'We Haven't Spoken' - Chris Adler 'Estranged' From Brother Willie Adler After Lamb of God Split

Former Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler has shared in a new interview with Blabbermouth that he is "estranged" from his brother, Lamb of God guitarist Willie Adler, and that they "haven't spoken" since his split with the band in 2018.

The comments came as part of a larger interview in which the drummer opened up about how the split came about and revealed a physical condition that played a role in the group's decision to part ways with him.

Why Lamb of God and Chris Adler Split

Within the chat, Adler revisited the history that led up to the eventual parting of ways. While he admitted to having a 2018 motorcycle accident, Chris says that ultimately didn't have anything to do with why the band went another direction.

Adler cited multiple factors that led to a bad period in time for him. They included a divorce and the death of his mother, but he also revealed a physical condition that was impacting his playing.

Initially starting around 2003, the drummer noticed his right foot doing weird things when he played. Though it was manageable for a while, it started getting worse in 2016 when he was touring with both Lamb of God and Megadeth.

"It was making a difference in the show in that there were points where I felt like I couldn't control it. I started going through all sorts of physical and occupational therapy. Working out, not working out, yoga — whatever I could do to figure out what was going on," he added. Eventually that led him to Richmond's Neurological Associates who were able to diagnose him with musician's dystonia.

Musician's Dystonia is described as "a task-specific movement disorder causing involuntary muscle contractions and impaired motor control while playing a musical instrument." "The nerves that are telling my foot to do this are worn out. Eventually, it stops doing what you want it to do. In the case of dystonia, it causes things like depression, but the nerve gives your foot the signal. At the same time, it misfires," says the drummer.

Adler also noted that the band had a very dysfunctional relationship during his time in the group. "It wasn't something that anybody wanted to walk away from. We knew we might not always be best friends, but in pushing each other, we made something fairly unique," he shared, later adding, "Whoever was not in the room was getting picked on. I was the guy out of the room." Chris says he felt that with his taking other gigs outside the band, it strained the relationship even further.

He adds that he approached the band about finding "work arounds" for his condition as it only happened on certain tracks, but the band was not wanting to make the adjustments. "There wasn't anything I could do about it," he added. And eventually the split announcement was made.

Moving On After Lamb of God

"That was very difficult for me," Chris added. "In many ways, that band was my identity. It's everything that I worked for. I spiraled."

The drummer says it took some time for his life to straighten out after the band split and the dystonia diagnosis also forced him to re-learn how to play. "I'm able to do it well, but not some of the things I was doing in Lamb, it's a relief not having to do those things because I was coming offstage really depressed about the shows we were having," he shares.

While Chris says he's "grateful and happy" about how things have eventually turned out, there is still some residual feelings left to be worked through from his split.

When asked about his brother Willie Adler, Chris stated, "I guess the best way to put it is that I was sideswiped with the whole thing. I wish him all the best; I'm wishing them all the best, and I think about him all the time, but I would say we are estranged. Since that e-mail that I got, where he was not even willing to talk to me about it, we haven't spoken."

He added: "At this point, I've got to work through resentments and regrets and all that stuff. I'm happy where I'm at. I hope he's happy where he is. Everything is cool with me."

Of late, Chris Adler has returned to music with Firstborne. The band issued a self-titled record back in 2020 and he says, "I'm looking forward to doing some shows with these guys, having more fun and feeling a lot less pressure." A full-length album is also coming from the group titled Lucky that's arriving on July 18.