WSOU First Impressions: Mark Morton, Ether

Seton Hall University’s WSOU radio is the only all-metal, all-the-time station currently broadcasting in the U.S., and has been a force in metal for decades. It’s also streamable online from anywhere in the world!

Each week, a different staff member of WSOU will share a quick review of an album they’re currently digging, right here on MetalSucks. Enjoy!

Mark Morton, Ether

Coming so soon after his debut solo album, Anesthetic, you would expect a new release from any solo artist to be B-sides or songs that simply couldn’t fit. That’s anything but the case for Mark Morton’s latest release, Ether.

From the start of “All I Had to Lose” (featuring Mark Morales of Sons of Texas), one can easily hear that this was a separate piece of art Mark decided to start working on independent of Anesthetic or his work with Lamb of God. With two covers of classic rock hits on top of three original songs, Mark knocked the concept of an acoustic EP out of the park. One major highlight is “Love My Enemy” (featuring Howard Jones of Light the Torch, ex-Killswitch Engage), the closest the EP has to a track with a full band arrangement. The sheer star power onboard for the EP is impressive, with John Carbone of Moon Tooth and Lzzy Hale of Halestorm joining in addition to the aforementioned. Even on an EP containing just five songs, all of them acoustic, Mark flexes his ability to bring in talent from around the industry. All in all, it’s an excellent work from an top-notch artist and it’s definitely something worth checking out if you’re looking for something metal but, well, softer.

– Nick P.