Black Lung – Forever Beyond

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · March 31, 2026

Black Lung is a heavy psychedelic stoner doom rock band from Baltimore, Maryland. Formed in 2014, they have released five full length albums to date: 2014’s Self Titled, 2016’s See The Enemy, 2019’s Ancients, 2022’s Dark Waves, and their latest 2026’s Forever Beyond. The lineup consists of: Dave Cavalier on guitar, vocals, and mellotron, Elias Schutzman on drums, percussion, mellotron, synthesizer, Dave Fullerton on guitar, and Charles Braese on bass. Forever Beyond was released on March 6th 2026 on Magnetic Eye Records. It contains seven tracks at thirty six minutes long.

The album begins with an instant grabber with the song “Traveler”. It has a soothing psych rock flow of atmospheric guitar textures joined with an expansive rhythmic sound. The smooth and dynamic vocal melodies come alive on the chorus and it makes everything sound more comprehensive and vibrant. The recording itself sounds terrific, allowing each instrument to breathe and stand out in the mix. “Death and Co.” begins with the guitars and synth, with airy tones building up into a colossal rhythm of syncopated drumming and fuzzy strumming. The vocals really shine on this one with the smooth Josh Homme style crooning in the build up that ensues. The music perfectly responds with a progressive enchantment of rocking tones, splicing some keys mixed in there too. The fuzzy guitars have the perfect amount of overdrive, not too distorted, which gives the song a warm, vintage resonance.

When the third track “Savior” kicks in, the music is portrayed in spectacular fashion. The melody that Black Lung injects into each song correlates nicely with the guitars, full rhythm section, and layers of keys. They produce such a big and expansive sound with every track, allowing the tones to float off into cosmic bliss. The fourth song called “Follow”, is an audio onslaught of sonic elegance. It’s a divine musical passage with hard rocking elements shining right through. Dave Cavalier‘s voice has an alluring draw to them that works exceptionally well with all of these songs. His cadence is smooth, but emotive with their expressive delivery. The dazzling bass lines provide the musical canvas which allows the other instruments to paint with phonic articulation.

The band amplify things up a bit on the next one called “Forever Beyond Me”. It has a more upbeat and riff rocking crunch to the rhythms mixed with plenty of melodic guitar, also packing in some noise rocking segments to augment the song. It’s another fantastic track that conveys a beautiful contrast with the next one. “Border Hoarder” is a densely musical composition that utilizes many tones and progressive rhythms. Most of the tracks land within the three and a half to five and a half minute range, allowing for a sufficient and effective buildup.

The final song called “Scum” just clears the eight minute mark. It begins with a soft and steady, heavy psych intro that kicks into full riffage around two minutes in. The rhythm is rocking but melodic, never straying too far apart from either one. Black Lung mold both together expertly throughout Forever Beyond. After really listening to this album a good number of times with complete focus, I think it’s definitely my favorite from this excellent band. The growth that transpired over the last four years or so between releases has really impressed me. Black Lung are really coming into their own creatively and their musical dynamics of song crafting is magnificent. I was lucky to see them live December 7th of 2024, and really got to appreciate and experience their sound and vibe. The level of musical maturity that is forged on Forever Beyond is amazing and I can see this album being a favorite for many as the year rolls on.