Art Cruz says Lamb of God’s Into Oblivion captured his truest drumming voice

Art Cruz says Lamb of God’s Into Oblivion is the most "me" record he has made with the band, and the details behind that claim are all over the playing. On the Behind The Kit podcast with Kyle Smith of Arizona Drummer, Cruz described the album as organic from the start, built around the simple idea of "less is more," and shaped by the instinct to play what his 16-year-old self would have wanted to hear.

That framing matters because Cruz is not talking about a drum clinic record or a showcase built on speed for its own sake. He said Into Oblivion does not lean on unusually flashy or hyper-technical parts, but it still demanded real discipline, the kind working drummers know can be harder than simply packing in more notes. The result, by his account, is a performance driven by feel, aggression and groove, with the kind of control that lets the songs breathe without losing weight.

Cruz also linked the record to a personal turning point, saying he had finally gotten past the noise around proving himself. In a separate March interview, he called Into Oblivion his first sober album, which gives the emotional language around the record extra force. Josh Wilbur, who produced and mixed the album, also helped push Cruz into ideas he did not fully expect from himself, and Cruz said listeners and friends have told him the record hits differently.

Into Oblivion arrived on March 13, 2026, through Epic in the U.S. and Century Media in Europe. It is Lamb of God’s 10th studio album, the band’s first full-length release in four years, and a 10-track set that the group spent the lead-up teasing with the title track, "Parasocial Christ" and "Blunt Force Blues." Two days after release, Lamb of God marked the new era with a pop-up show at Philadelphia’s TLA.

For Cruz, the timing underscores how far he has moved from the role that first brought him into the band. He filled in for Chris Adler on tours before becoming Lamb of God’s official drummer in July 2019, and Into Oblivion is his third studio album with the group, following Lamb of God in 2020 and Omens in 2022. That arc makes his comments land with more weight: this is not just another heavy record under the Lamb of God banner, but the point where Cruz says his own identity is finally coming through clearly in the music.