WARLUNG – The Poison Touch

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · March 7, 2025

WARLUNG is a Texas based band formed in 2016. Their sound is a mix of classic rock and modern metal, mixing heavy riffs and melodies with a psychedelic twist. Their releases include 2017’s Sleepwalker, 2019’s Immortal Portal, 2020’s Optical Delusions, and 2022’s Vulture’s Paradise. The band released their latest album entitled The Poison Touch on February 14th 2025, on Heavy Psych Sounds Records. The current lineup includes George Baba on guitar, keys, and vocals, Philip Bennett on guitar and vocals, Chris Tamez on bass, and Ethan Tamez on drums.

“Digital Smoke” opens the album with a great classic metal sounding rocker. The mid pace tune rips out some great guitar riffing and excellent vocals. The duo singing of Bennett and Baba sounds fantastic with the harmonizing chorus. It’s very catchy and will be stuck in your head for days. The song proliferates a psychedelic segment just before the guitar leads which is a nice touch to a fairly straightforward track. “White Light Seeker” follows and is an exemplary piece of heavy metal glory. The sound has an almost Dio enticement that borders on classic power metal. The solid flow and galloping rhythms are met with more harmonious and soaring vocals. The guitar leads are terrific and WARLUNG has a very fresh sound and captures the contemporary drive of heavy rock. The third track “Mouning Devils” is a spacy minute and a half synthesized introduction to the epic fourth track entitled “Spell Speaker”. The bass and drums begin the song with airy flourishes of guitar enhancements. It’s a great mixture of heavy rock with some progressive and atmospheric effects mixed in. The guitar leads really shine through with a David Gilmore-esc vibe doused in some acid blues. WARLUNG really enhance their sonic capabilities and stretch their sound to new heights with this one.

“Holy Guide” strikes next and it’s another rocker! The band propels ahead with a stoner stomping groove with alluring melodies. A heaping dose of scorching guitar leads and harmonious vocals are in ample abundance with this track and the next. “Rat Bastard” cranks up the volume and provides good chugging guitar riffs. Another big factor in the WARLUNG sound is the rock solid rhythm section of the Tamez brothers. Chris on bass and Ethan on the drums provide the necessary foundation for the guitars to really sparkle and shine. The Poison Touch is a well balanced recording exhibiting a good range of riff rocking numbers and also more mellow cuts like the seventh track, “The Sleeping Prophet”. The band are very capable on laying down a melodic seventies inspired tune. The song has a great texture of keyboard and more exceptional vocals that are suited aptly to the guitar work in which WARLUNG are masters of executing.

The eighth and final track on The Poison Touch is called ‘29th Scroll, 6th Verse”. The song is a banger! It explodes from the first note, displaying some wah guitar action in all of its stoner rock glory. The riffs are arresting with hammering drums to complement. All the musical magic that WARLUNG delivers is there . The vocals are outstanding once again and the line “no way out, no way out now!” is mesmerizing and memorable. The crushing riffs and guitar solos are all in there in spades. The band ended this album with a big exclamation point. The whole record is outstanding and grows deeper upon each listen. I am very impressed with this band and will definitely be checking out their other releases.