LAMB OF GOD's MARK MORTON On Heavy Metal's Future: 'I Think It's Probably Going To Get Smaller And Then Get Bigger'

In a brand new interview with AXS, LAMB OF GOD guitarist Mark Morton was asked if he thinks heavy metal will ever go back to being as big as it was in the early '90s when a song like METALLICA's "Enter Sandman" was being played in malls across America. He responded: "You know, it's tough to predict, but here's what I do know. At 43 years old, I have been playing in bands since I was 12 or 13, and have really been through basically every level of being in band. I've played stadiums, I've played basements with three people there for years.

"Music goes through phases. It goes through trends, if you want to call it that, or waves, and I think right now it seems like... I think because of the way the genres and the categories of metal are sort of specialized, I think that was kind of divisive to the genre as a whole. I think it's also exciting, because it allows for people to explore different avenues of this genre."

He continued: "We're getting ready to go out on tour with this band DEAFHEAVEN, who are, in a lot of ways a black metal band, but there's almost like an indie rock element to that as well. Super unique and super creative, and I'm a fan. I think the fact that metal kind of split and went into all these different categories... you know, the prog scene is really big right now, even the more progressive stuff like ANIMALS AS LEADERS, BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME and that kind of super technical, jazz-influenced kind of thing. I think those sub-genres start to explore their own thing and it sort of splits apart heavy metal as a whole, but it allows new influences and new elements to come in. I think when it comes back, this is just my idea of it, but when it comes back together, I think it's going to make for a much more colorful, much more diverse broader picture of the genre."

Morton added: "I think it's probably going to get smaller and then get bigger. It's just going to go through those phases, but I think that's all part of the growth of music, and that's going to allow for a lot of outside influences or a lot of, at least, fresh new ideas to come in and to be considered a part of the bigger picture. Will metal ever be huge again? Yeah, I think so. I think the same way that punk will probably come back. There was a psychedelic element in the '90s that came back, so I think all these different kinds of textures and colors and influences sort of appear, disappear, and reappear, and that's the beauty of music. It's in constant motion. It's constantly evolving, and it's constantly reinventing itself, and I think metal is no different than any other style of music in that it's doing that as we speak."

LAMB OF GOD's latest album, "VII: Sturm Und Drang", which was released in July 2015 via Epic in the U.S. and Nuclear Blast Entertainment in all territories outside of North America. The CD was once again produced and mixed by Josh Wilbur with engineering by Wilbur, Nick Rowe and Kyle McAulay, and was recorded at NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood, California and Suburban Soul Studios in Torrance, California.

LAMB OF GOD's U.S. tour with ANTHRAX will come to a close in Los Angeles, California on February 12.