‘Often, you’re not sure why a tried-and-tested formula can be so enchanting, but Green Lung are an exception,’ said Scream Blast Repeat of their 2023 LP, This Heathen Land. You might think they’ll acknowledge music beyond the 1970s on their fourth album, but you’d be mistaken. Somehow, it’s not disastrous even if things are a bit too predictable.
Green Lung are good at what they do. The hypnotic ritual chant of ‘Open the Hellmouth’ leads into the thick pentatonic riffing of ‘Dance to the Grave’ with perfect poise. “Technology is the new opium / They promised us freedom but gave us feudalism,” sings Tom Templar in a tone that takes Ozzy Osbourne’s voice and makes it even more rigid in its up and down repetition. Take out John Wright’s organ, and this could be a Black Sabbath track from Master of Reality. It’d be easy to dismiss if it had no listening value.
There are two problems with this album: a lack of originality and an ignorance of any music post-1975. But one other thing haunts the conscience of the listener, and that’s how good this music is on many levels. Listen to the Orange Goblin-style thump of ‘Black Magick Radio’ and follow the words. It’s easy to be absorbed into the occult rock. Guitars fight with the bass in sinister glee for supremacy in the mix. One moment, the former drop out, leaving the four-string to provide the low-end growl; on other occasions, the lead axemen trade off like Judas Priest before all instruments come together in full doom metal mode. This is where the organ makes its presence known to add an extra layer of paranoid regret.
Yet it’s not always about the slow-to-middle tempos. ‘Necropolitan Line’ reminds us once again what fast music was like before the advent of punk, which sounds anachronistic but also thrilling here. The heroic guitar harmonies and multiple drum fills are extravagant enough to win them a higher spot on the festival circuit next year. Penultimate track, ‘Alostrael (Be My Babalon)’, does the same, and should lead to similar success.
Like Airbourne (AC/DC rip-off) and Van der Graaf Generator (Led Zeppelin clones), Green Lung are an easy act to criticise. Write music as enjoyable as this, make your way up the festival bills, and you’ll encounter critics ready to take you down. Why? Because people dislike it when a Black Sabbath clone takes the plaudits and the gong for the “future of metal.” One part of this hyperbole does make sense: is this the best the genre can do if this is one of the leading lights in 2026? Another factor is that no band should have the right to produce riffs as colossal as ‘Evil in This House’ and then pull back from the abyss with an opening of melodic light in the chorus.
It’s almost as if the London group can hear these concerns on ‘Together in Death’, which relegates the distorted guitars to the second half and places great emphasis on an occult singalong to scare the neighbours. ‘Ozymandias’ is far from a Black Sabbath pastiche. The organ shrouds the animated tempo and power chord frenzy in style and almost succeeds in referencing the 1980s era of Queensrÿche. Does that make them a progressive band? No, nor is this simple doom metal. The pomp of traditional heavy metal is the mood here, and the only thing missing is the high-octave vocals to match it, although Tom Templar reaches a falsetto range near the end.
Necropolitan doesn’t quite match the charm of its predecessor, but it’ll make for a good live show when they roll into town. Will it stand the test of time? That’s a superfluous question for a band already living in the glorious past.
Kirk Houghton
Verdict
Release Date: 11/09/2026
Record Label: Nuclear Blast
Standout tracks: Black Magick Radio, Evil in This House, Ozymandias
Suggested Further Listening: Black Sabbath – Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973), Dread Sovereign – Alchemical Warfare (2021), Hail Darkness – Death Divine (2024)