King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard announce 28th album ‘Alien Metal’
The new album follows the group’s latest epoch of rave and techno, with otherworldly video for new track ‘Level 5’ out now.
Photo: Maclay Heriot
In true King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard fashion, the beloved Aussie six-piece – who have carved out a reputation as every stoner nerd’s artistic obsession – have announced their newest album, Alien Metal, out of nowhere. Without any prior hype or promotion, the group announced the name of their 28th album, as well as its track listing and a first glimpse, in single Level 5. The track was released alongside a music video, the band’s biggest – and strangest – yet.
Despite the name, Alien Metal doesn’t promise the same nine-minute thrash assaults as Infest the Rat’s Nest, or 2023’s PetroDragonic Apocalypse…. Instead, the album follows the group’s latest foray into the techno, house and jungle genres, a wave they’ve been riding since 2023’s The Silver Cord. Fans of the Melbourne rockers will be familiar with their ‘rave sets’, featuring an expansive modular synth set-up nicknamed ‘Nathan’.
Alien Metal, which features lovably-Gizzesque track titles like Rapid Alpha Decay and Atomic Collapse, will be released sometime ‘later in the summer’, on their bespoke label p(doom) records. The first single, a sprawling five-minute dark electronica cut, Level 5, is out now, and its accompanying video features Australia’s Vince Colosimo and a group of occultish figures (played by the band) bringing an alien creature back to life. It’s a wild ride, but honestly what else do we expect from King Gizzard at this point?
It’s clear the boys are having a whale of a time at the moment (well, the whole of their career, really). They’re constantly touring, recording, mixing, learning, modulating and repeating. Oh, and making some of the freshest – and most existential – music today.
