The Australian psychedelic septet release the 2nd of 5 planned releases this year, Murder Of The Universe. Inspired by the low fi sounds of the psyche explosion in the 60s, the psyche rock collective have continued a creative streak of exploring other genres and ideas within their own psychedelic style.
King Gizzard has managed to interpolate all kinds of concepts and musical styles into its music. Since forming six years ago the band has released 10 albums and it doesn’t look like it plans on slowing down anytime soon. From putting out the worlds first infinitely looping album to a record that explores the concept of microtonal tuning and semi tones, King Gizzard is no stranger to firing out multiple projects in short amounts of time.
The start of 2017 saw the first release of King Gizzard’s 5 planned albums for the year. Flying Microtonal Banana is a phenomenal LP that isn’t just great to listen to but demonstrates a completely different perspective on how music is played and listened to. The band has created a reputation for basing projects around specific concepts and Murder Of The Universe is no different.
This time, the concept is built around the idea of the end of the world and tells its story over the course of three acts, The Tales of the Altered Beast, Lord Of Lightning vs The Balrog and Han-Tyumi And The Murder Of The Universe. Clearly, this album, much like the band, doesn’t take its self too seriously. For instance, the third act of the album is about a confused cyborg who plugs himself into a vomit machine and accidentally destroys the universe, and it doesn’t stop there.
Lord Of Lightning vs The Balrog music video:
All of the stories on Murder Of The Universe are a reflection of John Carpenter-esque movies. Each act features King Gizzard’s signature ability to seamlessly meld each song into another, combining ethereal spoken word poetry and fuzzy vocals with relentless drums and shimmering guitars.
While the album still retains its psychedelic roots the band has decided to dip into the world of metal, constructing fuzzed-out breakdowns and face melting guitar solos. Prepare for a ridiculous psyche punk opera that will send you to the psychedelic mind of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. Murder of the Universe is another fresh take on conceptualised rock music and shows that the band doesn’t seem to be running out of ideas.
Best tracks: Lord of Lightning, The Balrog, Digital Black, Vomit Coffin and Han-Tyumi The Confused Cyborg
Worst track: Altered Beast II
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Murder Of The Universe review: 4/5
