Desolation cover art

Desolation

A Heavy Metal Memoir

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Desolation

By: Mark Morton, Ben Opipari
Narrated by: Mark Morton
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About this listen

A gritty, revealing heavy metal memoir by Lamb of God’s lead guitarist and co-lyricist, which explores both his life in music and his tumultuous path through addiction and into recovery.

DESOLATION is the story of Morton's lifelong quest for clarity and self-acceptance, and shows how the pressures of career success and personal battles eventually came into conflict with Morton's dedication to the creative process. Intertwined with addiction, self-destruction, and the path to eventual surrender and recovery, Morton also reveals the greatest personal tragedy of his life: the death of his two-day old daughter, plunging 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 into his system on a daily basis.

And yet, amidst the harrowing heartbreak, there were moments of triumph, hope, and incredible personal connection. Morton developed close relationships with his bandmates and crew members, sharing experiences that have made for some strange and hilarious tales. He's 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. Through the highs and the lows, Morton learns how to find presence and gratitude where he once found fear and resentment, a process that he considers a gift of spiritual awakening.

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. Perfect for fans, new and old, as well as anyone who has ever been tested and brought to their limits, DESOLATION is a highly-satisfying, full-throttle investigation of the human experience.

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Most relevant
This guy has written some of the most cut throat riffs in metal. Beyond his talent this book opens wide and shows you the human qualities this man possesses along with some heart breaking life experiences.

Talented, honest and humble.

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Mark has an extraordinary life with some big highs (quite literally) and some devastating lows

a behind the scene look at Mark's life warts and all

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It's never easy for people to bare their souls, so kudos to Mark for his honest depiction of addiction.

Raw and honest memoir

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I'm a fan of Mark's music and have seen Lamb of God on a number of occasions, but this book definitely opened the doors into what it's like to be a professional touring musician; the lifestyle, and daily routine, the struggles... but the part about his daughters death at 2 days old really resonated with me. While he doesn't have to justify the fallout from that loss, as a father myself, I completely got it.
Mark is a fantastic story-teller, and I'm really glad he decided to release this book. This is one of the best self-penned audiobooks from a musician I've listened to in the last year or so. Highly recommended.

Great Book

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