Active lava does have a smell but it is sure hard to describe.
It isn't that it is a strong smell, it is just that I don't know what to compare it to. The only time I ever smelled something similar was when I used to build fences and once in a while we'd have to push big boulders out of the way. If they rolled against another boulder or scraped another boulder, or fell off a cliff and hit the rocks below the smell was similar to that of lava. That pretty much makes sense because two rocks hitting each other will generate a lot of heat, and it makes sense that hot rocks smell like lava. Anyway, you might want to go outside and break up some rocks.