Drumtech went dark for an evening on 25th May when Cradle of Filth’s powerhouse
“Adrian Erlandsson” paid us a visit! That’s right, Adrian came to Drumtech this month
to give a master class passing on all the advice and tips he’s picked up along the way
by playing for the country’s top Death Metal band.

To kick things off in style and warm up those feet Adrian began with a track that shook the
building let alone the room! With many double pedal enthusiasts and fans attending the
class, everyone watched in amazement as Adrian did what he does best.

Playing in many bands Adrian also played for another metal band called “At The Gates”
from which he gained a lot of experience. Explaining in more detail he told the troubles of
working with click tracks and when working with Record labels can get messy. It was a
perfect opportunity for students to get an insight to what actually makes a major label band
work and what “skills set” is needed from a drummer’s point of view.

Firstly, Adrian stressed that students should work with click tracks, as it was one of his
weaknesses in the beginning and once your signed you never play without them. Having
good relationships in the band is another key thing as being in a band is a group effort and
when touring and recording most of your time is spent with your band mates. It was at this
point of the master class that Adrian told the story of how the beds on the tour buses are
like coffins! Very narrow and shallow.

Moving onto an important subject of “Contracts” was a real high of the evening as it’s rather
a dark patch that no one seems to like talking about. Unfortunately Adrian had a bad
experience with contracts when he was playing for “At The Gates” and wanted to warn
students who are aspiring to go down the same career path.

After firing on all cylinders once again playing through more tracks Adrian then moved onto
his influences talking of bands such a Motley Crue, Judas Priest, Napalm Death, Masterdon
and Arch enemy – (his Brothers Band), and how strange it feels to tour and share the stage
with them! After hearing the ride Adrian has had to where he is now and of course seeing
him play, I think its safe to say all students felt inspired and motivated, this being due to
Adrian being so down to earth and showing that the Pro’s are still human too!