Hello friends,
Yesterday I was at the Green Lung show in my neck of the woods and it was amazing! About two months ago I was bombed on YouTube with some live shows from the London based cultish stoner metal band (this won't be a debate on the specific genre article, I promise).
The algorithm tried to lure me into their awesome merch but what impressed me the most is that I had never really heard of them before despite them having 3 critically acclaimed records which after 2 months of binging, I completely agree to.
Their set was a well balanced mixed of their singles and most beloved songs off of each album which seemed to please the older fans and those still in discovery mode such as me.
Each song had a specific hook line which encouraged the crowd to sing along and I was floored by the singer's talent. Vocally he was consistent, it sounded like the albums! I might've noticed one or two notes which he might've decided to go to the lower octave but if you give the song Mountain Throne a chance, yep... he hit that one. Plus, the bassist contributed to the backup vocals and even had a lead role in the Song of the Stones which is a bit slow but the intensity doesn't weaken, in fact it built right back up into Hunters in the Sky (check out the Patagonia references in the video and the ripped off merch).
Which shows a bit of a sense of humor because not matter how nice the guys in the band seemed to be, when it comes to heavy metal, they don't fuck around. Songs like Woodland Rites, Old Gods and Let the Devil In have massive riffs and hit like Satan's breath.
Their stage presence is just in your face and very engaging with the singer regularly reeling in the energy from the crowd during the guitar solos or sending evil vibes to the keyboard player all tightened by their drummer. Skulls, wooden statues, green light with smoke and the backdrop rounded off the whole scene.
I also listened to some Spirit Adrift, which was supposed to be the opener, I don't know what happened but a few days before the show I found out that Spell would be the opening band (two dudes from Canada). I have to say at the first listen I though this is a bit to fantastic or magical for me (you know the vibe) but when I heard them live they were fully into it and seeing them play sort of made more sense and I want to dig into some of their own recommendations the song Madame Psychosis from the album For None and All was perfectly executed, either you get it or not.
UPDATE: I'm listening to For None and All right now and it rips, not too magical at all, fuckin' Whipping Sigils, The Sickness Unto Death (wow), the Veil. Glad I went there!
If you get a chance to see Green Lung, go! It's absolutely worth seeing them live, they've got their act dialed in and it's a great show. For those who wonder where to start I would recommend This Heathen Land and if that's too refined for you check out their early EP Free the witch. They didn't play any song from this and I wonder why because they're all good. Links to some stuff below.
The Spotify playlist (2ndhandspin - Green Lung / Spell (with bonus Spirit Adrift tracks)
Overkill review of This Heathen Land
Green Lung Maxine (Witch Queen Video)
-that keyboard hook is an ear pleaser!
And some merch
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