King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Announce 28th Album ‘Alien Metal’ and Share New Single 'Level 5’
The Aussie band’s new album is a synth-heavy collection of eight tracks.
Image Macy Heriot
Genre-defying six-piece King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard are preparing for the release of their 28th (yes, you read that correctly) album, Alien Metal.
Following the orchestral rock of last year’s Phantom Island, King Gizzard’s latest effort is a synth-heavy collection of tracks that were written and recorded on the modular synthesiser set-up, named Nathan, which they took out on the road last year.
The genesis of Alien Metal formed during the band’s “rave shows”, where the band swapped their traditional instruments for an expansive modular synthesiser setup.
“It completely rewired my brain," said Stu Mackenzie, after fellow band member Joey Walker put him onto the Eurorack synthesiser. “I was like, ‘I'm going to forget everything I know about music and relearn it all from scratch’.”
Talking about the creation of Alien Metal, Mackenzie admitted King Gizzard have never struggled so much in the studio when crafting a record. “We've never scrapped so much material as we have for this album,” Mackenzie said. “Entire albums, entire universes that were formulated, created, recorded, deleted and started again.”
Finally making a breakthrough during a late-night session, Alien Metal is a journey through techno, hardcore, house and jungle influences with King Gizzard’s trademark psychdleica shinging through.
“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.”
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Accompanying the announcement of Alien Metal is the album’s first single, ‘Level 5’. A combustible bomb of dark electronica, King Gizzard have also released a music video of the hard-hitting techno beast directed by Hayden Somerville and starring Vince Colosimo, best known for his iconic roles in Chopper, Lantana, The Wog Boy and Underbelly.
Producer Ruby Thomas shared, “Hayden had brought up Vince on numerous occasions when fantasising about casting for previous projects, but I had mostly laughed it off because it seemed impossible. But on this occasion it didn't feel like such a crazy idea. We really wanted to find a strong, recognisable face to lead this clip, and in Australian cinema, Vince is all that and more. He was a dream to work with and brought so much more to the role than we could have imagined.”
‘Level 5’ by King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard is out now. Listen here. Alien Metal is out later this year.
Alien Metal
Sapience
Alien Metal
Superheavy, Supercritical
Kill For The Steel
Level 5
Rapid Alpha Decay
Uqt
Atomic Collapse
