siLLy puPPy It’s hard to believe that Australia’s KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD has only been around since 2010 and only released their debut album eleven years ago in 2012 but this prolific band has somehow found it in them to release 24 albums in a wide variety of musical styles in that decade plus time frame. While dabbling in everything from psychedelic garage rock to neo-psychedelic prog, the band tackled the world of thrash metal with its 2019 release “Infest the Rats’ Nest” and has found it on their work table to continue down this path in 2023 with the exhaustingly named album PETRODRAGONIC APOCALYPSE; OR, DAWN OF ETERNAL NIGHT: AN ANNIHILATION OF PLANET EARTH AND THE BEGINNING OF MERCILESS DAMNATION.

Like most of KING GIZZARD’s output, this album is based on a series of recorded jam sessions that were then teased into various genre twists. Looks like thrash infused speed metal won the contest this time around and so it made the perfect noisy backdrop for an overall concept that tackled sci-fi themes such as dragons and witches. Tried and true heavy metal themes from the getgo. The album features seven tracks hovering close to the 49-minute mark however if you happen to shell out the extra dough for vinyl release you will be treated to the 14-minute bonus track "Dawn of Eternal Night” bringing the playing time up to 63 minutes.

Honestly this is one of those bands i don’t really get the hype about. Sure these guys have crafted some interesting psych prog that does indeed strike the right mood but when it comes to the band’s metal creds i find them lacking in many departments. First of all this to my ears basically PETRODRAGONIC sounds like a Motorhead tribute album as hinted at on the opening track “Motor Spirit” which reveals its true intent with its track name. Almost as if a homage to Lemmy himself the album meanders from crushing speed and thrash metal riffing crunchiness to moments of psychedelic interludes that may have found a home in an early Hawkwind offering.

Likewise even the vocals are on Motorhead mode and the seven tracks seem to not vary much in terms of intensity or creative input. While the thrash metal guitar chugs are pleasant enough the songwriting seems out of place in the context of a thrash metal experience which honestly throws the entire thing off for me. The slower moments of muddled guitar riffs with keyboard accompaniments sound more authentic to my ears as the band lacks the songwriting skills and drumming prowess to animate a true thrash metal attack. It honestly sounds like a non-metal band is taking its first steps into unfamiliar territory! Not to mention a complete lack of virtuosity in terms of lead guitars, chord progression changes and a complete failure of dynamic instrumental interplay. Yes virtuosity matters in thrash metal.

Since the 1980s the world of thrash metal has produced countless mega bands ranging from Metallica and Megadeth to Slayer, Sepultura, Coroner, Sadus, Exodus, Forbidden, Overkill, Annihilator and Vektor just to name a very few and somehow KING GIZZARD fails to approach a competency even close to any of these great bands. What we get here is more of a proto-thrash approach in the vein of Motorhead most of all with some aspects honing in on early “Kill Em All” Metallica and early 80s thrash metal before the genre got too sophisticated for many non-metalheads. Well to each their own but this band just doesn’t pull off extreme metal to my liking. It sounds disingenuous on many levels and fails to beckon a return visit of any sort. I would recommend the good Aussie GIZZARDS to stick to the world of heavy psych and neo-psychedelia which suits their abilities because i find this rather uninspiring. A band that truly has chosen quantity over quality.

siLLy puPPy Coming out of Melbourne, Australia, the catchily named KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD has proved itself as a prolific act that has been impossible to ignore as the band has weaseled its way onto prog sites, metal review columns and pops up just about everywhere these days with its unique blend of alternative psychedelic rock with pop hooks, metal leanings and garage rock sensibilities. The year 2017 proved to be the most ambitious of all with five albums released but in 2019 the GIZZARD dropped two more bombs onto the world and further expanded its genre bending tendencies once again.

INFEST THE RATS’ NEST is the band’s 15th album since its formation in 2010 and takes its sound boldly into the world of thrash metal, a place only scantly hinted upon on the predominantly psychedelic prog that has graced the previous albums. With a seemingly infinite amount of inspirational mojo, the GIZZARD eschews the psychedelic indie rock sounds of the past and instead turns to classic Metallica, Slayer, Exodus and Overkill for inspiration and instantly finds the band appearing in heavy metal databases worldwide to the chagrin of metal purists who just can’t accept these crossover acts as legit metal entities but nonetheless, INFEST THE RATS’ NEST is a bona fide thrash metal album albeit with stoner garage rock tendencies chock full of guitar riffing heft and double kick drumming.

While death metal and black metal have spiraled off into a million directions and into highly evolved complexities, thrash metal has remained rather pure in comparison and the GIZZARD deliver a tasty little interpretation of the classic thrash metal years that date back to the 80s and early 90s although INFEST also finds traces of industrial metal heft a la Rammstein or White Zombie and alternative mood swings into Tool territory at moments. This new metal sound originated on the single “Planet B,” the opening powerhouse that was a stand alone track but somehow inspired the band into crafting an entire album of similar sounding tunes. The biggest surprise is that this album has become one of the band’s most successful of all and has virtually guaranteed another strong decade to come.

Musically, INFEST THE RATS’ NEST is very much a retro tribute to the great thrash bands of yore. The sound delivered here is a mix of Overkill stomp grooves, Metallica induced palm muting techniques for that classic galloping sound along with guitar solos that erupt out of nowhere but there is a veritable garage rock quality to this as none of these guys are exactly virtuosos so don’t expect a Marty Friedman ripping solo quality or even the more sophisticated classically infused Metallica riffs. This is basic thrash by the numbers albeit exquisitely performed and catchy to the max. All in all this will appeal to those on the fringe of the metal universe rather than those already deeply indoctrinated into the long rich history of thrash metal that has remained strong for over three decades now.

While many bands want to be all things to all music appreciators, KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD succeeded to a certain degree while it took a big chance with INFEST THE RATS’ NEST in the fact that there was a lot of risk of alienating fans of the psychedelic rock albums. However i would venture to guess that one should have no fear that the band has gone Opeth in reverse by dropping its psych qualities in favor of the more bombastic metal style presented on this album. After all, on tracks like “Mars For The Rich” there are still psychedelic keyboard elements that creep into the flow of things and the overtly alternative feel prevents this from feeling “too” thrashy. There’s even a harmonica that makes a cameo on several tracks and the bluesy rock roots of the 70s are still strong, just simply cranked up to 11 at various moments. This is a decent album for sure but honestly this isn’t anything to get wildly excited about either. With all the references to thrash greats like Overkill and Metallica, i’d rather listen to their output any day, however good on the GIZZARD for breaking out of their comfort zone.