Mark Morton (musician)
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This article does not cite any references or sources. (March 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
| Mark Morton | |
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 Lamb of God guitarist Mark Morton at With Full Force 2007
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Mark Duane Morton |
| Born | December 13, 1972 United States |
| Genre(s) | Thrash metal, Groove metal, Metalcore |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter, Guitarist |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar |
| Label(s) | Prosthetic, Epic |
| Associated acts | Lamb of God, Burn the Priest |
| Website | [1]
Notable instrument(s) Jackson Mark Morton Dominion |
Mark Morton (December 13, 1972) is one of the two guitarists of the American heavy metal band Lamb of God.
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[edit] Pre-Lamb of God days:
Mark grew up in Williamsburg, Virginia. His first band was Axis which was comprised of other local youth, one being Ryan Lake of Alabama Thunderpussy fame. Mark played rhythm guitar. The band became a popular local act, winning the local battle of the bands competition, better known as the famed "Stockwood" annual event to locals, in 1988.
[edit] Biography
Morton has a signature guitar deal with Jackson. He is the most reserved and introverted member of the band, and admits that he doesn't feel comfortable in the public eye. Aside from guitar, he's an avid wine enthusiast, a cigar aficionado, as well as an amateur race car driver.
Mark Morton, Chris Adler and John Campbell formed Lamb of God in 1990 at Virginia Commonwealth University where they were floor mates. When Morton left to pursue a master's degree, the band found a new guitarist, Abe Spear. When the band decided to retire from its purely instrumental sound, they added vocalist, Randy Blythe. At this point, they were known as Burn the Priest. Morton re-joined the group and Burn the Priest released a self titled full length album soon thereafter.
He cites Jeff Loomis as one of his inspirations. As Morton frequently uses pentatonic scales and harmonic minor scale, it has been noted that he has a blues style to his music. He composes and plays almost all of Lamb of God's guitar solos and forms most of the heavy groove rhythms. Co-guitarist, Willie Adler, composes most of the fast picking staccato riffs.
His performing gear consists of various Jackson Guitars, including a Rhoads style and Swee-Tone archtop (both seen in the Killadelphia DVD) and his own signature model, The Jackson MM1 Dominion strung with GHS Boomer Strings 10-46 tuned to drop-D, loaded with Seymour Duncan '59 pickups. For the recording of the latest album, Sacrament, most of his parts were recorded with his 1975 gold top les paul, with a Seymour Duncan '59 in the bridge. Onstage, Mark uses two Mesa Boogie Mark IV amplifiers with 9 Mesa 4X12 cabinets (only 2 of the cabinets actually have speakers in them, the other 7 are just for show). His rack gear includes a Sennheiser wireless system, a DBX compressor which he uses as a noise gate, and a splitter box which divides his amplifier channels to the cabinets. Mark only uses a few pedals on stage, Original Crybaby Wah Pedal, MxR Eddie Van Halen Phaser which "makes his solo's sear", MxR Overdrive pedal, and a boss tuning pedal.
In the liner notes to the album New American Gospel, he is credited under his middle name "Duane", most likely in keeping with his reserved, somewhat reluctant approach to stardom.
Morton is known for writing some of Lamb of God's more unconventional songs. These include, "Descending", "Vigil", and "Remorse is For the Dead". In the DVD documenting the making of Sacrament, he made the point that he likes to "toss in the wildcard, the oddball, cause for every three you toss in, one of 'em winds up being real special because it's that different."
He has recently worked with underground emcee/producer Necro for his upcoming album entitled Death Rap.
After a gig in Glasgow, Morton was involved in an argument with a very drunk Randy Blythe. Randy started by verbally abusing Chris Adler in an attempt to provoke him and start a fight. Hearing this shouting continuing, Mark came in and hit Randy in the face twice. They then went outside and fought on the side walk until Mark threw Randy on the ground and hit him in the face several more times. The wounds included Randy getting a black eye and saying "I felt like my brain was going to fall out of my fucking head." Mark broke his pinky and tore cartilage in shoulder despite "winning" the fight. This can be seen on the Killadelphia DVD.
[edit] Equipment
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This section does not cite any references or sources. (September 2007) Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
- Jackson Mark Morton Dominion w/ Seymour Duncan '59s Tobacco
- Jackson Mark Morton Dominion w/ Seymour Duncan '59s Wine Drunk
- Jackson RR5 (Rarely uses it since he got his Signature with Jackson)
- Jackson King V(Only Used On The New American Gospel Recordings)
- Jackson USA Custom Shop Swee-tone
- Jackson Warrior
- Gibson Les Paul Standard Gold
- Framus Renegade Pro (With neck pickup removed)
- Framus Panthera
- GHS Boomer Strings 10-46
- Mesa Mark IV amplifier head w/ 9 Mesa 4x12 cab (2 of them work, the other seven are for show)
- 1.14mm Dunlop Tortex picks
- Sennheiser wireless system
- Rocktron Hush Super C
- Dunlop Crybaby wylde Wah Pedal
- MXR GT-OD Pedal
- MXR EVH Phase 90
- Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner
[edit] Discography
[edit] With Burn the Priest
- Sevens and More (1998, mp3.com)
- Burn the Priest (1999, Legion Records)
[edit] With Lamb of God
- New American Gospel (2000, Prosthetic Records)
- As the Palaces Burn (2003, Prosthetic Records)
- Ashes of the Wake (2004, Epic Records)
- Sacrament' (2006, Epic Records)
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