# Chris Adler vs Art Cruz — Drum Kit & Gear Comparison | MetalForge > Side-by-side gear comparison between Chris Adler (Lamb of God, 1994–2019) and Art Cruz (Lamb of God, 2019–present) — the definitive Lamb of God drummer succession. **Category:** Groove Metal · **URL:** https://metalforge.io/vs/chris-adler-vs-art-cruz Chris Adler vs Art Cruz — the most searched drummer succession story in modern metal. Both occupied the same seat in one of heavy music's most demanding bands; their gear, technique, and legacy compared side by side. --- ## At a Glance | Spec | Chris Adler | Art Cruz | |------|-------------|----------| | Drums | Mapex Black Panther Design Lab | Ludwig Drums | | Cymbals | Meinl Byzance Series | Zildjian A Custom & K Series | | Snare | Mapex Chris Adler Signature 14x5.5" Walnut/Maple | Ludwig 14"x6.5" Black Beauty | | Pedals | Mapex Falcon Double Pedal | Trick Pro 1-V Bigfoot Double Pedal | | Sticks | Promark TX5AXW Chris Adler Signature | Vic Firth American Classic 5B | --- ## Gear Deep Dive ### Chris Adler Setup - **Drums:** Mapex Black Panther Design Lab - **Cymbals:** Meinl Byzance Series (14" Dark Hi-Hats, 18" & 19" Dark Crashes, 21" Transition Ride, 18" Extra Dry China) - **Snare:** Mapex Chris Adler Signature 14x5.5" Walnut/Maple - **Pedals/Hardware:** Mapex Falcon Double Pedal, Mapex T865 Throne - **Sticks:** Promark TX5AXW Chris Adler Signature - **Heads:** Evans Adler co-founded Lamb of God (as Burn the Priest) in Richmond, Virginia in 1994 and spent 25 years defining the groove metal drumming template. His Mapex Black Panther kit was chosen for its dry, focused tone in dense, downtuned metal contexts. The Meinl Extra Dry China — with its cutting, industrial attack — became a signature element of Lamb of God's sonic identity, and his Promark signature stick was developed for the leverage his ride-bell-heavy technique demands. ### Art Cruz Setup - **Drums:** Ludwig Drums (custom configuration) - **Cymbals:** Zildjian A Custom & K Series (14" A Custom Mastersound Hi-Hats, 18" A Custom EFX, 18" A Custom Medium Crash, 19" A Custom Projection Crash, 21" A Zildjian Mega Bell Ride, 19" A Ultra Hammered China, 17" K China) - **Snare:** Ludwig 14"x6.5" Black Beauty - **Pedals/Hardware:** Trick Pro 1-V Bigfoot Double Pedal, Gibraltar Hardware, Ludwig Atlas Throne - **Sticks:** Vic Firth American Classic 5B - **Heads:** Evans Cruz joined Lamb of God in 2019 after filling in for an injured Adler on tour. Coming from a deathcore and thrash metal background with Winds of Plague and Prong, Cruz brings explosive attack and physical power to the Lamb of God seat. His Ludwig/Zildjian combination produces a punchy, articulate tone, with the Trick double pedal delivering fast, even footwork across Lamb of God's demanding catalog. --- ## Style & Technique Comparison Chris Adler defined Lamb of God's drumming approach from first principles. His signature technique centers on the ride bell: where most groove metal drummers anchor on the hi-hat, Adler rides the bell with his right hand, driving syncopated kick patterns underneath with tight Mapex Falcon double pedal action. This gave Lamb of God its mechanical, industrial momentum — a wall of riff locked to a churning kick grid. His four-way independence enabled him to layer china crashes, ghost notes, and triplet fills over a double-bass foundation that never dropped. Adler's playing on *Ashes of the Wake* (2004) and *Sacrament* (2006) set a technical benchmark for groove metal drumming still studied worldwide, and his 2015 stint recording Megadeth's Grammy-winning *Dystopia* (2016) extended his reputation into thrash. Art Cruz brings a different physical vocabulary. His deathcore background gave him a blast-beat foundation and raw aggression that Adler, as a groove metal architect, didn't need. Where Adler's groove is precise and controlled, Cruz plays with more overt power — his Ludwig/Zildjian setup emphasizes attack on the front of the beat, reinforcing Lamb of God's newer material on the self-titled *Lamb of God* (2020) and *Omens* (2022), which trends heavier and more dynamically varied than the mid-2000s catalog. Cruz's Trick Bigfoot pedal delivers fast, ergonomic footwork, and his A Custom/K China cymbal combination gives him tonal