To everyone's surprise, Mark Morton released ‘Anesthetic’ in 2019, proving that one of the founding members of Lamb of God was more than just a talented metal guitarist... Six years later, he's back with ‘Without the Pain’, a true immersion into his Southern rock roots...
Since our last meeting in 2019, a lot has happened, especially the pandemic. We celebrated five years of lockdown here in France. Did this episode have an impact on you as a musician and as a human being?
Mark Morton: Obviously, the pandemic is a very tragic situation all over the world, but for me it had a very positive effect.
You have been very active, but not in music. You have released ‘Desolation: a Heavy Metal Memoir’, in which you lay yourself completely bare. Was this book a kind of therapy, a need to open up about your life, your doubts, your sorrows and your torments in order to start again better?
Yes and no (Laughs). Everyone loves to think that and I understand why. I have an excellent therapist and I hope you do too......
Not yet...
You should because it's a wonderful thing (Smiles). For me, therapy is about connecting with parts of yourself that you are afraid of or that you are unaware of because you don't want to confront them or, on the contrary, you don't want to let go because you think you are in control... Therapy means many things to me and it represents all of that, but this book had nothing to do with that. This book is a very honest account of my life. I opened up completely, but it's scary to reveal yourself to the world like that...
You lay yourself bare...
Exactly! And it's quite uncomfortable... But this book wasn't therapy, it's just a story, my story... It's not something I was dying to say or that I had to get out of my system. They are exchanges I had with my friend Ben (NdStruck: Ben Opipari) who told me there was enough to make a book and he helped me write it.
It would probably be scarier to feel cured than the other way around...
Despite everything, aren't you afraid of falling back into your vices and your demons?
Do I fear that it will happen again? It could, of course. Is it something I should be afraid of? Of course it is! I don't believe you can be cured. But it would probably be more frightening to feel cured than the other way around... Indeed, if I think I'm not cured, I still have a fear that I would describe as healthy. So how do I respond to this healthy fear? I have made an agreement with myself that when I wake up in the morning - and it works pretty well for me - to do again today what I did yesterday. Because what I did yesterday won't necessarily work for today, I have to do it again today. When you look at it like that, it's not so scary because I can do it until the end of my days because it gets easier with time. People tell you to be strong and fight: I'm not fighting anything! And that's why it works because I'm not fighting anymore (laughs)!
Does this state of mind partly explain why Lamb Of God has been busy releasing two albums in 2020 and 2022?
In this case, the pandemic explains it more than anything else because there was nothing else for them to do. We couldn't tour for a year and a half and that's a big part of what Lamb of God did. In fact, a lot of bands went into the studio during that period because no one could go on stage.
We talked about your therapy. With hindsight, how do you perceive ‘Anesthetic’ - your first solo album - as a first step leading you to this therapy?
I get the feeling that you want this interview to be seen through the prism of therapy, but it has nothing to do with therapy. The book is not therapy, it's just a story. The beautiful thing is that when I share it with the world, people come up to me and tell me that it speaks to them. That's wonderful for me because it creates a connection.
This album is not therapy [...] This album is me coming home!
If it's not therapy for you, maybe it is for those who read or listen to you?
I don't know. I can't answer that for others. I'm not a therapist (Laughs)... I'm not a therapist and this book is not my therapy. It's just my story and to be honest, this book is not that deep for me. It's an honest book and difficult to make, especially certain chapters - and if you've read it, you know what I'm talking about - they were very difficult to write. But I've been through it. And if you ask me if I had to go through it again, I'd need a hell of a lot of therapy, but I've already been through it, it's my story and I live it every day.
In the same way, this album is not therapy. I've told you what this album is not, I'll tell you what it is. This album is me coming home! The sound of the songs, the style of the music, it's what I listen to when I'm at home.
Does that mean you weren't at home in the past?
No, it's always been there. I say it's always been there when people ask why I'm now releasing a Southern blues/rock album. When I'm on tour with Lamb of God, I always have my headphones on and listen to The Cadillac Three or Blackberry Smoke...
I don't think such an album would be unimaginable for anyone who follows us closely.
On the other hand, you can understand the question knowing that you don't necessarily hear his influences in Lamb of God's music?
Some people who pay attention to what I do in Lamb of God won't be surprised by this album...
