“It really was like my first solo record — I just kind of did it to see if I could do it.”
Lamb of God founding member and guitarist Mark Morton recently hung out with Chuck Armstrong on Loudwire Nights (June 25) and dove deep into his new book, Desolation: A Heavy Metal Memoir.
“I didn’t know if I could do it or not, but I was willing to see if I could do it.”
Morton admitted that writing Desolation was a lot harder than putting together an album — something System of a Down’s Serj Tankian also recently revealed.
“It’s just very, very time-consuming,” Morton said.
“It’s more difficult than making music in a very practical sense. For me, music comes very naturally — and writing a book does not.”
Finding Hope in Desolation
As difficult as it was putting Desolation together, Morton also shared with the Loudwire Nights family that writing the memoir wasn’t necessarily cathartic — though he hopes it will provide some sort of therapeutic experience for fans and readers.
“I hope that someone who reads this book understands that, you know, addiction and alcoholism aren’t a matter of intelligence, they’re not moral or ethical failures,” Morton shared.
“I don’t know exactly what they are, but I know what it feels like to be an addict and an alcoholic and I know that some of the most upstanding and intelligent and creative and loving people I know are addicts and alcoholics. It’s not a matter of morals, but it robs people of connection and of their life.”
Morton said he hopes that someone who is struggling might pick up Desolation and understand that they’re not alone.
“Recovery is possible.”
What’s On the Horizon For Lamb of God
In addition to diving deep into his memoir, Morton shared a little bit about what it’s like gearing up for the Ashes of Leviathan tour with Mastodon.
“We’ve been good friends the whole time,” he said about the guys in Mastodon. “For us to team up and do this tour with some friends — it’s going to be a hoot, man.”
Mastodon and Lamb of God are both celebrating 20th anniversaries for some of their biggest albums — Lamb of God’s Ashes of the Wake and Mastodon’s Leviathan. The two albums came out on the same day in 2004 and 20 years later, the bands are joining forces to celebrate accordingly.
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Beyond that, though, Morton did hint at some other things in the works — but he didn’t share much more than hints.
“Oh man, I’ve got my hands in so much cool stuff, I wish I could tell you about that.”
What Else Did Lamb of God’s Mark Morton Discuss on Loudwire Nights?
The sample chapter that he wrote that ended up getting him a book deal to write Desolation: “It’s the opium harvest chapter. We submitted it and pretty much got an offer.”What it was like writing about his life from a clean, sober place: “I thank God that where I am now informs all those stories as I tell them.”Why he’s comfortable opening up to people, but not so much receiving feedback: “I don’t know how to navigate getting feedback on what is essentially my life.”
Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below
Mark Morton joined Loudwire Nights on Tuesday, June 25; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.
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