John Wright's organ still comes out to play when necessary - but Necropolitan is a heavier album overall, with much less of that Deep Purple and Uriah Heep influence that I enjoyed so much about the last album. The bluesy, stoner vibe is back here in a much bigger way, then, even if the album somewhat tries to fuse the sounds of the last two albums - which is largely a success on its own terms. Like the previous one, this album is pretty short - at just over 40 minutes. It kicks off with the short Open the Hellmouth, a classic intro piece with swirling atmospherics, haunting, chanted-type vocals, and sombre percussion. There is something quite tribal and cult-like about the piece, which was likely the intention, but there is none of the band's usual heaviness - instead they here create a dense and spooky mood, before segueing into the first song proper Dance to the Grave. A huge guitar riff from Scott Black opens the song, and there is a powerful, mid-paced groove settled on from the off - whilst Matt Wiseman's drumming is suitably organic. Overall, I like the sound of the album - save for the organ not being as present as I would have liked. Produced by Tom Dalgety, who has worked with bands like Opeth and Ghost, as well as Green Lung previously, the band sound pretty massive here - but there are times I think that frontman Tom Templar's voice is a bit low in the mix. That can often be the cases during the verses in this song - at least when the full band is rocking out. Parts of the verses are much more percussive, with the vocals largely alone with Wiseman's percussive and building drums - but Templar can be a bit buried at times, which is a shame. He powers through the mix a bit more during the chorus, which has a catchy, swinging beat and some infectious vocal hooks. The hooks I liked from the previous album are not totally absent here, and my intro paragraph to this review may give the impression that I like this album less than I actually do, as this chorus is one that does stick in the brain - whilst a bluesy guitar solo and a spooky synth solo follow later on to add some instrumental interest. The mix of heavy riffing, dynamic verses with less heaviness in places, a hooky chorus, and a fairly progressive-sounding instrumental section means that the song ticks a lot of boxes. The next two songs are probably the hookiest efforts on the album, with both likely to go down well live. Black Magick Radio picks up the pace, with a juddering main riff and hard-driving drum pattern creating a headbanging opening - before Joseph Ghast's bass playing steps more into the spotlight for the verses. The guitars remain in a more atmospheric quality, whilst the bass drives the verses - whilst Templar's vocals are full of purpose. He often has a haunting, storytelling quality to his vocal delivery, and that is on show here - almost delivering a ghost story as the bass rumbles beneath him. Strange synth melodies add an atmospheric backing, whilst the band crashes back in in a big way for the chorus - which does actually see the organ sounding pretty mighty. Those Deep Purple and Uriah Heep vibes are back here, then, with heavier riffing - whilst the chorus vocal hooks are pretty infectious. Harmony guitar lines and slower, doomier riffing kick in later on, creating a pretty tight bridge section towards the end - which really contrasts nicely with the faster chorus when it kicks back in to close the song out with.
Perhaps my favourite song here, though, is the urgent and hard rocking Necropolitan Line. The Deep Purple vibes are back in a big way here, with Wright's organ one of the song's main driving forces. A big drum roll kicks things off, before the fast-paced song barrels away into the distance. Templar starts to sing immediately, with the verses feeling like a train careering off the tracks - with ever-present rumbling organ and chugging guitar riffing perfectly meshing Deep Purple and Black Sabbath together. Brief bass breaks and sections that see the organ play some melodies on its own break up the pace - but overall this is a song that throws doom away and instead just focuses on old-school heavy metal pace. There is a really infectious energy throughout the song, whilst the stop-start grooves of the chorus make it another that really sticks in the brain. The guitar and organ solo section is easily the band's biggest tribute to Deep Purple yet, too, with neo-classical melodies and a structure that is similar to the interplay solos of Highway Star and Burn. Some might find this solo section a bit on the nose, but I love it - and, for me, songs like this, with an organ-drenched approach, are where Green Lung truly excel. The album's lead single Evil in This House follows, and the song slows things back down to something more akin to a plodding, doomy, mid-pace. The main riff here is one of the most overt Black Sabbath-esque moments on the album, but there is enough of an organ backing to ensure that the band's core organic feel remains. Whilst I would have preferred a bigger organ presence, the song still impressed from the off and remains a favourite now. The chorus hits really hard thanks to the main riff reprising throughout - whilst Templar sounds creepy and powerful during the lumbering verses, which again see the bass take on quite a prominent role. Subtle guitar leads also add some additional depth during the chorus - whilst the instrumental sections are a bit more atmospheric and stoner-coded this time, moving away from the virtuoso, neo-classical approach of the previous song. Spacey, bluesy soloing is generally the order of the day this time - even if the guitar solo does end with a pretty shredded crescendo. Together in Death opens with some acoustic guitar melodies and distant piano - over which Templar soon starts to sing in a deeper manner than is typical for him. He generally sings in a higher, more nasal, register - whereas his performance here, especially early on, feels more throaty. In truth, I am not sure that Templar has a voice to really suit ballads. I really like his approach when the band rocks out, but there is little emotion in his delivery - which ballads tend to require. Despite the song being on the creepy side, which does ramp up in places, I would still call the song a ballad - at least in part. The vocals for me feel at odds with the music at times here - but when the band crash back in later on something more typical is returned to and a more pleasing balance is struck. The second part of the song is certainly much heavier, with denser riffing - even if the slower pace remains. It never feels like an out-and-out rocker, with the opening acoustic guitar patterns often returned to, whilst the guitar solo is a bit more emotive - and not backed by anything especially heavy. Despite this, though, I find the song to be one of the weaker efforts on the album - mainly as I do not feel that songs like this suit Templar's voice.
