Released by: Heavy Psych Sounds
Release Date: 14.02.25
Running Time: 35:05
Score: 7/10
Once more unto the breach, dear friends.
You’ll no doubt be pleased to note that I am struggling to find anything witty or urbane to say today. Not that I do generally, but today my muse appears to be eluding me, and I can’t think of anything interesting or fun that I have done recently. Or Mrs Dark Juan for that matter. The most exciting thing that is currently happening in Crow Cottage is my thinking that I might go and make myself a cheese and piccalilli sandwich and a cup of tea.
These moments of quiet and almost tranquillity among the high-level stress and constant attempts to be useful are a bit weird. Normally, I am fighting all kinds of shit from money worries to young people being missing from care to making sure people are doing their sodding jobs properly. Being in this frame of mind where I suddenly stop, and do nothing, is pretty fucking alien to me as I am normally a man who is constantly in motion until it is beer time. I don’t know what to do with myself. I don’t want to read or build anything. The dogs have already been out, Mrs Dark Juan is busily doing her own thing around the house, and I am just sat here.
I know what to do. I have captured the elusive Platter of Splatter ™ and slung a record upon it. That should make me have to use my grey matter for a bit.
The Platter of Splatter ™ is playing the latest record from Texan four-piece Warlung, being a band that embody the heaviness and darkness of Black Sabbath, the melody of Rainbow and the occult stylings of the likes of Ghost, as well as the dreamy, Psychedelic quality of Green Lung. Dark Juan really likes Green Lung. And Ghost. And Rainbow back when Graham Bonnet sang for them. So, Dark Juan is expecting great things of Warlung.
‘Digital Smoke’ is the opening track on the album, and to be brutally honest it’s a bit forgettable, all Trad Metal riffs and howling about smoking some kind of digital weed. The message the lyrics were trying to convey is confused – is it about being a stoner or a warning about how we are all addicted to computer-based content? Don’t get me wrong, it’s a perfectly serviceable track but its not an absolutely banging opener. It does not show what Warlung are capable of, because they really are capable of so much more than this song would have you think they are. ‘White Light Seeker’ is a decent occult tune though, and this is where Warlung start to stretch their wings. A much more accomplished song than ‘Digital Smoke’, the twin vocals of the six-stringers combining to devastating effect, the chorus on this song is absolutely fucking monumental and Dark Juan has cleared the lounge of Crow Cottage in mere seconds with his caterwauling along to it.
‘Spell Speaker’ is a real highlight of the album, simple, yet utterly all-encompassing riffing underpinning a song that has made Dark Juan do guitar gurning while listening to it and air guitaring wildly along with it. What makes it special is its Trad Metal dynamic, mixed with Ghost-like chorus and harmonies and almost Pink Floyd-like middle section with super Gilmour energy on the guitar solo and the vocals. This is the undisputed peak of the powers of Warlung, where everything else on the about hinted at this level of greatness – ‘Spell Speaker’ is the culmination of that promise.
‘Rat Bastard’ is almost a Trad Metal tribute to Ghost’s ‘Mummy Dust’, if played by Kyuss but it has a much Bluesier edge and goes full on Gothic Doom in the middle of the song, otherwise being a fairly brisk chuggathon of a tune that will get heads banging and keep people like me happy because we enjoy palm-muting and choruses that block out the sun.
The production of the album is spot on. Everything can be heard easily and with much clarity, the bass drum being resonant and dense and the vocals sitting at the front of the mix but not overpoweringly so and the bass guitar provides a suitably big bottom for those that cannot lie about liking that sort of thing, or those whose girls have mudflaps or buncakes which drive them out of their minds.
So yeah, ‘The Poison Touch’ is very much an album of two parts. And it has confused the fuck out of me because Warlung are capable of absolutely paralyzing brilliance (‘Spell Speaker’) yet seem to have something of a quality control problem (‘Digital Smoke’ would not have got anywhere near a record I was making. The tune is great, the lyrics not so much) when they are capable of writing and performing songs that can transform matter. Warlung are at their absolute best when they are challenging norms and slamming influences together and letting their Prog and Psychedelic sides loose. They have the capability to be truly special, and I can’t help but think that on this album they have somewhat squandered that gift.
This sort of thing is what makes my job as a reviewer so difficult. I love Warlung and they are a very good band indeed, but this album is… not exceptional. Their melding of Doom, Trad Metal and touches of Stoner and Psychedelia could be monumental, but I feel that they have got the proportions of those ingredients wrong at this time. I have to remind myself that I don’t write these reviews for the bands, but for the people who might spend money on their music and merch. To them I say that Warlung are definitely worth your time and this a is a good album. It’s just not one of the greatest things I have ever heard.
The Patented Dark Juan Blood Splat Rating System awards 7/10 to Warlung for an album that reaches the highest of highs but also does a bit of Metal-by-numbers at times.
TRACKLISTING:
Digital Smoke
White Light Seeker
Mourning Devils
Spell Speaker
Holy Guide
Rat Bastard
The Sleeping Prophet
29th Verse, 6th Scroll
LINE-UP:
George Baba - Guitar/Vocals
Philip Bennett - Guitar/Vocals
Chris Tamez - Bass
Ethan Tamez – Drums
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