Mark Morton

Spend time talking to Mark Morton about his creative process and two themes emerge. One, he loves to write. The Lamb of God guitarist says, “I’m a musician, I’m a songwriter, I’m a guitar player, and I’m a lyricist.” Two, Morton is inspired by a wide swath of musical genres.

For his new project Anesthetic, Morton didn’t sit down this year and say I want to write a solo album. Instead, he’s actually been writing some of this debut for years. “Music is always in my head, and until I write and record it, it’s stuck there. But once I record it, it’s out. It’s a catharsis, more for my own sanity.”

When it was time to assemble musicians for Anesthetic, Morton had a choice: he could ask friends to play on it—people who knew his style and work ethic—or he could assemble a dream team, many of whom didn’t know Morton and some of whom had never even heard of Lamb of God. Morton did both. He cast a wide net for collaborators. And almost everyone said yes: Mark Lanegan (Queens of the Stone Age, Screaming Trees), Steve Gorman and Marc Ford (The Black Crowes), Chester Bennington (Linkin Park) Mike Inez (Alice In Chains), Ray Luzier (Korn), Roy Mayorga (Stone Sour), David Ellefson (Megadeth), Chuck Billy (Testament), Myles Kennedy (Alter Bridge), Alissa White-Gluz (Arch Enemy), Jacoby Shaddix (Papa Roach), Jean-Paul Gaster (Clutch), Jake Oni (Oni), Mark Morales (Sons Of Texas), Josh Todd (Buckcherry). Randy Blythe makes an appearance, and Morton even takes over vocal on one track.