at this time. And I know, as well as everybody does, that's the ace in the deck that… it's always there. So, you know, talk about playing shows with MEGADETH and all that, at some point, that could happen. And it's gonna be great for all the fans that want that to happen — including myself; I'm gonna be in the front row at that show."

LAMB OF GOD's new album, "VII: Sturm Und Drang", will be released on July 24 via via Epic in the U.S. and Nuclear Blast Entertainment, with whom the band signed a record deal for all territories outside of North America. The CD was once again produced and mixed by Josh Wilbur with engineering by Wilbur, Nick Rowe and Kyle McAulay, and was recorded at NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood, California and Suburban Soul Studios in Torrance, California.

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