'Lightning In a Bottle' - Tom Morello Shares Story Behind New Song With Beartooth

On Wednesday (Dec. 17), Tom Morello joined Loudwire Nights to celebrate the release of his latest song, "Everything Burns," featuring Beartooth.

Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.

"It really was lightning in a bottle," Morello told host Chuck Armstrong about working with Beartooth on the song. As he shared, the track came together quickly.

"Sometimes bands and artists can talk themselves out of a good idea by spending too much time on it. We're like, this has to be done now. The riffs just came. The lyrics just came."

"Everything Burns" is part of the latest update of Final Fantasy XIV, but Morello said he never set out to write a song specifically for a video game.

"That's not a thing I do — I'm trying to write great fucking songs," he said.

"[Caleb Shomo's] lyrics and his vocals match the track perfectly. They're both a reflection of these kind of dangerous times we live in and a warning as well."

While Morello said he's not a gamer, he has heard "Everything Burns" plays a significant part in the experience in Final Fantasy XIV.

"My friends who play Final Fantasy and the kids I know that play Final Fantasy could not be more excited about a collaboration like this."

Tom Morello Reflects on Back to the Beginning

Along with celebrating the new song, Morello took some time to reflect on his massive role in bringing Back to the Beginning to life earlier this year.

"The goal was to make it the greatest day in the history of heavy metal," Morello said, a sentiment he has proudly shared in the past.

"With Ozzy's passing two weeks later, I think that's probably inarguable now."

Though Morello no doubt has countless memories from the show, he was quick to highlight his overall experience of Back to the Beginning.

"Afterward, we went back to the hotel where all the bands were, all the fans were and everybody just stood up and applauded themselves," he recalled.

"Everybody had tears in their eyes. It was really, it was pretty incredible. My lasting impression was that there's never been an event like that in the history of rock and roll."

Morello said Black Sabbath deserve to be "on the Mount Rushmore of all-time bands," and was proud to say they invented the genre of heavy metal.

READ MORE: The Last Thing That Ozzy Osbourne Told Tom Morello

The fact that they did it in Birmingham and then were celebrated in that same town only made Back to the Beginning that much more special.

"It's a 20-minute walk from the front door of that stadium to Ozzy's childhood home," he said.

"They got to feel the love from the city that they were born in and the city that made them famous. They got to feel the love of all those bands that they created, that their music created. They got to feel the love of a global audience of millions ... And they got to give that love back, all four of them alive on that stage, letting the world know that they heard and they felt that love."

What Else Did Tom Morello Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• One of the most emotional moments he experienced at Back to the Beginning: "The most hair-raising moment of the entire thing was the day before. We had three days of 10-hour, 11-hour rehearsals with those super groups and me kind of getting it all together. Very, very stressful ... We finally finished the last rehearsal and we're getting ready, 'Please let me get back to the hotel and get some sleep before this thing actually really, really starts,' right? And we're getting ready to get in the van and somebody goes, 'Hey, Black Sabbath is sound checking. Do you guys want to check it out?' I'm like, 'Oh yes, we do.' I'm in the stadium and they're doing the opening of the show, which was 'War Pigs.' It's the four dudes in Black Sabbath, the red light, the stadium is Black Sabbath, Birmingham red. It's just me, my son, Steven Tyler, Scott Ian and his kid, a couple of people, it's like an audience of about 12 watching Black Sabbath play 'War Pigs' in their hometown for just us."
• When fans can expect his solo album: "This has been one of the busiest years of my entire career ... My hope is after the holidays to come back and really hunker down. There's a lot of plans for 2026, but one of those plans is to release this record. I've got some of the biggest riffs of my career. I've been playing guitar solos like never before."
• What it was like being part of the new musical, Revolution(s): "We made a radical rock and roll, awesome punk rock musical that I could not be more proud of. And it hit exactly the same time in Chicago during the ICE raids and the protest against that. I would walk out of rehearsals, like literally straight into a march on the street. It was an incredible experience and I'm hopeful that Revolution(s) has a life beyond [and] that everybody gets a chance to see it."

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Tom Morello joined Loudwire Nights on Wednesday, Dec. 17; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.