On March 1, Lamb of God guitarist Mark Morton will release his debut solo album, Anesthetic. We caught up with the six-stringer at our studio to talk about collaborating with Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington, departing from Lamb of God’s style of writing and more.

Morton’s single with Chester Bennington, “Cross Off,” has been extremely successful since its release, racking up over two million plays on YouTube in less than a month.

“We instantly hit it off on a creative level,” Morton says. “I really didn’t know Chester before we started doing this song. We had a real creative rhythm right away. You can’t really plan on that, you can’t bet on it, you can’t buy it, you can’t fake it. You either vibe with someone or you don’t.

“He didn’t have to be there, he didn’t have to come record a song with the guitar player from Lamb of God. He did it because he loved the tune and because he was excited about screaming again and being on something more metal, a little heavier.”

When fans hear Anesthetic, they’ll be bombarded by many of Morton’s favorite styles of music, including '90s alternative and southern rock. Speaking about juggling so many genres for one album, the guitarist says, “I’m always trying to push what [Lamb of God] can get away with, stylistically, but within limits. I have four other bandmates that keep that restrained. With this project, I was off the leash, I could do whatever I wanted. I don’t know that I did really control it, I think it’s all over the map.”

Watch our exclusive chat with Mark Morton above and click here to pre-order his Anesthetic album.

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