Adema explains apparent departure of longtime drummer Kris Kohls

Kris Kohls tracked the drums for Adema’s fifth album, Cruel Machine, but he is not part of the band’s 2026 touring lineup. That matters because Kohls is not a late addition or a hired hand, he was in Adema’s original Bakersfield, California lineup in 2000 with Mark Chavez, Tim Fluckey, Mike Ransom and Dave DeRoo, and his playing has helped define the band’s groove from the start.

The question surfaced after Adema’s May 14 partnership announcement with Worldwide Entertainment Group did not list Kohls as a member. The band followed up by making the split clear: Kohls recorded the album, but he did not want to tour this year, while the rest of Adema did. As the band put it, "Kris recorded drums for the album. He didn't want to tour this year. We do. So we're doing that." It added, "That's all that's happening right now. When we have more to say, we will."

That explanation arrives with Cruel Machine already deep into the pipeline. Tim Fluckey said in December 2025 that Adema was working on the record, and by May 2026 the album was being mixed by David Gnozzi and was due later in the year via Cleopatra Records. For drummers, that means Kohls’ parts are still in the finished studio picture, even if the live chair ends up being handed to someone else for the road.

Kohls’ resume gives the move extra weight. He previously played in Brides of Destruction, and the Library of Congress lists him on a Videodrome recording as drums and percussion. Adema has also spent years living with lineup churn, from Mark Chavez’s exit in 2004 to Ryan Shuck’s departure in February 2024, but Kohls is tied to the band’s first lineup and first identity. That is why this is more than a personnel note: the recorded album still carries Kohls’ stamp, while the stage version of Adema now has to prove it can hit with the same feel.