The final three songs here feel a little more on the progressive side. Ozymandias is a bit of a standout moment for me, and it helps that the organ feels quite a bit more prominent here. It dominates during the early instrumental opening, with juddering stabs sitting nicely in between guitar chords - whilst it is just higher in the mix more generally throughout. It backs the later hooky chorus nicely - whilst a melodic guitar lead often doubles the vocal melodies, making the chorus one of the album's stronger efforts. There are parts of the song which are more stripped back, with lone guitar riffing against an boomy drum beat during parts of the verses - but when the organ kicks in during parts of the verses and the chorus the song seems to really come alive. It is a song that does a bit of everything that Green Lung do well - and given that Templar perhaps did not come out of the previous song that well, he really knocks it out of the park this time with true power and a snarling tone. There is a fun, psychedelic instrumental section later on, too, which starts with the band dropping away and some synths filling the gap - before an organ build up soon gives way to one of the album's most soaring guitar solos. A new riff or melody is never too far away in this song, which means that repeated listens tend to bring the best out of it. Alostrael (Be My Babalon) opens with some busy bass playing, and spoken word by Riley Pinkerton (Castle Rat), creating a stoner vibe early on - but soon another Black Sabbath-esque riff kicks in, and the song moves along at a steady mid-pace with plenty of headbanging grooves. Twin guitar harmonies and a swing to the drumming really helps the song to click, but I really wish the organ was higher in the mix. There are moments when it really roars, but there are moments when you can hear it doing something really interesting if you really listen hard. It should be up front in the mix loud and proud, and this does let the song down a little for me - even if the unison guitar and organ soloing later on is excellent. It probably feels like I am nit-picking sometimes, but I really feel that the album would have been improved with Wright being higher in the mix pretty much all of the time. That said, though, the song is still hooky - with a pretty poppy chorus thanks to the harmony guitar melodies, as well as some fun bass interludes. The album then comes to a close with To the Gallows Born, a song that feels a bit more experimental overall. It opens with some distant vocals, again laying down a spooky vibe, before some prominent bass playing and a fairly snappy clean guitar melody kicks things off proper. Despite some slower moments and the cleaner guitar approach in places, the song does not really feel like a ballad. Templar's voice works better against this slower backing than it did during Together in Death, whilst mellotron and other atmospheric synths often fill in the gaps between the clean guitars and bass playing. As the chorus is approached, there is a bit more of a heavier sound established - with heavier guitars and organ returning. The band's core sound feels strong during these sections, but it does actually sit quite nicely against the cleaner, more psychedelic sounds of the rest of the song. This is a piece that largely feels quite different for the band overall, but there is still enough of that core sound to keep fans on board. The 1960s vibes are certainly fun, with the heaviness coming in later to drive the album to a close. Whilst I may have given the impression that I was disappointed with this album, I still like quite a bit - and even listening to it again to write this review my opinion has improved. I just wish the organ dominance of the previous album was applied here, as many of the songs would have been boosted by more organ in my view. That said, though, at least half of the album is great - and there is only one song here that does not really do it for me in any way. Green Lung continue to be a success - and this album is only likely to further that aim.
The album was released on 11th September 2026 via Nuclear Blast Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Necropolitan Line.
