Lamb of God guitarist Mark Morton attributes the band’s musical evolution over the past 30 years to one predominant factor: They learned how to better account for singer Randy Blythe while writing songs.
Morton and Blythe both discuss the band’s updated perspective and how it informed their upcoming new album, Into Oblivion (out March 13), in Loudwire’s March digital cover story.
READ MORE: Lamb of God Go ‘Into Oblivion’ — Growing Up, Not Old
How Lamb of God Learned to ‘Push and Pull’ Around Randy Blythe’s Vocals
“In the beginning — and Randy will attest to this — the band really gave very little thought to what Randy was going to do,” Morton says. “We were all drunk and young and angry and all that stuff, but we were this very grindy, abrasive and somewhat technical, groovy, instrumental band and Randy came and did his thing on top of it. That’s how we saw it for a long time and I think he saw it that way too.”
Over time, however, Morton says the band learned how to “push and pull in terms of the density of notes and what kind of acrobatics and fireworks are going off musically. And we can carve out space for Randy, who is the frontman and the centerpiece.”
The guitarist adds: “It’s the vocals, it’s very important. … Twenty-five years ago, you probably wouldn’t have gotten that opinion from me.”
Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe: ‘I Want to Die a Member of This Band’
This new songwriting perspective is just one of several ways Lamb of God have grown closer over the course of their three-decade career, which has seen them rise the ranks to become one of modern metal’s biggest and most consistent bands.
“I’ve been in the band 30 years now and at 30 years in, we get along better now than we ever did before,” Blythe says. “And I think people have this idea of, oh, when you’re young, you join a band. It’s like the gang — one for all, all for one. And there was some of that to a degree, but there was also a lot of disagreement over the years. And physically and emotionally, I think we function as a unit the best we ever have now. And I think that is due in no small part to all of us trying to think about just the greater good, this thing that we’ve created together.”
At this point, Blythe sees no reason for the good times to stop. “We don’t ever have to break up,” he explains. “Let’s face it: Eventually our knees are gonna give out. We’re gonna be 85. Lamb of God will probably not be 85 years old onstage, but we never have to break up. I want to die a member of this band — not that I want that anytime soon. I wanna live to be 100.”
Read our full Lamb of God March digital cover story HERE.
See Lamb of God in our list of the 50 best metal albums of the 2000s:
The 50 Best Metal Albums of the 2000s (2000-2009)
The 2000s were one of the most exciting times for heavy metal as legacy bands started to regain their foothold after misguided periods. Meanwhile, an exciting new breed of bands emerged across a myriad of subgenres.
These are the 50 albums that best represent this decade of metal!
Contributions by Jordan Blum (JB), Chad Childers (CC), Joe DiVita (JD), John Hill (JH), Bryan Rolli (BR) and Lauryn Schaffner (LS).
Gallery Credit: Loudwire Staff
