While perhaps not as mind-blowingly good as 2021's Black Harvest, the Nuclear Blast debut from UK doom/stoner metal act Green Lung, titled This Heathen Land is a hell of a good time in a sort of Black Sabbath-meets-Ghost-meets-Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats way. It's not quite as doom-laden as their previous two releases, it's more keyboardy and upbeat (check out the very energetic and fun Ghost-like "Maxine"), but that doesn't necessarily factor in as a negative. "The Forest Church" and "Mountain Throne" still crank up the riff factor to 10, though the addition of a heftier organ/keyboard presence adds a nice Deep Purple/Uriah Heep flair, and the engaging vocals on "One for Sorrow" keep that one from being a one-note doomy dirge. Elsewhere, "Song of the Stones" kind of meanders and doesn't have all that much to do save for some tribal drumming and creepy chanting, but "The Ancient Ways" and "Hunters In the Sky" are both groovy, bottom-heavy mashers that remind of what we loved about this band to begin with. Closure "Oceans of Time" again looks to take the Ghost route, a mix of hard rock, prog, and pop, with soaring melodic vocals, tasty lead guitars, and loads of keyboards.
Initially, I was quite disappointed with This Heathen Land, but after a few months with this third opus now under my belt, I've opened up quite a bit to the different things the band is doing here. Your mileage may vary one way or another, but there's no doubt with Nuclear Blast backing them and a more accessible sound, the future remains quite bright for Green Lung.
Track Listing
1.
Prologue 00:55
2.
The Forest Church 05:10
3.
Mountain Throne 04:24
4.
Maxine (Witch Queen) 03:18
5.
One for Sorrow 06:34
6.
Song of the Stones 04:45
7.
The Ancient Ways 05:33
8.
Hunters in the Sky 04:47
9.
Oceans of Time 06:53
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