It goes without saying that the modern climate of everything doom is the best it’s ever been as we have acts new and old continuously providing us the kind of stuff that constantly makes us salivate as fans of the genre. After going a couple of months since the most recent Greenleaf album, I felt today that it was time I dove back into the hazy scene to find something that really gripped me right off the bat and just kept on delivering. Little did I know the answer would come from my home state and less than an hour away in the form of Black Lung and their simply impeccable new album.

I’ve noticed over the last few years that if there are any constants in the stoner/doom world it’s that there’s weed influence everywhere whether you like it or not, tons of riffs that we simply can’t get enough of, and, of course, Black Sabbath worship is at every turn in some form. And while I honestly couldn’t tell you if there’s a massive influence from the likes of weed in the new Black Lung, it’s easy to hear the sick riffage and the worship going on within the confines of “Ancients”, but unlike some acts that make that the main appeal, Black Lung makes that the very first step in order to create a listen that instantly becomes so much more. These Baltimore rockers have made their stake in the constantly expanded world of stoner and doom with “Ancients” being the exact display of devious riffage, tantalizing musicianship that keeps you around for more and more, and a little, tasteful amount of psychedelia carefully draped over every moment to make this record fantastically engaging as well as fulfilling for the listener. Black Lung doesn’t allow their music to stay in one place as although their core sound stays relatively unchanged for the majority of the record, there’s plenty of exploration and diversity amongst the nine tracks of “Ancients” to make it a totally scrumptious listen that can’t simply be stopped. It truly feels like something that must be heard all the way through so you can hear all the blissful meanderings of the strings, the classic textures of the vocals in all of their glorious peaks and valleys, and drums whose beats could keep me listening for fucking days.

In every form, Black Lung is a classic doom band tailor-made for modern times. You can easily pick out all of the classic elements that are on full display in their style, but everything feels immensely fresh, stunning in its tenacity, and satisfying beyond belief. “Ancients” is one of those delightful records dripping in psychedelia that simply can’t be skipped over, and the name of Black Lung should be one that becomes all but infectious in the community come release day when this thick slab of excellence falls upon us all.

“Ancients” releases on March 8th via Ripple Music!

LISTEN to an advanced track from “Ancients” via YouTube below or here.

LIKE Black Lung on Facebook here.