Tragic folklore and infamous superstitions penetrate every corner of the globe and have plagued every culture for millennia. Eerie tales of undead scarecrows, scorned witches, Nordic flames, and unquiet graveyards, have outlived their origins, lost to the years they emerged from. London based five-piece Green Lung however, have utilised their farmland and countryside upbringings to spout and retell the hair-raising and spine-chilling legends just in time for Hallow’s Eve with their full-length sophomore album, Black Harvest.
Setting the tone for the next 40 minutes, album opener ‘The Harrowing’ could not have been more aptly titled. The doomed fable begins with whisperings of Black Sabbath’s ‘Black Sabbath’, the panic-stricken song wailing it’s warning. Scott Black’s guitars twist and turn like poison ivy asphyxiating its prey, as Matt Wiseman’s drums and Joseph Ghast’s bass lines kick in for the final hysteria.
With the swing of Wolf Mother and the melodies of Deep Purple, ‘Old Gods’ explores the religions of what came before Christianity, as “We stand on heathen land” conjures images of Nordic runes and ritualistic sacrifice. Guitar riffs and John Wright’s keyboard licks dance together to create an air of ancient prog.
Picture this if you will: Myths of cornfields that stretch for miles upon miles, the grains sweeping against one another in the light autumnal breeze, constantly making you question if you’re not alone in the engulfing foliage. ‘Reaper’s Scythe’ speeds up as a gangly curved blade glints under the sunlight from the corner of your eye, realising only too late that the deathly figure advancing towards you wields the piercing weapon.
As the first ballad on the record, ‘Graveyard Sun’ is more akin to a slow and reflective montage in Lord of the Rings. Taking inspiration from London’s Magnificent Seven, the track recounts the 1970s legend of the Highgate Vampire and its quest for the succulent blood of the “Autumn girl, laying beneath the trees.// Auburn hair, the colour of the leaves.”
Title track ‘Black Harvest’ doesn’t mess around. At 2 minutes and 40 seconds, the instrumental tune makes its presence well known without having to utter a single word. A thick sound and clean production values on ‘Upon the Alter’, ‘Doomsayer’ and ‘You Bear The Mark’, have every note full-throttle head-butting with one single nose-bleeding swing.
Photo Credit: Andy Ford
With no mid-tempo songs to take the record on a buoyant journey, – it’s either needle in the red or the fleeting ballad, – ‘Born to a Dying World’ leaves you feeling like a husk of your former self as the roaring fire diminishes to dwindling embers before totally extinguishing. The organ offers an air of cultish gospel, the last hurrah echoing “Born to a dying world, where the rivers run dry.//Born to a dying world, where the oceans will rise,” and plunges into darkness leaving nothing but the biting cold and deafening silence.
Green Lung set their place in stone, wearing their influences and upbringing as battle-scarred armour. Black Harvest proves itself to be the record that’ll seal the doom outfit’s fate, solidifying even more high profile spots on well-known festival bills up and down the country.