Baltimore's prolific heavy rock foursome BLACK LUNG premiere their new single and video "Death Grip" (featuring Shawna Potter of War On Women) courtesy of The Heavy Chronicles. Their fourth album "Dark Waves" will be released on May 27th on Heavy Psych Sounds.
About the video: "Death Grip is a critique of the funeral industry and those who profit off grief and death. It's not a secret that funeral homes often take advantage of people at their most vulnerable, charging exorbitant prices for caskets and services. We decided to invite our good friend Shawna Potter (the frontwoman of War On Women and a champion of progressive values) to write and sing the chorus, as well as star in the video. My vision for the music video was a 70s-style occult horror, equal parts creepy and campy, and I'm pretty proud of what we pulled off with a shoestring budget. We see our antagonist, "The Death Capitalist", relishing in his wicked business, until Shawna's character, "The Witch of Justice", kidnaps him. She takes him to her lair, where her acolytes (the band) mete out his punishment: torture by the power of rock n' roll. It was a ton of fun to create and Jordan Miller (cinematographer/Gypsy Cab Productions) really helped us achieve our vision with his expertise in horror filmmaking."
The new album "Dark Waves" is not a cold or desolate sounding record despite its apparent darkness. BLACK LUNG leaps forward from their previous releases with a warmer and brighter sound, and more audacious songwriting. There are passages with a tangible sense of jubilation and excitement, and there is no doubt its stomping grooves, spine-shivering solos and an acute sense of majesty topped with Dave Cavalier's signature coloratura will take you to higher skies in no time. "Dark Waves" marks the arrival of bass player Mac Hewitt (ex-The Flying Eyes) in the band. It was produced by J. Robbins and mixed by Kurt Ballou (member of Converge and Grammy-winning producer for High On Fire). Watch the debut video "Hollow Dreams" at this location.
In the winter of 2014, the trio of Adam Bufano, Elias Schutzman (both founding members of The Flying Eyes) and multi-instrumentalist Dave Cavalier emerged from Baltimore as BLACK LUNG. The band quickly set themselves apart in the crowded field of psych-doom and heavy-blues bands by eschewing a bass guitarist, instead of finding the backbone of their sound in the interchange of fuzzed-drenched guitars, deep driving drum beats, and Cavalier’s raw, blues-tinged vocals. Following the release of their self-titled debut in 2014, Black Lung was named "Best New Band" by the Baltimore City Paper and embarked on their first European tour. The tour was capped with a performance at the Rockpalast Crossroads Festival, broadcast on German national television.
In 2016, BLACK LUNG released their sophomore album "See The Enemy" on Noisolution Records. Produced by J. Robbins, guitarist and frontman for post-punk icon Jawbox (and producer for The Sword and Clutch), See The Enemy saw the band building on the strengths of their debut while at times pushing into garage-psych territory in the vein of The Black Keys and Jack White. They followed the release with a headlining European tour, notably appearing at Freak Valley Festival and Desertfest Belgium alongside bands like Graveyard, Dead Meadow and All Them Witches.
After several more years of touring and songwriting, BLACK LUNG returned with "Ancients" in 2019. Produced by Frank Marchand (producer for The Obsessed), it found the band taking even more adventurous departures from doom and psych-rock tropes. The album was followed by another successful release tour in the EU and in late 2019, guitarist Adam Bufano amicably departed the band. Shortly thereafter, guitarist Dave Fullerton (member of the post-rock trio Deaf Scene) joined the fold only to find the world turned upside down by Covid-19. Despite the setbacks and ripples of doubt across the whole of the music industry in 2020 and 2021, BLACK LUNG pushed forward with their new lineup and quietly stayed hard at work on their fourth album.
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 their songs, which may be the album’s most notable and exciting development. For them, making it through these dark times meant reflecting on the past while pushing forward without knowing what the future may hold. The result is a record that sees BLACK LUNG rising to new sonic heights. "Dark Waves is set for global release through Heavy Psych Sounds Records May 27th, 2022.
BLACK LUNG is
Dave Cavalier - Guitar & Vocals
Elias Schutzman - Drums
Dave Fullerton - Guitar
Mac Hewitt - Bass
BLACK LUNG links
Facebook⎪Bandcamp | Instagram | Spotify
HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS links
Website⎜Facebook⎜Bandcamp⎜Instagram⎜Youtube
