King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard


King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard are an Australian rock band formed in 2010 in Melbourne, Victoria. The band consists of Stu Mackenzie, Ambrose Kenny-Smith, Cook Craig, Joey Walker, Lucas Harwood, Michael Cavanagh, and Eric Moore. They are known for exploring many different genres, staging energetic live shows and building a prolific discography, having released fifteen studio albums, two EPs and four live albums since the band's formation.
Their second EP, Willoughby's Beach, and debut album, 12 Bar Bruise, primarily blended surf music and garage rock, and were released on Flightless, the band's own independent record label. Their second album, a "psychedelic western audiobook" titled Eyes Like the Sky, features narration by Broderick Smith. Float Along – Fill Your Lungs, released later in the year, and the 2014 albums Oddments and I'm in Your Mind Fuzz, saw the band expand on their psychedelic sound. In 2015, they drew on elements of jazz fusion and progressive rock with Quarters!, and also released the folk-inspired Paper Mâché Dream Balloon, recorded almost entirely using acoustic instruments. Nonagon Infinity, arguably their most acclaimed album to date, features nine interconnected tracks that form an infinite loop, and won the ARIA Award for Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album.
In 2017, the band fulfilled a promise to release five studio albums within the year: Flying Microtonal Banana, an experiment in microtonality, in February; the three-chapter "sci-fi epic" Murder of the Universe in June; Sketches of Brunswick East, an improvised jazz collaboration with Mild High Club, in August; Polygondwanaland, which was released into the public domain, in November; and Gumboot Soup in December. The 2019 albums Fishing for Fishies and Infest the Rats' Nest saw the band incorporate boogie rock and thrash metal into their sound, respectively. In 2020, they released three live albums and pledged to donate all proceeds of their sales towards relief of the 2019–20 Australian bushfires. Later that year, the band premiered the concert film Chunky Shrapnel, and released a live album of the same name.

History

Formation and early singles (2010)

The band members all grew up and went to school in the Deniliquin, Melbourne and Geelong areas of Australia. The band started off as a group of friends jamming together, before a mutual friend asked them to play at a show. The band's name was created "last minute". Mackenzie wanted to name the band "Gizzard Gizzard" while another band member wanted Jim Morrison's nickname "Lizard King". They eventually compromised with King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Melbourne artist Jason Galea has created all of the band's album art, and a majority of their music videos.
The band's first releases were both singles: “Sleep”/“Summer” and “Hey There”/“Ants & Bats”, both self-released in 2010.

Early EPs and ''12 Bar Bruise'' (2011–2012)

The band's next release, 2011's Anglesea, was released as a four-track EP on CD. It is named after Anglesea, the coastal town where Mackenzie grew up, and is currently not available for purchase, physically or digitally. The band's second release of the year, Willoughby's Beach, was released by Shock Records on 21 October 2011. Beat Magazine described the 9-track garage rock EP as "filled to the teeth with consistently killer hooks." In December 2011, the band appeared at the Meredith Music Festival for the first time.
The band's first full-length album, 12 Bar Bruise, was released on 7 September 2012. The 12-track garage rock album was self-recorded, and several tracks used unconventional recording methods. For example, the vocals for the album's title track were recorded through four iPhones placed around a room while Mackenzie sang into one of them.

''Eyes Like the Sky'' and ''Float Along – Fill Your Lungs'' (2013)

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's second full-length album, Eyes Like the Sky, was released on 22 February 2013. Described as a "cult western audio book", the album is narrated by Broderick Smith and tells a story of outlaws, child soldiers, Native Americans and gun fights, all set in the American frontier. The album was written collaboratively by Smith and Stu Mackenzie. When asked about the album's influences, Mackenzie said: "I love Western films. I love bad guys and I love Red Dead Redemption. Oh, and I love evil guitars". Stu also stated, in a 2020 Reddit AMA, that Eyes Like the Sky was written as a response to being typecast in their previous releases- a reaction that "irks" him to this day.
The band's third full-length album, Float Along – Fill Your Lungs, was released on 27 September 2013. King Gizzard shifted from garage rock to a more mellow folk and psychedelic sound on this eight track album.

''Oddments'' and ''I'm in Your Mind Fuzz'' (2014)

Float Along – Fill Your Lungs was followed by Oddments, released on 7 March 2014. Over the course of this 12-track album, the band takes a more melodic approach, and Mackenzie's vocals are more prominent. Oddments has been described as being "recorded through a woolen sock in an adjacent room".
The band's fifth full-length album, I'm in Your Mind Fuzz, was released on 31 October 2014. The 10-track album touches on elements of fantasy and lyrically delves into the concept of mind control. This was the first time the band took a "traditional" approach to writing and recording an album; the songs were written, the band rehearsed together, and they recorded the songs "as a band" in the studio. Pitchfork described the album as "open with a sprint" and ending "with some of their best slow jams." In 2019, I'm In Your Mind Fuzz came at no.6 on Happy Mag list of "The 25 best psychedelic rock albums of the 2010s".

