Meinl Cymbals Artist: Chris Adler from Lamb of God

Christopher James Adler, more popularly known as Chris Adler, is the drummer of the metal band Lamb of God and the older brother of Willie Adler, the band's guitarist.

Chris was born on November 23, 1972 in Washington, D.C. He went to Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Virginia. He attended college at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia where he was planning a career on network engineering. While in the university, he met his current bandmates John Campbell and Mark Morton.

The multi-talented Chris Adler plays other instruments like the piano, saxophone, acoustic guitar and bass guitar. From 1991 to 1994, he toured the USA. In September of the same year, Chris contacted some members of his freshman dorm year and asked them who were interested in starting a band. It was when Chris decided to go full-time on playing drums.

In 1999, the band signed a recording contract with Prosthetic records. They started to call themselves the Lamb of God. Their debut CD titled "New American Gospel" was released on September 2000. Compared to other underground metal bands, their album was unique because of his unique style, timing and speed combined with amazing guitar work. During the same year, the Modern Drummer Magazine approached him for his first feature article. As the Lamb of God gained popularity, Chris's reputation as an exceptional drummer in the metal genre also grew.

Chris Adler prefers to use Saturn Series Mapex Drums and Gibraltar Hardware. He is the first person from Mapex Drums to have his own signature snare, the Black Panther 12x5.5-inch snare. Chris also uses a Roland pad and TD-7 Module to trigger an 808. He also endorses several drum equipments including Aquarian Drumheads, Pro-Mark signature Sticks, Trick V-1 PRO Pedals and Meinl Cymbals. Chris also helped with the creation of the 12-inch Soundcaster Custom Distortion Splash.

Chris Adler helped Meinl produce the 24" Mb20 Pure Metal Ride. This year, his cymbal setup includes 14" Soundcaster Custom Medium Soundwave Hihat, 14" Generation X Filter China, 8" Classics High Bell Effect Cymbals, 12" Soundcaster Custom Distortion Splash, 8" Byzance Traditional Splash, 14" Soundcaster Custom Medium Crash, 24" Mb20 Pure Metal Ride, 18" Byzance Medium Thin Crash, 17" Byzance Traditional China, 16" Generation X Filter China and 16" Mb8 Medium Crashes.

Chris admits that he still gets nervous before big shows until now. He says he has to watch the video after the show because he blacks out and simply runs on adrenaline rush and muscle memory.