INTERVIEW: Scott Black – Green Lung

It might seem like GREEN LUNG got their handle from a stoner metal band name generator, but their music is anything but cookie cutter – drawing inspiration as readily from the soaring melodies QUEEN and dizzying prog of KING CRIMSON as much as the towering riffs of BLACK SABBATH. With debut full length Woodland Rites poised to shoot up into the scene like spring growth, we took time to chat to Scott Black prior to the record’s release to talk all about the record, their influences, and having a ‘shit old car’.

So your debut Woodland Rites is nearly here – how does it feel to have completed a full length release? Can you talk us through some of the themes and inspirations behind the record?

Scott: It feels great! We’re so excited to be releasing our first full length record, especially through a label like Kozmik, who have put out records by so many brilliant bands over the years, from RUBY THE HATCHET to CHURCH OF THE COSMIC SKULL.

Thematically, the record is heavily inspired by British folk horror films and books. Films like Blood on Satan’s Claw and The Wicker Man and books like Jim Crace’s Harvest are so effective at capturing a sense of something sinister lurking in the English countryside, and that is what we’ve tried to evoke in the imagery and lyrics of this record. The whole atmosphere harks back to the beginnings of heavy metal – that time when bands like BLACK SABBATH and BLACK WIDOW were pushing psychedelic rock into darker territory. It’s our favourite era in British music.

Do you see it as a natural progression from your EP and demo releases, or is it a different beast entirely?

Scott: The album is a bit of a departure from the previous releases. It is much more melodic and bombastic than what we’ve done before. We all listen to a lot of mainstream classic rock from the early 70s, stuff like QUEEN, DEEP PURPLE and FOCUS as much as the more obscure proto-metal and psych, and while we flirted with that era on previous releases, we have really embraced it on this record. Our producer, Wayne Adams of Bear Bites Horse Studios, joked that while there’s been ‘SABBATH worship’ heavy psych bands before, we’re the first ‘QUEEN worship’ heavy psych band, which I think is probably quite apt!

As the album’s called Woodland Rites – what’s the best time you’ve ever had in some woodland?

Scott: All the members of GREEN LUNG grew up in rural areas, so most of our formative experiences have been out in the woods! Years ago, as part of a school trip, a couple of mates and I were supposed to do an over-night trek across the Devonshire moors. Instead of doing the trek, we decided to just wander  away from the designated pick-up point and pound down several litres of cheap supermarket cider. Shuffling on to that school bus the next morning, covered in vomit, piss and cider in front of our whole year group is still one of my top five worst hangovers!

Did you find writing the album was a different/more daunting prospect to writing a shorter release, or did you just naturally collect material?

Scott: The most daunting thing about the album was trying to write more cohesive, succinct songs that would work together and flow well. We wanted to make an album that felt like a classic vinyl era record, with distinct sides and a sense of musical progression. I’m a big hardcore fan and love bands like BAD BRAINS and OFF! One thing I love about those bands is how lean the songs are – every part of every song has a point and there’s nothing unnecessary in them. While we sound nothing like those bands, we tried to approach song writing with a similar sort of utilitarian mentality, which is kind of the opposite to the stereotypical psych band way of putting things together through jamming and improvisation.

If you had to describe the album in one word or short phrase, what would you use?

Scott: Summerisle Blues.

Which song would you say is the album’s ‘killer track’ that would ensnare the first time listener for sure? Why this track?

Scott: Let The Devil In is probably my favourite track. The chorus was written after listening to a lot of KING CRIMSON and the 70s prog rock vibes really shine through. It also has this harmonised “ooooh” backing vocal in the chorus which sounds like something Diana Ross would do – I’m a sucker for a Motown style backing vocal!

You’ve got some sax on the record (courtesy of Joe Murgatroyd) – do you think this is a risky move, combining sax and stoner, or is it something you’ve always loved and wanted to try out?

Scott: We didn’t really think about any of that to be honest. We just thought that an instrumental break needed something a little more fruity, so we plonked a righteous sax solo in it! When some people think of the sax they often think of a Careless Whisper or Kenny G, but one listen to a guy like jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington can show just how crazy and heavy the sax can be. Joe’s an extraordinary musician, and although he’s a jazz musician he knows his post-hardcore and metal too, so he totally nailed the kind of hairy, cacophonous solo we wanted!

You recorded the album with Wayne Adams at Bear Bites Horse – what drove you to work with him?

Scott: We recorded our first EP with Wayne after hearing what he’d done with GNOB and DERELICS, two of our favourite psych rock bands. With the amount of vocal harmonies and melodic elements in the album, it would be easy for us to misstep and end up sounding like ABBA. Wayne works with a lot of DIY noise-punk bands, so he was great for adding a bit of grit and grime to the record.

You’ve released the album on a limited run cassette tape – why did you pick tape as a format? Do you have any personal nostalgia for the good old days of cassettes?

Scott: We were approached by a label called Deckhead Records, who do small DIY tape runs out of America and thought “why not?” To be honest, I didn’t think anyone would buy cassettes, but all the runs we’ve done so far have sold out immediately – so some people evidently still buy them! I think the appeal of cassettes is that it’s a nice physical memento of a band, but isn’t expensive like a vinyl or t shirt. Or maybe it’s just that loads of people, like me, have shit old cars that only have tape decks…

For those who might not be in the know, how did you conjure your moniker? Is it as simple as ‘colour of weed + lung’ or was it inspired by something else?

Scott: Weirdly enough no one’s asked us this one before – I think everyone just assumes it’s a generic stoner rock name. According to Google, “a green lung is an area of natural parkland within an urban region, supposed to replenish the air with oxygen”. The first bunch of songs we wrote were all very woodsy but we were all living in the urban sprawl of South London, so the name seemed appropriate. There are a few other connotations we liked – it’s got that heavy, psychedelic BLUE CHEER vibe, it’s got the same number of letters as BLACK FLAG, and both words feature in song titles from TYPE OF NEGATIVE‘s World Coming Down, one of our favourite albums. But yeah, the “danker” connotations of the name also obviously lure in the stoners.

Stoner is a very popular sub-genre right now. Do you feel any pressure to differentiate yourself from your peers, or do you do what you do without thinking about sounding ‘different’?

Scott: I think both slavishly sticking to a formula and deliberately trying to blend genres, just for the sake of it, can be an impediment to writing good music. While there are not many stoner or doom bands doing NWOBHM style dual guitars, or nine-part vocal harmonies, none of that was deliberate or meant to differentiate us. It’s just where our influences naturally lead us.

What’s next for GREEN LUNG? Are you out on the road in support of the album? Any plans for any follow up material as yet?

We have a bunch of dates coming up this year. In April we’re on tour with PUPPY, who are a killer alt-rock/metal band. They sound like Siamese Dream–era SMASHING PUMPKINS, if Billy Corgan had spent his formative years locked in a basement with only early MEGADETH to listen to. I adore them. We’re also doing our album launch show at The Black Heart on May 22nd with DEATHBELL and JUNIPER GRAVE, two fantastic doom bands who’ll be making their London debuts at the show. In June we’re teaming up with DEATHBELL again to do a short mini tour in Europe, and on September 29th we’ll also be appearing at the HRH Doom Festival at the O2 Academy in Sheffield with MONOLORD and ORANGE GOBLIN.

Woodland Rites is out now via Kozmik Artifactz. 

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