King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard Strike Mayhem on Their Latest Psych-Rock Album
Since 2010, Melbourne-based band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard has released many recordings with a fervent cadence for fans to feast on as their fanbase begins to keep up the tempo of production. The powerhouse plots world domination through the soundwaves, delivering psych-rock beats to destroy all who listen within the web of their releases. Now, the musicians have unveiled a new album within their discography. PetroDragonic Apocalypse, or Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation, plummets listeners into an apocalyptic daydream.
The album enters an adventure through experimental beats and a syncretic rhythm of ideas of experiencing the world at its edge. As the band has a gift for capturing different heavy rhythms such as cosmic jazz, psych-pop and blistering metal, their latest album takes form with contrasting apocalyptic energy. Before fans dive into the sound, they are greeted by a peering lizard in the foreground of album cover with flames and industrial landscape in the background.
Diving into the album, “Motor Spirit” keeps the energy high with loud rhythm guitar, then the drums kick into a leading energy cadence. The lyrics take on an archaic way of writing with older modern English for a catchy and harmonious hymn. As the listener closes their eyes and adventures down a fiery highway, lyrics begin to carry a staccato.
Next, as the rhythm guitar elates listeners off the highway grid, “Supercell” is a “bombshell carousel raising hell.” Simultaneously, listeners take in the comments about chemicals from the track about substance and demolition as their eardrums feast throughout the soundscape. Merging the narrative, “Converge” arrives like a “tycoon.” The track is a headbanger and includes commentary about watching the storm come in from a “bird’s eye view” and accepting the fate of humanity as mass destruction becomes undeniable.
As the tracks blend seamlessly into the album’s core, “Witchcraft” invites listeners to recharge from the lyrical destruction before they begin to heal. Teetering rhythm guitar and bass is apparent in the track as it hypnotizes listeners into a deep meditative state. Ascending from “a creature of magic, not of home,” “Gila Monster” takes the stage for the ultimate theme of destruction. The lyrics invite a whimsical take about being a “witch killer,” all summoned from the previous lyrical adventures.
Flying into the apocalyptic sky, “Dragon” ascends into the “stratosphere” to welcome all to a “dawn of eternal night.” The ballad of lyrics creates a backstory from where each track is birthed and cues the listener to a unique tone throughout the album. The winged monster unveils a “Flamethrower” of heat as the dragon plummets back to the desolated planet. Listeners are moved through the destruction that occurs from the power the beast has as the track ends with oscillating synths and scorching power chords.
Overall, the album is forceful, igniting the hearts of thrashing metal lovers as the powerful narrative unfurls. It influences how humanity treats our planet, providing commentary about how to be better in society as a collective whole. The album is worth a listen, with plenty of headbanging to enjoy!
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