MARK MORTON

Ether

Ether
rating icon 7 / 10

Track listing:

1. All I Had To Lose (featuring Mark Morales)
2. The Fight (featuring John Carbone)
3. She Talks To Angels (featuring Lzzy Hale)
4. Love My Enemy (featuring Howard Jones)
5. Black (featuring Mark Morales)


Mark Morton stepped out from behind his post as LAMB OF GOD's guitarist last year with his debut solo record, "Anesthetic". There were not any songs that could be considered groundbreaking, but the record showcased Morton's chameleon-like ability to adapt his songwriting to the capabilities and talents of diverse vocal performers like Chester Bennington (LINKIN PARK, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS) and Chuck Billy (TESTAMENT). Morton's follow-up EP, "Ether", once again sees the guitarist working with multiple vocalists, this time in a semi-acoustic capacity. Those of you seeing the "A" word in the previous sentence and fearing another record in the recent trend of metal musicians generating meandering folk music can rest easy, as the three originals and two covers on display here are grounded in the semi-acoustic rock realm.

The brightest light on "Ether" emanates from a cover of the 1990 BLACK CROWES Southern rock ballad "She Talks to Angels". The song transcends its status as a cover, thanks to the infectious combination of the extra-Southern twang Morton gives to his guitar performance and a soaringly beautiful vocal performance from Lzzy Hale (HALESTORM). Both of those performances are coated in the shiny gloss indicative of modern country rock radio, and the inherent soulfulness of the original song and Hale's vocal output lend an emotionally powerful aura to make this a memorable rendition. The HALESTORM vocalist turns in what may be the finest performance of her career, her throaty rasp carrying deep emotion behind the verses and hitting registers evocative of AEROSMITH's Steven Tyler as the track crescendos. If the track becomes a huge radio hit down the road, it would not be a surprise.

Another standout vocal performance comes from Howard Jones (LIGHT THE TORCH, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE) on Morton's original composition "Love My Enemy". Jones layers a soothing high-note croon over Morton's acoustic guitar work on the song's softer touches. When the song hits its electric-guitar laden rock chorus, Jones soars with the melodic howls that have been one of his trademarks throughout his career. The song also features "Ether"'s most purely metal moment as Morton emits a short shock of shredding guitar solo. The structure of the song suggests an alternate universe where the 2002 "Spider-Man" movie came along a couple of years later as LAMB OF GOD and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE were hitting their commercial peaks, and this would have been the big single from the motion picture soundtrack instead of the Chad Kroeger/Josey Scott collaboration "Hero".

Other vocal performances on the EP yield mixed results. MOON TOOTH's John Carbone's vocals at the beginning of the drum machine-powered original track "The Fight" are filtered through a disembodied atonal vocal effect throughout the verses. Thankfully as the chorus kicks in, the ghost-like fog lifts from Carbone's vocals, allowing him to rise with emotion in a manner similar to Lajon Witherspoon (SEVENDUST) on his memorable performance of "Angel's Son". Mark Morales (SONS OF TEXAS) is the only vocalist with two appearances here. Unfortunately, lead track "All I Had To Lose" is the weakest track on the record. Morales gives a performance over a solitary acoustic guitar — accompanied by faux-orchestral arrangements — that revives repressed memories of the sensitive-bro nadir of turn-of-the-century acts such as STAIND, though Morales does fare better on Morton's stripped-down arrangement of PEARL JAM's "Black".

Even if everything doesn't hit as intended, you can still give Morton credit for crafting "Ether"'s arrangements to mostly showcase the strengths of his collaborative partners. The weakest points of the record are still worth plowing through if only to indulge in the sublime beauty of his and Hale's cover of "She Talks To Angels".

Author: Jason Roche
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).