flexibility across a full live set. --- ## Key Differences Adler's Meinl setup, especially the Extra Dry China, produced a dark, grinding tone inseparable from Lamb of God's first decade of recordings. Cruz's Zildjian A Custom series produces a brighter, more cutting sound in the high frequencies — different, not inferior, but distinctly its own character. Adler's ride-bell technique gives his groove a mechanical precision that Cruz, working from a more power-oriented approach, doesn't replicate exactly — though Cruz executes the parts faithfully live. Stick choice reflects their backgrounds: Adler's Promark signature is optimized for ride-bell leverage; Cruz's Vic Firth American Classic 5B is a general-purpose workhorse suited to his power attack. --- ## Influence & Legacy Chris Adler's influence on groove metal drumming is foundational. His ride-bell approach and innovative kick patterning shaped an entire generation of heavy music drummers, and the interplay between his kick patterns and Lamb of God's guitar riffs on *As the Palaces Burn* (2003) and *Ashes of the Wake* is studied for its rhythmic precision. His Grammy-winning work with Megadeth extended his influence beyond groove metal entirely. Art Cruz inherited one of the most technically demanding seats in modern metal and rose to it — learning Adler's notoriously complex catalog while adding his own physicality. His work on *Lamb of God* (2020) and *Omens* (2022) demonstrates that the band continues to operate at the highest level of groove metal execution. Cruz's deathcore background makes him, arguably, the more versatile technician in pure terms, even as Adler's innovative contribution to the genre remains the deeper legacy. --- ## Verdict This is not a competition — it is a generational handoff. Chris Adler built Lamb of God's drumming identity over 25 years and defined groove metal's modern technical standard. Art Cruz stepped into that chair, honored the legacy, and kept one of metal's hardest-working bands performing at the highest level across two studio albums. Both are elite drummers; what you value more — innovation or execution — determines which era resonates most. --- ## FAQ **Q: Who is technically more skilled, Chris Adler or Art Cruz?** A: Both are elite technicians in different registers. Chris Adler is generally credited with more innovation — his ride-bell technique and syncopated kick patterning created a new groove metal vocabulary studied worldwide. Art Cruz brings a broader technical base from deathcore and thrash and has proven he can execute Adler's complex parts note-for-note while adding his own power, but he has not yet originated a signature technique on Adler's level. **Q: What is each drummer's signature technique?** A: Chris Adler's signature is riding the cymbal bell with his right hand instead of the hi-hat while his left foot handles independent accents — a technique that drives Lamb of God's syncopated, riff-locked grooves. Art Cruz's signature is his deathcore-forged blast-beat foundation and front-of-the-beat power attack, blended into Lamb of God's groove metal framework. **Q: Why did Art Cruz replace Chris Adler in Lamb of God?** A: Chris Adler stepped away from Lamb of God in 2019 after 25 years. Art Cruz had been filling in on tour since 2018 and was named the band's permanent drummer in 2019, debuting on the self-titled *Lamb of God* (2020). **Q: What gear do Chris Adler and Art Cruz use?** A: Chris Adler played a Mapex Black Panther Design Lab kit with a Mapex Chris Adler Signature 14x5.5" snare and Meinl Byzance cymbals. Art Cruz plays Ludwig Drums with a Ludwig 14"x6.5" Black Beauty snare and Zildjian A Custom & K Series cymbals, driven by a Trick Pro 1-V Bigfoot double pedal. --- *Full comparison: [metalforge.io/vs/chris-adler-vs-art-cruz](https://metalforge.io/vs/chris-adler-vs-art-cruz)* *[Chris Adler drummer profile](https://metalforge.io/drummer/chris-adler)* *[Art Cruz drummer profile](https://metalforge.io/drummer/art-cruz)* *[Sacrament drum setup (Chris Adler)](https://metalforge.io/articles/sacrament-drum-setup)* *[Omens drum setup (Art Cruz)](https://metalforge.io/articles/omens-drum-setup)* --- *Last updated: 2026-07-02 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*