Doomed Confessionary: Raf Soto & Rich Berry (Lungbuster)
Photos by @through_the_veil_production_
Lungbuster is a three-piece sludge/doom metal band from Burlington, Vermont.
After a bunch of singles (»M.A.C. (Miracle Alien Cookies)«, »Meth Rogen«, »White Butterfly«) and »Mike Tyson Ego Death« EP last year, Lungbuster released their new live album »If You Want Bud You’ve Got It (Live)« on October 31st, 2024.
Lungbuster currently consists of Raf Soto (drums, vocals), Rich Berry (guitar, vocals) and Tim Woos (bass).
Can you say a few words about your band?
Raf: Grimey riffs drenched in bong water and garnished with tortured vocals. It’s a marriage of sludge and doom.
Rich: Lungbuster Is a blues based metal band from Burlington VT, loud, heavy, slow and a little psychedelic. The lineup has been pretty loose for most of the bands existence like a metal jazz collective. But currently it’s a trio with Raf Soto on drums, Tim Woos on bass and Rich Berry on guitar. There’s a lot of influence from Black Sabbath mixed with more modern metal like Pantera.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Raf: Getting off our stoned asses long enough to get something done. (Maybe I speak for myself I dunno) I think every band struggles with finances to some degree, but we’re doin’ what we can with what we got and havin’ a hell of a time in the process.
Rich: Showing up to gigs on time and keeping our cars in a working state. It’s a miracle we make it at all sometimes.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Raf: Opening up for Belzebong. Next to Black Sabbath, those guys are my favorite band ever. The fact we got to play with them twice now really blows my mind, and we are stoked to have become friends with them.
Rich: How much better I’ve gotten at playing guitar since I started in the band. The fastest way to learn any instrument is to play it in a band.
What was your biggest regret?
Raf: Ah well I hate cancelling shows and try to do everything I can to make it work, despite the circumstances and obstacles. We were supposed to play the Meatlocker in New Jersey last year, and had to cancel the night before the gig, which I know is really bad. In retrospect I should have dropped sooner at the first road bump, but because the other band from our same town dropped that gig too I felt the need to push forward. in the future I think it will be better to just play it safe and give the promotor time to replace us.
Rich: No regerts.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Raf: Its funny because you’d think it’s the nicest venue with the biggest band, but really for me its the down n dirty DIY basement show. The best gig for me was when we played at this basement in Rutland, VT called The Plot, run by our good friends in the grindcore band Augrah. Total sweethearts who love what we do and had been friends with us for a long time, so it was a soecial one. The highlight for me was when I was usingthe drummer Chris’ deumkit which was this timy jazz kit, and I was completely smashing this thing to the point where the bass drum rotated a full 90 degree angle by the end of the set. i was kicking the pedal sideways! Cymbal stands were fallong, and I even had to hold the snare between my legs at one point. Can’t forget about when I busted out the cowbell for the new song, and it fell too so I had to hit it while ot was on the ground and still keep rhythm woth yhe snare. it was a circus of a show, one for the books.
Rich: Playing a Halloween show at my friend’s beautiful lake house. Picture a small party where you can see the majestic mountains of new Hampshire in the windows behind a haze of smoke and a tower of tube amps setup in the living room. Once we turned on the fog machine every smoke alarm in the house went off.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Raf: The amount of people putside the typical “doom fan” who are hyped on stoner metal, especially those who dodnt know about it before our show. Lungbuster gets put on mixed bills with punk bands occasionally, and sometimes I assume we’re gonna bore the crowd with our slow songs that have no moshing parts, but we get some headbanging, and after the show people are excited to talk about it with us asking questions like “what do you call that type of sound?!” It keeps me open minded and reminds me not to judge people because music is a very wide spectrum.
Rich: How quickly it came back from nothing after covid, after no shows for two years it just bounced right back.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Raf: I try to keep up with the YouTube channels 666MrDoom and Rob Hammer. Shout out to those guys for keeping the underground alive and supporting us for years now. Most recently I discovered bands like Hope Is A Lie, Serac, and Mudlarker to name a few. Harsh, heavy, crushing and fuzzy. Ripple Music is consistently putting out bangers as well, shout out to Todd Severin.
Rich: Boris, King Gizzard and Lizzard Wizard, Elder, My Bloody Valentine, Baroness, Sunn 0))), A Place To Bury Strangers.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Raf: Go to other bands’ shows! Musicians are fans too. it’s the best way to network and support the scene.
Rich: It’s better to practice a little bit every day rather than a longer practice every few days.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Raf: Soda. I know its awful for you in so many ways, but damn if I don’t love me some sugar and caffeine!
Rich: I could drink chai tea all day.
Can you say something more about current music scene in Burlington / Vermont?
Raf: There’s a lot of talent and potential, but not a lot of venues. People gotta be creative and branch out, but musicians love a challenge!
Rich: Burlington VT is a small city with a really solid and diverse music scene. You can find almost any type of music you can imagine, but there’s not many venues to play at the moment especially if you play any kind heavy music.
Where can we see you live soon (concerts/tours)?
Raf & Rich: January 24th at The Loading Dock in Littleton, NH USA.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Raf: Tour as much as possible while putting out bangers. Hit us up people!
Rich: We plan to write and record more music, we have a few new songs kicking around already. I would love play more shows in other parts of the country, maybe travel to Europe or Japan someday.
Did you have any special plans for New Year’s Eve?
Raf: Get stoned.
Rich: Eating homemade BBQ with my family in TN.
How can people best support your band?
Raf: All our music is “Name Your Price” on Bandcamp: lungbuster420.bandcamp.com.
We sell shirts at the gigs also. We appreciate every bit of it!
Rich: Come to our shows, buy merch, buy our music on Bandcamp.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Rich: Go to shows or start a band in your local area, no matter how boring your town is or how good you are at making music.
Raf: Smoke weed every day.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well