Mark Morton Maintains ‘Puppies + Rainbows’ Attitude Amid Chaos

Lamb Of God's brand-new behemoth of an album Omens finally comes out today (Oct. 7) after months of teases and snippets. Flanked by aggressive singles such as the title track, "Nevermore" and "Grayscale," frontman Randy Blythe has called the record an "extremely pissed-off" collection of songs and a "reaction to the state of the world" in press materials. But guitarist Mark Morton has found a way to maintain a "puppies and rainbows" attitude while still having a keen sense of awareness to the world around him.

Morton has another take on how he processes the chaotic landscape, with music helping him to shut out a lot of the noise rather than being a reaction to it. In a new interview, part of which was published originally for the Chicago Sun-Times, Morton said that, for him, Omens stemmed from a more positive place than it did for the frontman.

The angry connotation, he said, "is a characterization Randy made about the record. I don't share that feeling." Morton added, "And that's not to take anything away from Randy’s perspective. He is the primary lyricist. For sure, I wrote some lyrics on this album, as I almost always do, but the last few albums, Randy has been far and away the primary lyricist. And I don't share that relationship with the record. I thoroughly enjoyed making it."

Morton continued, hinting at the topical issues Blythe may have focused on while writing the tracks, "While I can very easily be upset or unsettled about certain things — there are plenty of things going on in the world that we all see when we turn on the TV or the internet — I can also turn those things off and watch my children play or go for a bike ride or go and watch the chickens strutting around the yard or hang out with my dog or pick up my guitar."

"When I do those things," he said, "a lot of that stuff melts away. … I don't think that's sticking my head in the sand. I think it's just maybe not getting strung out on all of the drama that we are sold constantly. That doesn't mean that I think that's all irrelevant. I don't. I just try and engage in the things that are valuable to me and that I can manage and that I can be a part of successfully."

Morton said making music is one of the things he does try to engage in constantly — whether for Lamb Of God or his solo works, like 2019's Anesthetic, which he shared we'll see