Lamb of God’s Mark Morton was recently on Sirius XM’s Trunk Nation and revealed that the band’s 9th studio album is complete and expressed how excited he is to release material with new drummer Art Cruz, after Chris Adler’s strange departure.

“We’ve got new music coming soon. And I really, really couldn’t be more excited about it. There’s a whole fresh new energy in the band. It’s our first recordings with Art. Art‘s been playing drums with us now for a couple of years, but these are our first songs that we’ve written and recorded with him there.

And it’s just a thrill to see these things come to life. And I couldn’t be happier with how the record is turning out, and I’m excited for the world to hear that. There’s gonna be a lot of touring around that, so we’re gonna be super busy on the road.”

When asked about a released date, the guitarist estimated within the first half of the year.

“There’s not. There’s a time frame. I don’t actually know a date — they haven’t announced yet. But I would think — first half of the year, I think.”

Morton also mentioned how his guitar parts are done and the mix and masters are printed.

“I’m pretty sure [the other members of the band are] done with it too. I think it’s been printed at this point. I think the last mixes and masters are printed.”

Mark Morton recently released his solo five-song EP titled, Ether. Check it out here.