Over the course of their thirty-year career, members of Lamb of God have witnessed massive transformations across the global music industry. In a recent interview with Premier Guitar, guitarist Mark Morton sat down to discuss how the business of heavy metal has evolved since the band’s inception, specifically touching on modern music consumption and the financial realities of surviving as a touring musician.
Detailing the multiple revenue streams required to sustain a modern metal act, Morton explained:
“We do so many things. A band at this level, we do a lot of things. We play shows. We tour and play concerts. We play a bunch of different kinds of concerts. We do our own tours, we play festivals, we play in different territories. We write and record music. We sell merchandise. So all of those are different activities in different parts of the business. And then there’s the business of being in the band, and then there’s the music, which is really the part that — that’s where the soul is. I mean, it’s a business, and you gotta make money and support your family. So what we do is a lot of different things, and those things have all changed independently of one another. So touring looks different now than it did 10 years ago. And selling records or the way people consume music, that’s really been the biggest change. I’ve been around and in the business long enough where when we first started, we sold a lot of records, physical copies — CDs, really, at the time. And now less so. And the most physical copies you sell are LPs again. And streaming is, obviously, the way people consume most of the music. So all those terms change and the business changes,” he said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
Despite the drastic shifts in how fans purchase and listen to music, the guitarist noted that the necessity to adapt is simply a universal reality for any long-lasting profession.
He said: “I think any business you’re in changes, though, really. I don’t think that’s necessarily specific or unique to the music industry. There’s probably very few industries that haven’t had to evolve and change, and you have to adapt to it. And that’s definitely the case with what we do.”
The conversation then shifted to the band’s pivotal 2003 major label deal with Epic Records. Asked how the contract impacted their ability to financially survive during those crucial early years, Morton reflected on his humble beginnings as a roofer:
He continued: “Well, we have made records early on that were on a shoestring [budget], for sure, and they sounded like they were. But that’s part of the journey. And certainly signing to a major label in 2003 and releasing the first major label record in 2004 was a big, big jump in terms of the resources we had to make the record. I was already doing music full time before we signed to a major — I think, more or less. It wasn’t like I signed to a major label and went into work the next day and quit my job. I was a roofer and I was kind of doing side work and stuff, just kind of hustling. But signing a contract like that and getting into the big league, so to speak, did take some pressure off of the finances and stuff. But I lived pretty humbly. And I just figured we’d be touring for a couple years and then eventually have to go back to some kind of day job, which it just didn’t work out that way.”
While the financial backing provided stability, it introduced an entirely new set of creative hurdles. Following the underground success of their critically acclaimed 2003 album, As The Palaces Burn, the pressure to deliver a massive follow-up weighed heavily on the band. However, the guitarist clarified that the highest expectations did not come from the executives.
“The most pressure I ever felt from the point in which you’re coming, from the label and that kind of thing, it wasn’t from them; it was self-imposed.”
He elaborated on the intense timeline and the resulting writer’s block that accompanied their transition to the mainstream:
“When we signed to Epic, we had just released the As The Palaces Burn record. That record came out, and I think within —I don’t know the exact timeline, but I would think within five or six months we were talking actively to major labels, and there were several. So when we signed to Epic, of course they want their record: ‘Let’s go. Let’s make a record.’ And we hadn’t really toured a lot on the As The Palaces Burn record. And, more importantly, we were kind of creatively squeezed out. We had just put all our best stuff into this record. Then we got signed off of it, and now they want a record right away. So I remember, for me personally, feeling the pressure of, like, this is probably the most important, business-wise, creatively, moment. And I’m, like, ‘I don’t have any material. What am I gonna do?’ So I was really, wrestling with my own kind of confidence in what I was bringing to the table. But it all worked out.”
Lamb of God has officially released their highly anticipated tenth studio album, Into Oblivion, out today, March 13. Arriving four years after their 2022 effort, Omens, the new 10-track record firmly cements the group’s status as modern metal mainstays, delivering their signature punishing grooves while pushing their creative boundaries forward.
Into Oblivion Official Tracklist:
- “Into Oblivion”
- “Parasocial Christ”
- “Sepsis”
- “The Killing Floor”
- “El Vacío”
- “St. Catherine’s Wheel”
- “Blunt Force Blues”
- “Bully”
- “A Thousand Years”
- “Devise/Destroy”
