Last year, Lamb Of God guitarist and lyricist, Mark Morton, released In Desolation: A Heavy Metal Memoir via Hachette Books. Morton discusses his memoir on the new episode of The Bob Letsetz Podcast.

Asked how he ended up playing guitar, Mark reveals, "I ended up playing guitar because my dad wouldn't let me get a drum set. I talked about it in the book. So this is the early eighties, the early into the mid eighties where MTV had been around for a minute, but it didn't make it to us right away. So it made it to Southeast Virginia, and like every other kid in America, I was glued to MTV. Latchkey, kid, come home from school. You're not gonna see your parents for three hours, and you're just sitting there watching MTV, which was great. And so I'm watching all this music in a way that I'd never seen it before. And I wanted to play drums. And you know, my parents, I described it in the book, they were always very, very supportive of me and things I wanted to do.
I really had a great childhood, and I wanted to play music and asked for a drum set, and my dad, very wisely, knew enough about music to know you can't turn a drum set down. So my second choice was guitar."

Find the new episode of The Bob Letsetz Podcast on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, and Amazon.

In Desolation: A Heavy Metal Memoir (Hachette Books), Morton traces the highs and the lows of his career and personal life, revealing how the pressures of success and personal battles eventually came into conflict with his dedication to the creative process. Morton writes about the greatest personal tragedy of his life: the death of his newborn daughter, which plunged Morton further into hopelessness. Surrounded by bandmates living their wildest dreams, Morton wanted nothing more than to disappear, ingesting potentially lethal cocktails of drugs and alcohol on a daily basis.

And yet intertwined with self-destruction and harrowing heartbreak, there were moments of joy, self-acceptance, and incredible connection. Morton developed close relationships with his bandmates and crew members, sharing experiences that have made for some strange and hilarious tales. He also gained a greater sense of purpose through interactions with his fans, who remind him that his work reaches people on a deeply personal level.

“Initially, I started writing this book just to see if I could do it,” said Morton. “But as the writing process unfolded, it quickly took on much more meaning. Unpacking my story, I was able to observe events in my life with an objectivity that I hadn't experienced while I’d lived them in real time. Through a lens of hindsight and recovery, I made friends with my past and found value in my most difficult days. I hope that by offering my experiences, I can create a point of connection and commonality. There are a lot of fun stories in here and a few really sad ones. I'm grateful to have the opportunity to share them.”

Desolation is, at its core, about Morton's journey as a musician navigating self-doubt, anxiety, and the progressive disease of addiction, and ultimately finding relative serenity and gratitude.

“Mark Morton’s Desolation is one of the most remarkable rock memoirs I’ve ever read, and Hachette Books is thrilled to be his publisher,” said Ben Schafer, Executive Editor at Hachette Books. “Through its humility, candor, and strikingly unpretentious style, it delivers a life story that is simultaneously relatable and remarkable. The rise of Lamb of God, Mark’s surprisingly varied influences, and his personal highs and lows are all chronicled with such a disarming and rigorous honesty that readers of all sorts will be moved and inspired to create, to recover, to live in a state of gratitude.”

Lamb Of God and Sixthman, the leader in festivals and music cruises for more than a decade, have announced Lamb Of God Presents Headbangers Boat 2025, sailing October 31-November 4, 2025 from Miami, FL to Cozumel, Mexico aboard the glittering Norwegian Jewel.

The full Headbangers Boat 2025 lineup was recently revealed. Welcome to the boat Power Trip, The Exploited, Nekrogoblikon, Gideon, Walls Of Jericho, and Category 7.

Acts confirmed now include: Lamb Of God (two sets), Clutch, Kublai Khan TX, Power Trip, Obituary, DevilDriver, Fear Factory, The Black Dahlia Murder, The Exploited, Crowbar, Nekrogoblikon, Eighteen Visions, Gideon, Walls of Jericho, Category 7, BRAT, Josh Potter (Comic), Saul Trujillo (Comic), Jose Mangin, Riki Rachtman, Liberty Tattoo.

For complete details, and to book your cabin, head to headbangersboat.com.