Halfway through their triumphant show, Green Lung frontman Tom Templar asks the packed crowd in the Marble Factory, “who was at our show at the Exchange?” At least half the crowd claim to be there, in a venue uncomfortable with more than 150 people. It is a Sepultura at the Marquee scenario, such is the current popularity of the London quintet. As someone who was genuinely present at that show, it’s a measure of how impressive this band’s ascent has been.
Green Lung – Unto Others – Satan’s Satyrs
Marble Factory, Bristol – 18 February 2025
Words And Photography: Paul Hutchings
Not that they don’t deserve it, far from it. Tonight, Green Lung demonstrate their quality with a performance that is packed full of sinewy muscle, huge amounts of heart and passion, and no little driving riffs.
It is almost a spiritual experience, as the packed venue indulges in a bit of occult magik combined with some of the finest driving riffs the soon-to-be demolished venue has ever heard.
Green Lung is a band whose ascent is well deserved. From that Exchange show via numerous festival slots, they are easing into larger venues with a confidence that doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. They have the songs drawn from their debut EP, Free The Witch and their three albums, and they have the riffs.
Oh Lord, do they have the riffs. At times, guitarist Scott Black makes things look so ridiculously easy that you cannot help but gawp. 
They enter to a heroic roar of anticipation and launch into the first of 15 songs, the anthemic The Forest Church. It is the first of seven from the excellent This Heathen Land, and the front row is bouncing from the off.
Word perfect, Green Lung draw a hugely eclectic audience. From the long-haired denim cut adorned Metalheads to the more reserved Arctangent faithful, they are all here for worship on a Monday night. It may be the usual sub-zero temperatures at the Marble Factory, but the temperature soon rises as Mountain Throne stretches the vocals. 
It is a mark of their progression that Green Lung make the venue’s stage their own. Templar is a whirling dervish, left to right, front to back, whilst Black is also prone to wander across the stage to cut deserved guitar hero-level shapes. Alongside these two, the reliable bass lines of Joeseph Ghast thunders along. 
The songs are superb, a wisely chosen set list spreading the mix of tracks from their whole catalogue The sound is crystal clear and the lighting adds to the band’s strengths. Flooding the stage in an intoxication of red, pink, purple and green hues, the band’s biggest backdrop and some additional props add to the atmosphere, which swells to an encore of ecstatic proportions.
Song Of The Stones provides the opportunity to take a breath, although the intoxicating nature of that song fuels the emotions and draws you deeper in. A rabid Woodland Rites sees arms thrown aloft through the venue; the claws are raised for Hunters In The Sky before Templar summons the witches in the audience for an epic Maxine (Witch Queen).
Green Lung power into their final song, Graveyard sun, another anthem which is now a staple of their set. It is ferocious, heavy, yet the rich Hammond tones of John Wright adds balance to their sound.
We drive into the encore, Old Gods and Let the Devil In, whipping the crowd into an even more crazed frenzy. As the majestic One For Sorrow concludes a massive evening, it’s impossible not to have been totally absorbed in the show.
Those early days at The Exchange, Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff and even their fledgling appearances at Bloodstock on the Sophie stage, all come flooding back. Now is their time. See them whilst you can.
Unto Others
It’s evident from the roars that greet Unto Others that many in the audience are here as much for the Oregon outfit. They deserve their reception and provide compelling viewing for over 45 minutes. 
It is an astonishing setlist, as they power through a huge number of songs. They hit hard, their Gothic Metal style conjuring up memories of Type O Negative mixed with the jangling guitars of The Mission and Fields Of The Nephilim.
But they are no copy of any outfit, and as they ease into their show, the crowd are already singing every lyric. They pull heavily from 2024’s Never, Neverland and add a sprinkling from their other works. Butterfly stokes the fires early; Momma Likes The Door Closed and Nightfall complete the opening triple whammy. 
Guitarist Sebastian Silva rarely stands still. He is raising his guitar, shredding solo after solo, prowling the stage in his long coat whilst being every inch the rock star. Alongside him, singer and rhythm guitarist Gabriel Franco is more restricted. His dark glasses and thick, curled hair add to the image of the band. His vocals are confident, assured and compelling.
Unto Others is a band that attract both hugely obsessive fans as well as the more curious, and there are plenty of both here tonight. It is a combined audience that sees them earn many more new fans by the end of their set. Highly energised, it is impossible to take your eyes off the stage. They are that good.
Heroin, Flat Line and their customary cover of The Ramones’ Pet Sematary propel them towards a huge ovation, which comes after Dragon, Why Do You Cry?
For me, it’s interesting to see a band I last saw in front of 50 people in Fuel Rock Club, Cardiff, completely own a big stage. Another band who deserves and are likely to become much bigger, this was some show. Dive in deep. It is a delicious cocktail with smiles at the end.
Satan’s Satyrs
Opening the evening, Virginia’s Satan’s Satyrs are not blessed by the sound gods. Their muffled sound masks their deep, rolling, semi-stoner music to the extent that at the front of the stage, their songs are almost indecipherable. 
They are cloaked in semi-darkness, making them quite mysterious in appearance. It is a high-energy show despite that, and although it is a fuzzy wall of noise, there is something quite fascinating about this band, which makes it easy to watch the whole set.
Whilst tonight I’ve struggled to really dig their whole approach, I genuinely would love to see them with a better sound.
