Pure American metal, Their website said it and whos to argue? Lamb of God is the most unique and brutal metal band out right now. They have a rhythm section that can make your heart skip a beat and guitars that can shred through anything. They had an awesome run on this years Ozzfest, and are now touring in support of their new album, Ashes of the Wake which also happens to be their major label debut on Sony/Epic records. I recent got the chance to sit down with guitarist Willie Adler before their October 19th show at the House of Blues in Orlando, FL. We talked about many things from music, Ozzfest, the album, and Beer and Kerosene.

                        
You just released a new album, Ashes of the Wake, what was recording it like and how are Machine and Devin Townshed different when it comes to producing an album?
Recording the album was great, because Machine was there because he is a full on producer. So we went into pre-production and had a lot of time with him doing that. And Devin, being a guitar player, was both beneficial for Mark and myself to work with him and build up our chops as far as what we were going after In a studio sense as far as guitars are concerned. But Machine was a full on over all general sound and feel producer, who’s had it much more than anybody has who has come to the table as far as a producer.

What was it like having Chris Poland from Megadeth and Alex Skolnick from Testament playing on the album?
It was awesome, those are guys that we’ve looked up too, you know Chris also played on Palaces. So we kind of had an ongoing relationship with him and when we mentioned wed like him to return and appear again on this album he was more than willing. And Alex he turned into an instant fan and really connected with the music and enjoyed working with us as well as both Mark and myself and im sure everybody else in the band being awestruck and jaw dropped that they were willing to do it.

How do you feel the response to the new album has been?
I think its been pretty good. Conparitively to the other two albums its sold quite a few more and with the Ozzfest thing that defiantly was beneficial to us. We got to connect with the Ozzfest crowd, being such a different crowd than any crowd we had connected to before. Im sure three quarters of that audience had never even heard of us or seen us. So it was a really good thing for us. I mean our fan base has grown to such a degree now, you know and with the release of this record it just seems to be growing even more.

How would you compare the sound of the new album to Palaces and Gospel? How would you say they are different from each other?
On a production level Ashes is a far more mature record as well as with the songwriting that was involved I think that we all grew and matured in a way that musicians do in that you don’t want to do the same record twice. Its hard to really pinpoint a sound change I think that we defiantly grew in the dynamics and the relationships we all had as musicians and with each other. We grew to a degree that we were more comfortable with what our strengths and weaknesses are. We were able to compliment them and play off them and make a better record.

You've toured Ozzfest this past summer, how do you feel the tour went, and do you have any memories from it you could share?
The whole summer, it was an incredible tour. It was a great opportunity and we thank everybody involved for allowing us to be a part of it. Its defiantly something I will always remember. A lot of the bands that were on the second stage with us were friends of ours previously, we had been on tour with a lot of them. A lot of people describe it as a heavy metal summer camp, which is pretty much what it was. An all day party everyday with your friends then you get to go and play your songs for five to eight thousand people every other day. That and it’s a story in and of its self that I had a summer that I could do that.

Who are some of your influences musically?
Id have to say, a lot of the old thrash bands…
Like Overkill?
I love Overkill, Forbidden, Annihilator, old Metallica, Megadeth; I love Megadeth, im a huge Megadeth fan.
So you must have been really excited when Chris came to play on Palaces and Ashes.
It was really cool that he wanted to be involved with the project. And I was really beside myself at what he came up with and that he was as cool to do it. It was defiantly a lot of fun.

What are some bands you are into right now that you feel deserve recognition?
Wicked Scepter for sure, they are up and coming and a whole lot of fun. Haha, a whole lot of fun. A Life Once lost is an amazing band I think that if they can get their shit together, they’ll go far. Unearth of course, they are making a good name for themselves. Throwdown, I think those guys are incredible, they are one of my favorite bands right now.

What do you think is Lamb of Gods proudest moment so far?
When we got done, out of the studio with Ashes of the Wake. It was the first time we had a deadline put on us and all of us were really stressed about it and kind of intimidated that we had to write this record and record it within an matter of five to six months. So when we were finally done and out of the studio I was just extremely proud of what we accomplished.

How is being on a major label like Sony/Epic different from a label like Prosthetic?
All the expected stuff, there is a little more money involved so it affords us the time and ability to be able to focus mainly on our music. Whereas before we would work and then we would go to practice. And Epic has allowed us to, where I would get up at 7:30 or 8:00 in the morning and take my son to school then come home and write music throughout the day then go to practice in the evening. It just a constant rotation of writing and practicing, again and again.

Do you ever have your family come visit you while you are touring?
Yeah, my wife is actually coming out tomorow.

What do believe is the main goal that Lamb of God wishes to accomplish?
Just that we are all able to continue doing this and remain happy and doing it and make a living off of it.

You are joined in the band by your brother, Chris, what is it like being in a band with family?
It has its ups and downs of course. He defiantly being the older brother has a little bit more liberty to pick on me. More so than anybody else in the band, and he does his fair share. There is a bond there that we cant replace with anybody else. And we have been playing together since I was eleven and he was fourteen. Its just a matter of history we have with each other. Its really special.

What was the biggest driving force influentially behind each album?
Well, your first album takes your whole life to write. Its what you are right then and each album that you put out is what you are at that point. And each album, we would go into it wanting to outdo and wanting to do better, and use that time as a way to grow and develop our abilities as songwriters and musicians. Each album was a means for us to develop our sound. So there wasn’t any direct, well I cant specify anything came in and struck a chord with me except that we were trying to outdo everything we had done before and make sure we were still pleased with it.

The bio on your website says that Black Label Beer and kerosene fumes defiantly fueled the early days, can you tell us what is meant by that?
Well Burn the Priest used to practice in my brothers old townhouse which was in a place called Church Hill in Richmond, VA. Which is really kind of a ghetto area. And the house was a really old, probably from the eighteen hundreds, and it was real drafty and the only heat that we had came from these kerosene heaters and they gave off these horrible fumes that you would feel dizzy by. And of course every one would get drunk and drink Black Label beer ‘cause it was the cheapest it was like a $1.50 for a six pack, so we would be sitting getting high off of these kerosene fumes and getting drunk off of Black Label Beer and writing metal songs.
Is that how the song Black Label got its name?
I think it may have gotten its name from that, I’m not sure, it was a while ago, but you could be on to something.

What is your drink of choice?
I really like Miller Lite, I’m a huge fan of Miller Lite. A lot of lite beers, Coors Lite.
You like Jagermeister?
I like Jager a lot too, but I usually get into trouble when I drink Jager, so I usually stay away from it.
How do you feel about the current state of metal?
I think its taking a turn, obviously, if Ozzfest had a second stage lineup like it did this past year, that says it all right there. Those bands that were on that stage, or to think about last years second stage or even last years main stage with bands like Chevelle and Disturbed and this years its bands like Dimmu Borgir, Superjoint Ritual, and Slayer and all the second stage bands. Nu Metal defiantly seems to be on the way out.

Any parting comments?
Have fun tonight bro….