In an interview with Rock N Roll Industries, LAMB OF GOD drummer Art Cruz was asked which artists he had admired and had posters of on his wall when he was growing up. The 31-year-old musician replied (see video below): "It's crazy to say, and it seems like I'm making it up, but LAMB OF GOD was my favorite band. [Original LAMB OF GOD drummer] Chris Adler is still one of my favorite drummers of all time. And I'm just happy to be in the position that I'm in. It's a dream come true." Cruz, who had previously played with PRONG and WINDS OF PLAGUE, filled in for Adler on several LAMB OF GOD tours in the past couple of years before being named Chris's official replacement last July. When Adler's absence from LAMB OF GOD's summer 2018 tour was first announced, he released a statement saying that he had been undergoing physical and occupational therapy for injuries he sustained in a motorcycle accident in late 2017. In January 2019, Art was asked by American Musical Supply what it has been like making a transition between playing his own drum parts to reproducing somebody else's material. He responded: "Chris is my buddy, so to be sitting in his place while he situates his stuff, it's been tough, because it's my favorite band ever — that was my dream to even be up next to them. But it's been a little bit of challenge, because it's big shoes to fill. But I'm having fun with it, the band is having fun with it, and it's been great — it's been phenomenal." Art went on to say that he didn't have to alter his playing style in order to accommodate LAMB OF GOD's music. "I've been looking up to the band, like I said, since day one, so they inspired me from the get-go," he said. "So I didn't have to change too much. I think I had to focus a little bit more. 'Cause I'm usually just kind of whaling. But I would say it's a little bit more focused and intense. Especially when there's, like, fifty thousand people staring at you, in relation to two thousand or five hundred." Cruz made his live debut with LAMB OF GOD in July 2018 in Gilford, New Hampshire. Art's first recorded appearance with LAMB OF GOD is the band's upcoming self-titled album, which will be released on May 8 via Epic Records in the U.S. and Nuclear Blast Records in Europe.
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