King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard: New Album
words by Kyra Bruce
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard | Murder of the Universe, released June 23, 2017.
Australian psych-rock heroes, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, are not letting the dust settle from their last release, Flying Microtonal Banana, before hitting us with an apocalyptic, spoken word, borderline doom metal, summer soundtrack. Murder of the Universe is a three-chapter concept album that is filled with sentient cyborgs, D&D-esque creatures, and a narrator who politely sets horrific scenes of parallel realities over speedy garage punk tunes laid down by King Gizz.
Murder of the Universe is the second of five albums that King Gizz has promised to release this year, and if it sounds a bit too far out for you, hear me out. While the subject matter of this album is pretty wild, the music is strong enough to keep up with the stories. The two drummers create a steady motor pushing the songs together through undetectable song changes, while fiery guitar solos give the album a classic King Gizz acid-prog-psych-rock sound.
The narrative of the album engages every sense and paints a vivid picture of a whole new universe in the mind of the listener. This album is impactful, creative, prolific, and unlike anything else out there right now. Front man Stu Mackenzie spoke on the inspiration for the album to Observer, “We’re living in dystopian times that are pretty scary and it’s hard not to reflect that in our music.”
Murder of the Universe is a creative masterpiece that I highly suggest you check out! Also keep an eye out for three more albums that King Gizz is set to release this year!