During a recent interview with BangerTV’s Sam Dunn, Lamb of God guitarist Mark Morton addressed the band’s creative process and discussed whether their latest studio album, Into Oblivion, explores new sonic territory.
When asked about how he feels the band’s latest album explores new or different sound from their earlier records, the guitarist expressed frustration with the industry expectation to invent fresh talking points for every record cycle.
“I’m just gonna be straight up with you, Sam. It’s such a strange thing every few years to have to talk about your creative process. And these publications, who I appreciate their platform and their time and their investment in helping get the word out about our music, but the truth is to have to characterize that in some new talking-point way every three years gets a little bit like beating your head against the wall. And I know why these writers and these journalists and these platforms want you to do that, because it makes it easy to communicate what’s going on in a concise way, and in a quick, efficient way, so that they can say, ‘The new record has this character and has this personality. Now they’re doing this. This is what’s exciting about the new record,'” he explained (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
He clarified that the primary motivation behind Into Oblivion was simply to collaborate without external pressure, focusing strictly on crafting songs the band genuinely enjoyed making together.
But the truth is, for me, what’s exciting about the new record, this time, is that we really don’t feel any pressure or obligation to do anything except make songs together and decide which ones we like. And this batch are the ones that we picked. And it sounds sassy to say that, but there’s no storyline other than it’s our tenth record. When you’ve amassed a body of work like the one we have, if there is a responsibility, it’s to that body of work. If I feel accountable to anybody, it’s to that body of Lamb of God work because I don’t wanna pollute it. So, do I think every song we’ve ever put out, every album we’ve put out is this strong? Of course not. But if we’re gonna do something now, it’s gotta feel honest and feel important to us, and this one really, really does,” he added.
Elaborating on the fact that Into Oblivion remains true to the band’s established musical output, Mark Morton expressed pride in their unmistakable sound. He also shared his surprise that, despite their massive success over the last 25 years, no other groups have successfully replicated their signature heavy metal style.
“I’m completely okay, in fact, more than okay, I’m thrilled that it can just sound like Lamb of God. Let’s just have it sound like Lamb of God. And it does. And who else does?”
He concluded: “Isn’t that weird, 25 years into a career, that nobody just straight up sounds like Lamb of God? Why is that? It seems like they should. And I wanna say this without sounding full of myself. It’s just something I’ve thought about, like, why has no one ever just come out and flat-out just ripped us off? Because let’s face it, we’ve been pretty successful and sold a lot of records. We’re not the biggest heavy metal band in the world, but it’s a big band. It’s awesome. I’m having a blast. Still, I love it. I’m so grateful. I say that with the utmost gratitude. But nobody sounds like us. Why? I don’t know. Or maybe nobody wants to. I don’t know. So when I think about this thing, that’s what I think about. Of course, now the sound is a little bit throwback, and of a time that is kind of specific. But there were times, 10 years ago where I’m just, like, how come no one’s just flat-out ripped us off?”
Into Oblivion was produced and mixed by longtime studio collaborator Josh Wilbur. The recording process was split across several locations directly tied to the band’s history. Drum tracking took place in Richmond, Virginia, while guitar and bass parts were recorded at Mark Morton‘s personal home studio. Lead vocalist Randy Blythe tracked his parts at the legendary Total Access studio in Redondo Beach, California—a facility recognized for producing foundational punk albums by bands such as Black Flag, Hüsker Dü, and Descendents.
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”
