MARK MORTON LAMB OF GOD
The guitarist opens up about crying, blues music and working with Chester Bennington
What’s the worst thing about being in a band?
“Being away from my daughter for sometimes six or seven weeks at a time. She’s eight, she’s in school, she can’t just hop on a tour bus with me or an airplane. But it’s the stock answer – the shows make it all worth it.”
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
“Stay in the moment. Don’t live too far behind where you are, or ahead of where you are, be in the here and now. I think that’s just kind of universal mindfulness, no matter what you’re doing.”
When was the first time you felt like a rock star?
“There was a moment in time around 2003, right before we signed to our label in the States, which is Epic Records. There was this kind of buzz about the New Wave Of American Heavy Metal, and there were a bunch of new bands like Killswitch Engage and Lamb Of God, and Unearth and God Forbid bubbling up. And we were a big part of it – and you could feel this kind of energy. I knew something was going to happen.”
What’s been your worst experience on drugs?
“Ha ha ha! Oh, there’s been so many. There was a time in my life when I was exploring things that were just really, really bad news. And I played a few shows where I had no business being onstage. And then gone back and looked at the video of the shows, expecting it to be a complete train wreck, and I was like, ‘I actually kind of pulled it off.’ In my mind, it was a circus.”
When was the last time you cried? “This week, leaving my kid. I cry a lot. I cry at movies, I like chick flicks, I sometimes get moved by a really good show. If the crowd’s overwhelming, I get emotionally overwhelmed by it and I’ll feel my eyes water up. So yeah, I’m kind of a bitch like that.”
You have a new solo record, Anaesthetic. Did you have material left over from Lamb Of God sessions, or was it written anew?
“I had some bits and pieces lying around for sure, but that’s the whole bit – it wasn’t really Lamb Of God stuff. I played it for Josh [Wilbur, producer] and we started to develop it together. I’m a blues guitar player stuck in a metal band – not stuck, like, unwillingly, but my favourite bands are Led Zeppelin, The Black Crowes and The Stones. Even though I think stylistically the album moves around a lot, there’s kind of a hard rock, melodic core.”
How did you choose the guest musicians? There’s Chester Bennington, Myles Kennedy,
Dave Ellefson…
“Once the track came together, we would sit back and brainstorm, ‘Who do we hear on this?’ And I would say almost 75% of the time, the first name that came out was the one that’s on this album.”
Was there anyone you wanted to involve that you couldn’t?
“I asked Jason Newsted to play bass on a song, but he was unavailable. I talked to Slash about playing on a song, but I never sent him the track. That was probably silly of me. It was the solo on Back From The Dead. Slash is the sickest, but I just drilled that solo. I talked to Josh about it, he’s like, ‘You ain’t wiping that solo for anybody!’”
Who surprised you most in the studio? “Chester Bennington. Not because of his undeniable talent and his god-given amazing voice, but his humility and his work ethic, how open he was creatively. I had an outline and some lyrics for Cross Off, but he came in with a whole new set of lyrics that he took the liberty of writing. He was really excited about screaming aggressively on the track because he hadn’t done that in a long time.”
What’s going on with Lamb Of God at the moment?
“Willie [Adler, LOG’s rhythm guitarist] and I have been working on some… I call it ‘resource material’. We spent some time jamming riffs together and bouncing ideas off each other. The basic beginnings of what will be the next Lamb Of God record. I can confidently say there will be a new record.
I just don’t know when.”
MARK MORTON’S NEW SOLO ALBUM, ANAESTHETIC, IS DUE OUT FEBRUARY 22 VIA SPINEFARM
“CHESTER WAS EXCITED ABOUT SCREAMING”