Three years after This Heathen Land, Green Lung leave Albion’s haunted countryside for the back alleys of London. Necropolitan, the Englishmen’s fourth album, released September 11 on Nuclear Blast, swaps rural folklore for big-city frights: nine tracks, forty minutes, organ-soaked occult doom and choruses built for festival fields.
What the press says
The consensus is emphatic: 90/100 on AlbumOfTheYear across four reviews. Kerrang! (Nick Ruskell) hands out a perfect score, « The Devil comes to town », and Metal Hammer (90) hails « yet another resounding success for Britain’s hottest doom metal band ». Distorted Sound (Phil Cooper, 90) goes as far as calling it « their quintessential album », while the famously strict Angry Metal Guy (80) praises the « exquisite » guitar-and-keys interplay and choruses that land every time.
The public, a notch behind
Listeners sit at 75/100 from 185 ratings on AOTY at the time of writing. The gap likely comes down to the most melodic, immediate turn the band have ever taken: fewer massive riffs, more instant hooks. Doom purists lose a little heft; everyone else gains a record that plays front to back in one sitting.
Verdict
Green Lung are becoming Europe’s defining occult heavy band of their generation, and Necropolitan is their most accomplished record yet. If you love Uncle Acid, early Ghost or Sabbath at their most melodic, dive in. Purkas consensus: 9/10.
Sources: AlbumOfTheYear (critics 90/100 across 4 reviews, users 75/100), Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, Distorted Sound, Angry Metal Guy.
