Lucem Fero recently published an exclusive interview with LAMB OF GOD drummer Chris Adler, conducted by Welsh interviewer Anthony Morgan during the band's November UK tour supporting HEAVEN AND HELL. Topics of discussion included BLACK SABBATH's influence, 2006's "Sacrament", plans for the next album, and reasons behind LAMB OF GOD's decision to change labels outside of North America. Several excerpts from the interview follow:

On BLACK SABBATH's influence on music:

Adler: "If anybody who plays heavy metal says that they weren't influenced by BLACK SABBATH's music, then I think that they're lying to you. I think all heavy metal music was, in some way, influenced by what BLACK SABBATH did. Yeah, I think BLACK SABBATH was a big building block in terms of where we came from."

"There's probably not too many bands that have toured with both versions of BLACK SABBATH, never mind just either one of them. It feels pretty special."

On what LAMB OF GOD aimed to musically achieve with "Sacrament":

Adler: "The biggest goal was probably to not just repeat ourselves, and to somehow try and outdo ourselves. We wanted to write something that was, quote unquote, better than what we had written before, and that was our goal when we entered the studio. We worked on the material for a pretty long time; we demoed a lot of material, and threw a lot of material out. Also, we worked with the material in different ways, and in every which way we could. In the end, I think we achieved exactly that. We didn't repeat ourselves, and we evolved as a band. We branched out in different directions that we hadn't explored before. On a plain level, and on a songwriting level, I think it's absolutely the best record we've ever done."

On LAMB OF GOD's label Sony/Epic:

Adler: "They do a fantastic job for us in the U.S., and have not done a very good job at all for us overseas. We are in a different situation now, a situation where we're talking to other labels about the next record. We want to work with different labels overseas, so I think that's going to be a very positive step."

On how well Sony/Epic perform in the US:

Adler: "They're fantastic in the US, and we're very happy with them."

On current label discussions for overseas territories:

Adler: "It's somewhere in the middle. We don't know who it's going to be with, though it's not going to be with Sony/Epic."

On taking "the entirety of 2008 to reconnect, get hungry and write":

Adler: "We've been touring for a long time, as we spoke about earlier. 'Sacrament' came out during the end of August last year, and we were on the road in July of last year. Before it even came out, we were on the road. Ever since, we've been travelling pretty much non-stop. Therefore, I think it's important for us. We know we want to do another record. The label wants us to do another record too, and so do the fans. For us to do that properly though, we need to go home, rest and get away from each other for a little while. We can then recharge our batteries somewhat, and get back together. Once again, we'll feel hungry about wanting to outdo ourselves."

On how LAMB OF GOD's next album has to be "more intense than anything" the band has done before:

Adler: "I think we expect more from ourselves this time. Every time we write another record, there's no point in going backwards. There's no point in putting out something that's not as good as what you've done before, or otherwise we should possibly stop. For us, it has to be more intense; it has to be a more intense process, it has to be a more intense record and it has to outdo what we've done previously."

Read the entire interview at www.lucemfero.com.