New American Gospel Drum Setup: Chris Adler's 2000 Debut Kit | MetalForge
Chris Adler recorded New American Gospel (2000) on a Pearl Export Series kit with a Pearl Export Steel Snare snare.
Complete breakdown of Chris Adler's drum setup on Lamb of God's 2000 debut New American Gospel — the pre-endorsement Pearl kit, raw groove metal drumming, an...
Frequently Asked Questions
What was Lamb of God's first album?
New American Gospel, released September 26, 2000 through Prosthetic Records, was the first album released under the name Lamb of God. The band had previously self-released a self-titled album in 1999 as Burn the Priest before renaming themselves. New American Gospel is where Chris Adler's documented Lamb of God drumming career begins, opening the arc that runs through As the Palaces Burn (2003), Ashes of the Wake (2004), Sacrament (2006), Wrath (2009), Resolution (2012), and VII: Sturm und Drang (2015).
What drum kit did Chris Adler use on New American Gospel?
Chris Adler recorded New American Gospel (2000) on a Pearl Export Series kit — a budget-to-mid-level workhorse kit with no endorsement backing. The setup included a single 22x16 inch bass drum run through a chain-drive double pedal, 12 and 13 inch rack toms, and a single 16 inch floor tom, all in poplar/mahogany hybrid shells. This was years before Adler's Mapex Black Panther Velvetone signature setup, which began with As the Palaces Burn (2003) and matured through Ashes of the Wake (2004).
What cymbals did Chris Adler use on New American Gospel?
Chris Adler used a mixed, unsponsored cymbal setup on New American Gospel: Zildjian 14 inch A New Beat hi-hats, Sabian AA Metal-X crashes at 16 and 18 inches, a Zildjian 20 inch A Ride, and an inexpensive, unbranded 18 inch China cymbal. That budget China marks the earliest documented use of the China-cymbal accent technique that later became one of Adler's signature sounds with Zildjian A Custom and Meinl Byzance cymbals.
Who produced New American Gospel?
New American Gospel was produced by Steve Austin, best known as the frontman of the extreme sludge/noise band Today Is the Day. It was recorded in eight days (April 15-22, 2000) at Austin Enterprises in Clinton, Massachusetts, and mastered at MWorks in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Austin's raw, unpolished production aesthetic gave the album a rougher, more compressed drum sound than any later Lamb of God record produced by Machine (Mark Lewis) or Josh Wilbur.
How does New American Gospel compare to Chris Adler's later drum setups?
New American Gospel represents Chris Adler's pre-endorsement era: a budget Pearl Export kit, mixed Zildjian/Sabian cymbals, and a single bass drum with a chain-drive double pedal. By As the Palaces Burn (2003), he had upgraded to a professional Mapex Pro M kit and Zildjian A Custom cymbals, and by Ashes of the Wake (2004) he had settled into the Mapex/Meinl Byzance combination and dual bass drum configuration that defined his mature sound through Sacrament (2006), Wrath (2009), and Resolution (2012). The groove-first philosophy and China cymbal accents, however, are already present in embryonic form on New American Gospel.