British guitarist and songwriter Billy Morrison has released a new single titled “Becoming“. The track serves as the first official preview of his upcoming fourth solo album, Hollow, which is scheduled for release this August through TLG | ZOID/Virgin Music Group. The collaborative song features Godsmack frontman Sully Erna on lead vocals and Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt providing lead guitar work.
Co-written by Billy Morrison, Sully Erna, and Brett Scallions, the single focuses on personal growth and overcoming adversity. According to the guitarist, “Becoming” tackles the concept of “ransforming out of the darkness and negativity of certain lifestyle choices and becoming a strong, positive and powerful force.” He deferred to the Godsmack vocalist for a deeper lyrical analysis, noting: “For an in-depth description, you would have to ask Sully about the lyrics that he wrote.”
Billy Morrison explained the organic process of assembling the track’s guest roster, starting with the vocals.
“When the music to ‘Becoming‘ was finally finished, in my mind there was only one person I could imagine singing it, and that was Sully Erna. His work with Godsmack over the decades has just proven his voice to be one of the most powerful in rock music. Plus he’s a great guy to hang with so fortunately for me, not only was his response ‘Absolutely, I’ll sing it.’ We got to record it in Los Angeles together while he was here. It was a killer vibe.”
The final piece fell into place shortly after during a local concert event. “When we were all at the ‘Above Ground‘ show late last year here in L.A., it seemed only fitting for me to ask Nuno to play lead (keeping it Boston on this track!). And again, he graciously agreed, and absolutely killed it. It’s been a pleasure to work with both Sully and Nuno on this song — it’s the perfect collaboration to launch this new album of mine!”
Sully Erna shared his satisfaction with the final result, emphasizing the high standards of everyone involved in the recording sessions.
“I really enjoyed working with Billy and Nuno on this track,” the singer commented. “It’s always a bit challenging when you have three creative people that work at such high levels of production to get to the finish line, but in the end the product always speaks for itself. And this song is strong! It’s a perfect example of not settling for anything less.”
Nuno Bettencourt echoed this sentiment, adding: “When you’re asked to collaborate on a song with incredible artists like Sully Erna and Billy Morrison, you’d have to say ‘yes’ before even hearing the song. But man, when you DO hear the song and it’s as badass as this…you forget who’s on it and just do it for the love of it.”
Following the structural format of his successful 2024 record, The Morrison Project, the upcoming 12-track album Hollow will split vocal duties evenly. Billy Morrison will handle lead vocals on half the songs, while an extensive list of guest artists will front the rest. The confirmed roster of collaborators includes Dexter Holland, Marilyn Manson, Chuck D, B Real, Duff McKagan, Steve Stevens, and DMC. Among the revealed track titles slated for the album are “Forgive Me“, “The Tailor“, “No Suspects“, “Another Day“, and “Leave No Trace”.
Outside of his solo work, Billy Morrison is widely recognized for his 17-year tenure as the rhythm guitarist for Billy Idol. He has also previously played with The Cult, Circus Diablo, and the all-star cover band Royal Machines.
The official music video for “Becoming” is slated to premiere during the week of April 6.
