Lamb of God
Interview with Willie Adler
Words: Michael Spadoni
Photos: Courtesy of Adrenaline PR

Lamb of God proudly carries the torch of Pure American Metal.  The Grammy nominated five-piece from Virginia has made a household name for themselves by a relentless touring schedule, highly praised studio albums, insane, but well produced DVDs, and ferocious live shows.  They will be appearing across Florida at the end of March bringing bruised bodies and egos to most to happen to find themselves in their pit.  Guitarist and backbone of Lamb of God’s sound, Willie Adler, spoke with Reax about his thoughts on the state of American metal and their headlining tour across Florida.

REAX:  You’ll be in Florida at the end of March – how has the tour been going so far and have you had any of those priceless made-for-DVD moments yet?
Willie Adler:  It’s pretty much just getting into it… usually that kind of stuff comes at the end.

REAX:  How do you unwind on your off days?
WA:  I don’t do much of anything… watch movies, sit at a mall somewhere, visit the Grand Canyon.  You know… just try to find shit to do.

REAX:  Do you prefer playing clubs like you are on this tour, or is it more exciting for you to play areas and outdoor festivals like Download?
WA:  I enjoy them both.  Each one has its own quirk about it.  With big stages, it’s great to have the room to run around and do your thing.  But, with the smaller shows it’s great to have the energy right in your face.  I definitely have a love for both of them.  It’s nice to get on the smaller stages now especially after a few runs on the arena stages.

REAX:  Do you find any significant differences with the metal crowd, between touring in North America and touring overseas?
WA:  As much as the kids here love metal, the European crowds really get into their metal.  The dudes are still walking around with the leather jackets with the back patches and chains… really doin’ it up and living it.  

REAX:  With late night network television taking more notice of the current metal scene, for example your recent performance on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, do you think it’s a matter of time before the MTV watching public really starts supporting American metal?
WA:  It really depends, a lot of people are cashing in on it right now.  Stores like Hot Topic promote it as a lifestyle… almost a gimmick.  At this point the mass market has taken more notice than it ever has before, but I always think that metal will remain pretty much underground.

REAX:  What do you think would make it really break into the social conscious?
WA:  That’s a good question… I don’t know what it would take.  We’re doing what we do and we love to do it.  All the bands that are worth a shit out there do it because they love it.  I don’t know what else we can do or what other band could come up… it’s tough to say what sound it would take to push it into that realm.

REAX:  Does being on a major label like Epic constrict the band’s songs or imagery in any way?
WA:  Not at all, we push ourselves.  As far as anything creatively, they have absolutely no say in what we do.  We made that clear when we signed on with them.  They knew who we were and we were at the point an older band.  They knew what they were getting into.

REAX:  The new American metal revival is strikingly similar to the Gothenburg sound of the early 90’s, were you influenced at all by that or do your roots go deeper?
WA:  Of course, I listen to At The Gates and all that… that whole sound.  I don’t think it influenced our style or pushed our scene.

REAX:  With Sacrament debuting at #8 on the Billboard charts and earning a Grammy nomination, you’ve certainly made quite a name for your self in the past year alone.  Where do you think your success will take you in 2007?
WA:  It’s definitely going to keep us on the road.

REAX:  When I was at Gigantour last fall, I noticed the majority of people there were wearing Lamb of God T-shirts, what would you attribute the almost cultish fan base you have to?
WA:  I think that kids can relate to us on a much more relative scale because of the way we present ourselves.  Our music is completely real and honest and they watch the DVDs where you can get a sense of who we are… same as your neighbor.  I think kids can relate to that.