It’s strange how listening to music about chiming death bells, graveyard dangers, devilish guidance, and warnings upon doom, sometimes can shake up the spirit to feel more present and alive. That is kind of what happens here with Green Lung’s gathering.
Every musical element is ringing you into the darkness, tempo shifts and peculiar details added to the tracks holds the attention caught, and distinctive vocals immediately lures you along, before the lyrics takes you for a wicked journey to a more ruinous time and place. Their latest release Black Harvest from 2021 and debut Woodland Rites from 2019 are nothing less than two cohesive masterpiece albums from this exciting UK/Hell-based band to check out, in my opinion.
Being a listener that is not settled in one or few specific musical genres, but more something in the likes of a passenger taking a ride along to the various subgenres of rock and metal from time to time, I am always curious for what I am going to find there. Green Lung have been mentioned as to be moving in the heavy metal/doom metal/psychedelic rock/occult rock areas, and spot on caught my attention within these genres.
Spillestedet Stengade is celebrating it´s 50-year anniversary as a venue now, and they are specializing in bringing some quality underground rock and metal bands to the Danish capital. Top points are definitely going towards this place for booking Green Lung´s first show in the country at this particular venue. Once finding the place, it was cool to see it still bringing some of that great dive bar and classic `72 venue feel. The very, very, very low-lit venue around the corner from the entrance seemed to be arranged as a challenge to bring down cockiness and boredom in any slightly confident music photographer coming in that night, and point might taken, and challenge maybe also accepted then, but hey, I do get that this was well chosen darker settings to match the heavy echoes of the venue.
First off on the concert eve were Bogwife from Denmark for the event and touring partners King Witch from Scotland set as support. Both bands introduced their music with some quality material, strong presence and charismatic members. Served as a perfect start to complete the show.
As it was time for Green Lung to step in, they simply delivered all and an absolute bloody top presentation of their albums and abilities as a band. Matt Wiseman on drums and guest bass player Arthur O’Hara provided a solid rhythm foundation from the middle of the stage. Scott Black standing rather calmly on the right side of the stage proved himself to be a quite interesting grand master on guitar in between constant waves of beautiful melodies and fierce riffs. Organs also seems to be a noticeable part of Green Lung´s sound, and John Wright on the left side of the stage refreshingly provided organ/keys with the most catching feel and energy I´ve yet seen, while vocalist Tom Templar joyfully shared the deep spirit of the band with several symbolic gestures and ever going movements in sync with the lyrics, all presented with a strong live vocal front. What a group!
Some thoughts that couldn’t help, but to cripple in several times before the show, was a major worry that the live sound would be far from well put together as the recorded album sound, or that the band simply would be a lot less interesting to go watch live than perhaps hoped for, as I had not heard much about this band´s performances prior on. Had to put on the hope for the best, prepared for anything else, sort of mindset and try not to lose some high set respect for their records. Putting these doubts to grave shame though, then Green Lung certainly rocked the stage in every aspect from music to charisma. The concert eve was in fact memorably epic for all the right reasons.
The sold-out venue was eventually heating up to a boiling point, both in temperature and excitement from the crowd during the concert. Flickering hair, a mosh-pit circle in the front, and cheering raws from a spellbound looking audience.
Have a further look on what went down in the up-close photos we managed to capture during the show. Covering this event here has without doubt been a chance to cover one of the more gripping bands to take a spot in the current and future metal scene.
GREEN LUNG
BOGWIFE
KING WITCH
Photos + Review by Jules Faur | Exclusively for Music, Why Not!