There are obvious blues influences in Lamb of God. If you listen to a track like ‘Ghost Walking’ or ‘Redneck’, you'll hear blues: it's undeniable! And there are other songs in the same vein...
I don't think such an album would be unimaginable for someone who follows us closely. But that's not the case for everyone who follows us...
But to come back to your question, I understand that some people may be surprised that the guy from Lamb of God is releasing a Southern blues/rock/Americana album? Of course I can understand that...
As you said, this album sees you delving into the musical roots of America, namely Robert Johnson, Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, as well as country and southern rock. Is it to encounter all these people and styles that he went there?
I don't think so. With all due respect, I don't really listen to these artists... I didn't think I had to make an album like that by gathering a whole list of references... I just played what came to mind and I do the same thing for metal songs... I mean, I don't study anything, it's just that's how it sounds when I play the guitar: it's me! And when I say that this album is me back at home, it's because I grew up listening to The Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, . 38 Special, Molly Hatchet but also The Black Crowes, which is one of my favourite bands... I didn't have to go to school to learn how to make a Southern rock album... it's just a big part of my musical soul...
I am fortunate to have the opportunity to explore the many facets of my creative spirit
Are these influences stronger than the metal ones?
I don't think there are better or worse influences... For a long time, I lived listening to Testament, Metallica or Pantera... These influences are also part of me!
I have all these influences and I am lucky to have the opportunity to explore the many facets of my creative spirit and this album is a manifestation of that...
Like on the first album...
... which is not therapy (Laughs)!...
... This new album has many guests and the cream of the genre such as Cody Jinks, Matt James, Charlie Starr or Tyler Brant & The Shakedown, Jarey James Nichols, Neil Fallon and so on......
They are my friends!
... This list is a real anthology of a southern sound. But I guess it must have been a lot of work to choose who does what, who participates, how did you organise the work on the compositions and the recording?
It wasn't difficult. Not at all......
Did you have a singer in mind when you were composing?
It's not just singers... In fact, I compose a chord progression and write the lyrics on a piece of paper or on my phone, mostly when I was on tour with Lamb of God in our bus travelling at 80 km per hour.
For example, with this little chord progression, these lyrics - we went to Nashville with Cody Jinks and Travis Denning and four hours later we had ‘Brother’... That's how it happens.
For ‘Hell & Back’, I drove to Nashville and Jaren's house (NdStruck: Jaren Johnston of The Cadillac Three). We sat down in his studio, joked around a bit and started writing ‘Hell & Back’. That's how it happens. They're my friends!
What strikes you when you listen to it is the melancholy that emerges, you feel a strong emotional charge, as if your soul were revealing itself to everyone. I'm thinking of ‘Kite String’ and ‘Home’, magnified by Travis Denning, or ‘Come December’. Was it necessary for him to make listeners feel strong emotions through this southern country vibe?
Oh, I don't know if it was necessary, but I'm glad you felt that way. I'm grateful. Because if you felt something, it means that this album is yours and not just mine... What you felt when listening to this song belongs to you. I didn't give you anything...
Music is a spiritual language!...
All the same...
Yes, I have given you a piece of music, but if you feel this, it is because it is in you. This song only opens up what is in you! And that, my friend, is the spiritual force of music: music is a spiritual language! The fact that you felt something when listening to ‘Kite String’ or ‘Come December’ is an honour for me. Thank you. I'm glad you felt something...
And I'm sorry if I offended you when I mentioned therapy......
I'm not offended...
... But if we have broached this subject, it is because certain headlines move us and if that is the case, we think it must be the same for you who is baring your soul...
That's the case, but you have to understand that it's just what we do. If you ask me if these things are true for me? Yes, of course they are. On the other hand, if you ask me if it's a challenge or an obstacle to overcome in order for it to sound so true? No, because it's just what I do... It's simply what being an artist is.
Being an artist is many different things, but for me it's about processing these kinds of emotions and creating something with them. And when I've done that, I'm happy that I've done it, but the most important thing is when someone like you feels something, that's when it becomes magical!
We also often feel deeply this idea of travelling in the south, like a road trip. ‘Hell & Back’, ‘Brother’, ‘Forever In The Light’ make me think of a film soundtrack, I could well imagine them in O'Brother. Was the idea to capture this southern fibre in these titles?
