When Billy Morrison unveiled his “Becoming” single with Godsmack vocalist Sully Erna and Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt earlier in the spring, the hard rock lifer and Sirius XM host promised he’d soon deliver an accompanying, “kick-ass” music video which they’d partially filmed inside a “rain room” in L.A.. True to his word, Morrison is now flooding screens with those super-soaked visuals, which are being premiered exclusively today (April 9th) via Revolver.
As previously reported, the single is the first to be unveiled from Morrison’s forthcoming Hollow album, which follows 2024’s The Morrison Project. Morrison and Fuel member Brett Scallions co-wrote the song before sending it over to Erna, who delivers an impassioned and raspy set of lines. Bettencourt rises to the occasion and rips pure hellfire on his guest solo.
Directed by Ivo Raza, the “hot and sweaty” video finds Morrison, Erna, Bettencourt, Scallions and drummer Erik Eldenius rocking the cut from two locations: a bright-beaming warehouse full of lights, and the aforementioned “rain room.”
Before Morrison delivers the rest of his Hollow later this summer — the album likewise featuring guest appearances from Marilyn Manson, Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan, Public Enemy’s Chuck D, Run DMC’s DMC, the Offspring’s Dexter Holland and more — he connected with Revolver to dish on his friendly collaborators, performing in stormy conditions and how his latest project leaves behind the wreckage of his past.
Jane Stuart / @JaneStuartPhotos
You’ve collaborated with a ton of music legends over the years, but nevertheless, it’s a coup to get both Sully and Nuno on this track. What excited you most about getting either of them onto this particular song.
Billy Morrison Honestly, I have been a fan of Godsmack for many years, I think Sully has an incredible voice and he’s been a friend for a long time so I know how musically talented he is on many levels. So, when I finished the song instrumentally and sat back and listened, there was only one name on my wish list and that was his — luckily he felt the music was super strong and said yes!
Adding Nuno came about when Sully was in Los Angeles recording his vocals and performing at the Above Ground charity show, where coincidentally we also had Nuno performing — it was a no brainer. The Boston connection is strong with those two, and Nuno is an iconic player. So we asked, he said yes, and here we are!
Sully wrote the lyrics after you’d sent over the music — what were your first thoughts on what he came up with? How do those themes resonate with you, personally?
I immediately understood him and gravitated to these lyrics personally. We have both been through a lot in our past and I think Sully speaks of “becoming strong, becoming light” in a way that most people can identify with — the line “the only part that I wanna be is the part that’s alive” speaks to being dead inside for so long and finally becoming alive and awake and strong.
His lyrics are extremely identifiable in my own story. He’s a great lyricist.
Nuno is a shredder par excellence, and he’s definitely in fine form through the solo he brought to “Becoming.” Whether it’s Nuno or another lead player you’ve connected with over the years, are you ever picking up guitar tricks to try on your own? Or are you content to just let them rip?
Great question and trust me, I am constantly “eyes open, mouth shut,” [while] soaking it all in. But you will find later this year that I have taken 90 per cent of the solos on the whole album this time around.
Historically, I have been happy being the rhythm player and I have played with probably most, if not all of the current great lead players. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been watching and learning the whole time.
I think the mark of a good musician is the ability to listen, and I have listened very carefully to years of being in the greatest school of rock imaginable — sharing the stage and sharing recordings with Steve Stevens, Dave Navarro, Nuno, Slash, Steve Vai …. the list is endless, and I would be a fool if I didn’t keep my mouth shut and watch carefully.
Jane Stuart / @JaneStuartPhotos
Though you folks are playing behind a sheet of rain in the music video, it looks like you kept pretty dry throughout the shoot. Have you ever played a show where you got rocked by the natural elements?
First of all, what you can’t see in the video is the humidity! It was over 90 degrees outside and we were locked in a steel room with constant running water for 5 hours. It was like playing in an Ecuadorian Rain forest — It played havoc with the hair!
But yes, about 15 years ago we played Donnington Download Festival with Billy Idol, and right as we walked onstage, the heavens opened and the rain came down sideways like only England can produce. Idol looked at me and Steve [Stevens] and said “Fuck it, let’s go,” and the three of us ran straight down the ramp into the rain to join the audience who were also getting soaked — and of course, they loved it.
As a side note, two cans of hairspray keeps the spikes spikey, no matter how much rain comes down.
You’d recently revealed that half of the songs on the upcoming album were sung by yourself, while the rest are being led by some of your friends. This includes rappers like Chuck D, Cypress Hill’s B-Real and DMC, the latter having also contributed to your Morrison Project album in 2024. How did you go about deciding which songs would best pair with a melodic vocalist or a set of hip-hop-styled bars?
Deciding who sings on what song really is an organic and natural process and it becomes self-evident at some point who is on the short list. I would get to a certain point, usually when the structure is complete and the choruses are slamming instrumentally, and I would either think “I’m gonna sing this one” because I would already have a melody and some lyrics in my head, or it would be obvious that, for instance, Dexter Holland would sound insanely cool on this track.
Luckily, my friends are super cool, and pretty much every one of them said yes when I asked them. This time around, I think I ended up singing seven of the songs myself, and I feel completely comfortable doing that. But with the hip-hop one you mentioned, a track called “No Suspects,” I’m a huge Public Enemy fan. B-Real reached out [for me], Chuck agreed, and then we called DMC to finish the track off. Hip-hop legends all on one track!
Jane Stuart / @JaneStuartPhotos
Sitting with the finished record, do you see any connecting themes between the lyrics you personally penned and sang across Hollow?
Oh yes, there’s a huge personal theme that stretches across this record. It’s a very personal and cathartic journey through my time in London, and how far I have come since then.
I often blend memories, thoughts and opinions into one song, so sometimes a track is not about any one thing or person, but more a general feeling. But other songs will be specific to a point in time, or a particular person.
I do think the personal nature of the lyrics should remain personal and allow the listener to draw their own conclusions, much like a piece of art will speak subjectively to the person looking at it. If you feel something or relate to something while listening to these songs, then my job is done successfully.
What was the most unexpected moment or song idea to come up through the collaborative process?
I think it’s the Seventies country/Stones vibe on a song called “Leave No Trace” that I did with Duff McKagan. Duff and I share a love of that kind of songwriting — the whole “Dead Flowers,” drug-rock type vibe from that period — and while I definitely didn’t set out to write a song like that, hanging out with Duff, who is a killer songwriter and such a talent, was so inspiring that it just kind of happened!
I would also say that my vocal performance on the last song on the record, a big ballad called “Butterfly Effect,” surprised the hell out of me. I didn’t know I was going to sing like that, and I guess you’ll just have to wait for the album to see what I mean.
As on The Morrison Project, you’re surrounded by friends on this album — There’s a fullness of experience on display. How exactly does the word “Hollow” speak to what you’re presenting this time around?
There is definitely a world of experience that I have drawn on in the making of this record, and I think, above all, this record marks a “moving forward” in my life — Leaving behind a bunch of wreckage and dubious decisions once and for all.
When I was rattling around London in the late Eighties as a drug-addicted kid, my life felt empty, hollow and pointless. I never want to feel like that again, and having the opportunity to release both The Morrison Project and Hollow thanks to TLG | Zoid and Virgin means the world to me. It feels like this album can time-stamp the moment I left it all behind. I couldn’t be more grateful.
This interview has been edited and condensed for flow and clarity.