Mark Morton (guitarist)

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Mark Morton
Lamb of God guitarist Mark Morton at the Download Festival 2007
Lamb of God guitarist Mark Morton at the Download Festival 2007
Background information
Birth nameMark Duane Morton
Born (1972-11-25) November 25, 1972 (age 51)
United States
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter
Instrument(s)Guitar
Years active1989-present
LabelsProsthetic, Epic
WebsiteLamb of God website

Mark Duane Morton (born November 25, 1972) is the lead guitarist of the American metal band Lamb of God.[1]

Before Lamb of God

Morton grew up near Williamsburg, Virginia. His first band was Axis, which was composed of other local youth, one being Ryan Lake of Alabama Thunderpussy fame. Morton played rhythm guitar. The band became a popular local act winning the local battle of the bands competition, known as Stockwood, in 1988.

File:Mark Morton 1.jpg
Morton, bottom right, kneeling as a member of Axis, circa 1988. Ryan Lake of Alabama Thunderpussy, kneeling, bottom left Photo by: Michelle Spalding
Morton in Axis, March 1988, winning performance at Stockwood. Ryan Lake on left. Photo by: Michelle Spalding

Biography

Mark Morton, Chris Adler, and John Campbell met in 1990 at Virginia Commonwealth University where they were floor mates. Several years later, they formed a band under the name "Burn the Priest". Morton soon left to pursue a master's degree, and the band added guitarist Abe Spear, and vocalist, Randy Blythe. After a couple years apart, Morton rejoined the group and Burn the Priest released a self titled full length album. He was credited as "Duane" on the album "New American Gospel" Lamb of God's first major release.

Morton frequently utilizes pentatonic scales and harmonic minor scales, and 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 many of the heavy groove rhythms.

Guitarist Mark Morton performing at the Download Festival music concert in 2007.

His performing gear consists mostly of various Jackson guitars, including a Rhoads style and Swee-Tone archtop (both seen in the Killadelphia DVD) and, most often, his own signature model, the Jackson Dominion strung with GHS Boomer Strings 10-46 tuned to drop-D, loaded with a Seymour Duncan '59 in the bridge and a Duncan Jazz in the neck. He has recently developed a signature "Dominion" pickup with Dimarzio, which he is now using in his signature guitars.[2] Onstage, Mark uses two Dual Mesa Boogie Mark V heads amplifiers with Mesa 4X12 cabinets His rack gear includes a Sennheiser wireless system, a DBX 266XL compressor / noise gate, and a splitter box. Mark only uses a few pedals on stage, Original Cry Baby Wah Pedal, MxR Eddie Van Halen Phaser which "makes his solos sear", MxR Overdrive pedal, and a Boss tuning pedal. Recently, it has been rumored that a signature Crybaby might be in production.

Morton is known for writing some of Lamb of God's less conventional 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." Morton has also written some of the band's more traditional metal songs, such as, "Now You've Got Something to Die For", "Redneck" and "Walk With Me in Hell".

In September 2011, Morton revealed plans of collaborating with DevilDriver frontman Dez Fafara on a new project. According to Morton, Chicago doom legends Trouble are a big influence on the material. He says 14 "killer tunes" have been written so far, with Morton stating he is "not sure when it'll come to light."

In March 2012, Mark Morton collaborated with Dez Fafara on a new project called 'Born of the Storm'. Two songs were released, 'Nowhere Fast' and 'Dust'. Dez's vocals are different from his trademark DevilDriver vocals on these songs and Mark's guitar sound is more original and incorporates bluesy rock riffs, a style that Mark is making into his own.

On Thursday, 19 July, Morton released his own song titled 'To Make Sure2'. He announced the release of his song through his Facebook page. He wrote: "Here's a tune I worked on with some friends the other night. It's something different. I hope you enjoy."

Equipment

Guitars

Amplifiers & Cabinets

Accessories

Guitar Rig & Signal Flow

A detailed gear diagram of Mark Morton's 2005 Lamb of God guitar rig is well-documented.[4]

Discography

With Burn the Priest

With Lamb of God

References

  1. ^ Demasi, Vincent (January 1, 2007). "All God's children: Lamb of God's Willie Adler and Mark Morton spread the gospel of American metal". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ^ http://www.seymourduncan.com/artists/setups/mark_morton_lam/
  3. ^ http://www.guitarworld.com/article/jackson_pro_series_dominion_mark_morton_signature_guitar
  4. ^ Cooper, Adam (2005). "Mark Morton's 2005 Lamb of God Guitar Rig". GuitarGeek.Com.

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