Purple Lung – Mystic Vision

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · April 17, 2026

Purple Lung is a four-piece stoner/ doom metal band from Pennsylvania. They formed in 2020 and consist of Toni Pennello on vocals and guitars, Simon Beierle on guitars, Max Schmitt on bass, and James Jaskolka on drums. They just released their debut full length album called Mystic Vision, on February 13th 2026, on Landslide Collective.

The first thing that really strikes me about Purple Lung, aside from their crunchy rhythms of doom metal goodness, is the powerful vocals from singer Toni Pennello. Her delivery and range is killer and enhances all of these nine tracks that make up Mystic Vision. “Annihilation Of Time” is a heavy metal storm of thrashy riffs and stoner grooves. The hard rocking ethos is firmly established as these songs do just that. “Digging Up Snakes” has stomp chugging riffs that are doomy and elegant. The vocals drive the emotion into the song and expresses the anguish within. Soaring and haunting, they give the song a twisted bleakness.

When the fourth track arrives, we have entered the first big doom song on Mystic Vision. “Beware The Bog Witch” is a slow and dark number of Black Sabbath proportions. The song does liven up but it mostly stays prodding and devastating. The emotive vocals are a standout and musically, Purple Lung keeps everything interesting. “The Watchful Eye” and the title track “Mystic Vision” are both great songs but very different, whereas the former is more riff rocking and upbeat. “Mystic Vision” is a musically enchanting song that has a more subdued and subtle tone with the hypnotic singing. It’s a nice touch to split the recording in half with this more mellow composition.

“Hum Of The Ancients” and “Swallowed By The Sea” are both solid rockers! Purple Lung writes and performs these songs as veteran musicians and doesn’t strike me as a band releasing a debut album. The beautiful transition in the middle of “Swallowed By The Sea” is fantastic! The tempo drops into a doom brigade and sludges forward with an orchestrated movement. The song transforms into a hellacious metal song to finish it off. The ninth track on this terrific album is called “Desethos, The Starved”. It’s a slow rolling doom machine of trudging riffs and dynamic vocals.

The final score on Mystic Vision is the mellow and inviting, ”Dreamwalker’s Lament”. The clean and divine guitars and the peaceful flute sounds blend perfectly with the enchanting voice of Pennello. It captures the whole feeling of the record and brings in the melody to coalesce with the doom based foundation and fuzzed-out tones. Purple Lung has achieved an interesting and engaging debut album with Mystic Vision and I look forward to seeing where this evolution will take them in the future.