Biography

Despite the setbacks and ripples of doubt across the whole of the music industry in 2020 and 2021, Black Lung has pushed forward with a new lineup and quietly stayed hard at work on their fourth album. There is no question that Dark Waves, Black Lung’s newest release via Heavy Psych Sounds Records, was conceived in hostile times. Songs like ‘The Cog’ and ‘Mad King’ lament the weaponized ignorance of the propagandized American citizen, while ‘Awaken’ and ‘The Path’ muse on escapism and the false protection of dreams. On the title track, ‘Dark Waves’, the band channels this mood of bitterness through their instruments, as a meditative bridge is slowly transformed into a foreboding swell centered around hypnotic guitar melodies. Despite the apparent darkness, Dark Waves is not a cold or desolate sounding record. The band leaps forward from their previous releases with warmer, brighter sound crafting and more audacious songwriting. While in some ways Dark Waves offers a departure from prior Black Lung records, the band stays true to their roots in doom and psychedelic music, delivering eight songs packed with the frenzied, fuzzed-out guitar breakdowns, booming drums, and soulful vocals that longtime fans will appreciate. The decision to bring bass guitar prominently into the mix on Dark Waves adds new levels of depth and heaviness to Black Lung’s songs, which may be the album’s most notable and exciting development.