On most musical matters, Lamb of God co-guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler couldn’t be more different from one another. Morton is an avowed blues-rock aficionado who counts the likes of Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Billy Gibbons and Jimi Hendrix as his biggest influences. Adler, on the other hand, is a hardcore metal guy who never met a Dimebag Darrell riff he didn’t embrace. Morton analyzes and dissects the modes and scales of his melodic, blues-tinged leads, while Adler “plays from the gut,” impulsively throwing in atonal noise and dissonant chords of his own invention.
Nevertheless, the two guitarists have peacefully co-existed in Lamb of God since 1994, when the band formed under the name Burn the Priest. The blend of their unique styles and approaches has helped to turn the Richmond, Virginia–based outfit into one of the most powerful (and biggest-selling) forces in the New Wave of American Heavy Metal movement. “Mark and I have always had something of a deep-seated rivalry, or I guess you could call it a friendly competition,” Adler says. “But our bond is the success of this band, and we work together toward that goal.”
When it comes to metal tone, the two axmen have very different approaches to their craft. Yet they agree that tone is as personal and individual as a fingerprint.
“I think it has everything to do with the guitarist,” Morton says. “Tone is all in a player’s hands — the way they pick, how they fret the strings, their articulation. I know for a fact that Willie and I can play the same guitar plugged into the same amp and we’re going to sound totally different. Our tones are unique because it’s all about us. It’s not our gear.”
Adler agrees. “You can write out my parts and