Like a
road trip in the desert (Laughs)? Yes, that's what we had in mind...
Is it the influence of long bus journeys on your tours?
Of course! I live in the countryside, we live in the woods and my wife and I sometimes lie down in the evenings to look at the stars. And then she asks me if I know that the stars we see are burning and dying. This idea had been on my mind for years and when I wrote ‘Kite String’, I used these words, namely that the stars burn before you see them: it resonates with me and fits perfectly with the story of the song.
Being in a room with them as a peer is an incredible experience!
The album puts the vocalists firmly in the spotlight. They live what they sing with enormous strength of soul. How did you organise the work with them, wasn't it too hard to get them to sing very personal lyrics?
I would have to go into the details of each song to explain. But in general, the songs were co-written and most of the time, I would come with incomplete lyrics and Travis or Travis and Cody would finish them together. On the contrary, I have the example of a song for which I thought I had the full lyrics and Jaren told me that this was not the case and that we were going to finalise them together... Honestly, one of the biggest thrills of this album was learning from guys like Jaren and Cody who have written incredible songs. And being in a room with them as a peer is an incredible experience!
‘Come December’ with Charlie Starr (Blackberry Smoke) and Jason Isbell also hits the mark with a fiery solo in the same vein. Has surrounding yourself with such big names helped you improve your guitar playing?
You should know that the first slide guitar solo is Jason's. And what a magical solo!
Jason is probably one of the best composers of our generation, but he's also a monstrous guitarist, as you can hear and see when he plays these things. It's an honour to have him on this track. The solo at the end of this track, like most of the solos on this album, is by me, but there are a few others played by guests who are really great: Jason plays one of them, but also Charlie... I've known Charlie for a long time... I haven't told the story yet, but I asked him to sing on the track ‘Imaginary Days’ from ‘Anesthetic’. He replied that the demo I was singing on was cool but he wasn't going to sing it since I was singing on the demo. I thought it was a nice way of saying no (Laughs)... I wasn't offended because we're friends. And I came back for this album, I sent him a demo of ‘Come December’ which he agreed to sing this time (Smiling). For this track, very few of the lyrics are the same. He rearranged a lot of the lyrics and made this song his own.
To come back to your previous question, most of the lyrics were collaborative. I would send them the demos and give them the freedom to do what they wanted with them because the performance will be better if the guests feel connected to the songs... Otherwise, it's karaoke...
Finally, ‘Nocturnal Sun’ with Troy Sanders from Mastodon is a very interesting track, all the more interesting because, like you, we don't expect him to sing southern rock and he seems made for it?
His voice sounds superb and it's so versatile! I've known Troy for 20 years and you can hear his vocal abilities from the beginning of his career and see him become the singer he is today. But yes, we had a lot of fun on this track and he sings extremely well.
The cover of The Needle & The Spoon is very successful, Neil Fallon from Clutch has managed to make the song his own. Isn't it too intimidating to cover Lynyrd Skynyrd? And paying tribute to them seems obvious, they're kind of the ultimate band of the genre, the one that best corresponds to the values of rock and the spirit of the South?
I totally agree... But was it intimidating? Maybe it was daring to cover Lynyrd Skynyrd? But I've had a relationship with this song for so long, since I was a child. This song, this riff is a signature... The lyrics tell a very personal and dark story and the guitar solos are incredible. This song brings together everything I want to hear in southern rock. I have a very special relationship with this song and I didn't really feel intimidated. Maybe it was a bit cavalier to cover it, but not intimidating.
Selfishly, I just love playing the guitar...
So, what's next? Are you planning to continue this trip to the south? We could well imagine you, when you're very old, touring the clubs and bars of the southern USA to keep this music alive. Wouldn't that be a great adventure after a rich career?
(Laughs) It sounds good! I don't know if it's my responsibility or my power to keep this music alive, but I love playing it. But if you find me in clubs, in bars playing, it's probably because, selfishly, I just love playing the guitar... Look, I can't even do an interview without playing it (Laughs).
Despite everything, are there any concert dates planned yet?
Not that many, actually, as we're going on the Headbangers Boat cruise with Lamb of God in October/November and then maybe we'll be able to organise some solo dates. But I'd love to do it, we just have to wait for the right opportunity.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, mate, you're doing a great job (smile)...
And thanks to Noise for its contribution...