King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have officially unleashed their 28th studio album, Alien Metal, with the record arriving today via p(doom) Records alongside a visualiser for its final single, “Kill For The Steel.”
The release lands as the Melbourne six piece kick off their sold-out Field Of Vision Festival in Buena Vista, Colorado, before heading into a packed run of international and Australian dates.
Alien Metal marks another left turn for a band that has built its reputation on refusing to stay in one musical lane. Developed from the modular synthesiser setup affectionately dubbed “Nathan”, which King Gizzard toured during last year’s rave shows, the album sees the band abandoning traditional instruments in favour of an expansive Eurorack system.
The result is a record shaped by techno, hardcore, house and jungle, while retaining the psychedelic edge that has become synonymous with King Gizzard.
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard ‘Kill For The Steel’
Rewiring
The album grew from the band’s rave performances, including their free pop-up show at Melbourne/Naarm’s Federation Square, which drew 10,000 fans, what started as an experiment with modular synthesis eventually became the foundation for an entire album.
“It completely rewired my brain,” said Stu Mackenzie. “I was like, ‘I’m going to forget everything I know about music and relearn it all from scratch’.”
Getting to the finished record was far from straightforward, with the band scrapping recordings and entire creative directions along the way.
“We’ve never scrapped so much material as we have for this album,” Mackenzie says. “Entire albums, entire universes that were formulated, created, recorded, deleted and started again.”
The breakthrough came during an extended late-night improvisation, with the spontaneous performance ultimately providing the foundation for every track on Alien Metal.
“It sounds so crunchy, but also beautiful,” says Mackenzie.
“Alien Metal goes really hard, but it also goes to really interesting places,” adds Joey Walker. “And it feels unique – it feels like us, still.”
The album follows previously released singles “Level 5”, “Alien Metal” and “Kill For The Steel”, with the latter receiving a new visualiser alongside today’s album release.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Australian Tour Dates
The release also arrives ahead of King Gizzard’s Australian return this October, including a two-night takeover of The Croxton Block Party in Melbourne/Naarm.
- Tuesday, October 13th – Thirroul, Anita’s Theatre (with Xiao Xiao)
- Wednesday, October 14th – Sydney, Hordern Pavilion (with Xiao Xiao)
- Wednesday, October 14th – Sydney, Liberty Hall (Late RAVE Show)
- Saturday, October 17th – Melbourne, The Croxton Block Party*
- Sunday, October 18th – Melbourne, The Croxton Block Party#
* Featuring B3lly, Babe Rainbow, Heavy Moss, Moktar, Shonen Knife, Stu Mackenzie and Techno666
# Featuring C.O.F.F.I.N, Glyconic, Gut Health, Moktar, ORB and Public Figures
The Melbourne Block Party lineup will also feature Japanese pop-punk veterans Shonen Knife, Byron Bay psych-rockers Babe Rainbow, Heavy Moss, C.O.F.F.I.N, Gut Health, ORB, Public Figures and more.
Each night will be capped with a mammoth two-and-a-half-hour King Gizzard set, while Sydney gets its own late-night rave show at Liberty Hall.
Tickets are available now.
With Alien Metal, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have once again turned experimentation into an entire new world, and they’re about to bring it to Australian stages.
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