Review Summary: A full-formed vision of blues-doom
Not to be confused with Green Lung (though they should both probably get that looked at), Purple Lung’s first full-length album hits a bluesy doom sweet spot. Comparisons could be made to groups like Witch Mountain, King Witch, and Holy Grove as rolling swing rhythms are bolstered by fuzz guitar and howling vocals. With the group having given a strong preview of the template on the Ritual Magick EP in 2024, they’re no doubt happy to expand it even further with Mystic Vision.
As the sound of an unsheathed sword opens the fittingly titled “Blademaster,” the band puts an incredibly crushing step forward. The guitars and bass come together for a crunchy, bottom-heavy set of riffs that go splendidly with the drums keeping a low to the ground approach while providing a couple busy flourishes. This is topped off by the vocals going all-in at the get-go with charismatic wails that make the atmosphere even more ominous. “Annihilation of Time” and “Digging Up Snakes” sustain that momentum with pushes into faster tempos and even harder hitting beats while “Watchful Eye” has just enough of an off-kilter slant to its upbeat blues shuffle.
That atmosphere gets even more breathing space over the course of the album. I sure can’t argue with how badass the slinky bass crawl and swirling vocal layers on “Beware The Bog Witch” get to be and the somewhat jumbled choruses are rectified by the closing speedy chug. Elsewhere, the title track dips into trippy folk with eastern acoustic patterns and percussion, the thundering proclamations on “Swallowed By The Sea” abruptly descend into murky doom that “Desethos, The Starved” mutates into another grimy swing, and “Dreamwalker’s Lament” puts forth piano, flute, delicate acoustics, and gentle echoes for a pleasantly contrasting comedown.
True to title, Purple Lung seems to know exactly what they’re going for with Mystic Vision. This sort of blues-doom is no doubt familiar but the musicianship comes with the sort of pulverizing prowess that keeps the formula from feeling generic. It also helps that the songwriting is incredibly tight while exploring different aspects of the style. It’ll be interesting to see where the band could go from here but by the look of things here, they’ve already got fantastic tools to work with.