''Quarters!'', ''Paper Mâché Dream Balloon'' and Gizzfest (2015)

Quarters!, King Gizzard's sixth full-length album, was released on 1 May 2015. The album features four songs, each running for ten minutes and ten seconds, making each song a quarter of the album. Drawing upon jazz-fusion and acid rock, the album's more laid-back sound was described as "unlike anything they've released before" and as "an album more likely to get your head bobbing and hips shaking as opposed to losing footwear in a violent mosh".
Later in the year, on 13 November 2015, the band released its seventh full-length album, Paper Mâché Dream Balloon. This "concept-less concept album" features only acoustic instruments and was recorded on Mackenzie's parents' farm in rural Victoria. The album features "a collection of short unrelated songs" described as "mellow, defuzzed psychedelia". The band released a music video for the song "Trapdoor". It was the band's first album to be released in the United States via ATO Records.
2015 saw the band launch Gizzfest in Melbourne, a two-day music festival that has since been held annually and toured Australia, featuring both local and international acts.

''Nonagon Infinity'' (2016)

The band's eighth full-length album, Nonagon Infinity, was released worldwide on 29 April 2016. Described by Mackenzie as a "never-ending album", it features nine songs connected by musical motifs which flow "seamlessly" into each other with the last track "linking straight back into the top of the opener like a sonic mobius strip". On 8 March the band released a video for the first single, "Gamma Knife". It contained a riff from the song "People Vultures" which was premiered on 4 April with a music video released on 6 May. The album received high praise from critics, with Pitchfork's Stuart Berman writing it "yields some of the most outrageous, exhilarating rock 'n' roll in recent memory." The album also received glowing reviews from numerous other publishers, Happy Mag Maddy Brown described it as "an intensely striking, ferocious sound that gets the blood flowing and heart racing," while NME Larry Bartleet wrote that "If you wanted to, you could listen to it forever in one unbroken melody." The band earned its first ARIA Award when Nonagon Infinity won the 2016 ARIA Award for Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album.

Five albums in one year (2017)

The band's ninth full-length album, Flying Microtonal Banana, was recorded in the band's own studio and released on 24 February 2017. Originally conceived as a record to be played on the Turkish baglama, Flying Microtonal Banana has been described as "a soaring take on microtonal music". Three tracks were issued in advance: "Rattlesnake," the opening track, in October 2016; "Nuclear Fusion" in December 2016; and "Sleep Drifter" in January 2017. The band released a music video for "Rattlesnake", directed by Jason Galea, a video which Happy Mag 's Luke Saunders described as "a masterclass in hypnotism."
Another full-length album, Murder of the Universe, was released on 23 June 2017. Described by the band as a "concept album to end all concepts", it is divided into 3 chapters: The Tale of the Altered Beast; The Lord of Lightning vs Balrog; released 30 May 2017; and Han-Tyumi and the Murder of the Universe released 11 April 2017. SPILL magazine explained that the album "describes the impeding doom of the world in a dark fantasy genre kind of way." It is narrated by Leah Senior for the first two chapters, and a text-to-speech program for the final chapter. The band made their international television debut on 17 April 2017 performing "The Lord of Lightning" on Conan on TBS in the United States.
King Gizzard's next full-length album, Sketches of Brunswick East, a collaboration with Alex Brettin's psychedelic jazz project Mild High Club, was released on 18 August 2017. Taking inspiration from Miles Davis' 1960 album Sketches Of Spain, as well as the band's base recording location of Brunswick East in Melbourne, it is a jazz-improvisational album. Mackenzie described the record as "perhaps representing greater changes that are happening in the wider world, and our attempt to find beauty within a place that we spend so much time", referring to the constant changes in their neighbourhood.
, the fourth of the band's five 2017 albums, was released into the public domain, inspiring many independent labels throughout the world to issue unique versions of it.
King Gizzard's twelfth studio album, Polygondwanaland, was released as a free download on 17 November 2017. The band encouraged fans and independent record labels to create their own pressings of the album, stating that "Polygondwanaland is FREE. Free as in, free. Free to download and if you wish, free to make copies. Make tapes, make CD's, make records... Ever wanted to start your own record label? GO for it! Employ your mates, press wax, pack boxes. We do not own this record. You do. Go forth, share, enjoy." The album was promoted with the release of the first track, "Crumbling Castle", on 18 October 2017. The track received better reviews than their preceding releases of the year, with The Needle Drop describing it as "one of the most epic, multi-faceted, and mystical tracks the band has delivered thus far." A music video created by Jason Galea accompanied its release on YouTube. As of April 2018, 159 different versions of the album have been released by independent labels around the world, and it has been called "the ultimate vinyl release".
Mackenzie confirmed in early December that the fifth and final album of 2017 would be coming "very, very late in the year". Two singles were digitally released less than a week later: "All Is Known", which had previously been performed live; and "Beginner's Luck", an entirely new song. These singles were followed by two more, "The Last Oasis" and "Greenhouse Heat Death", both released on the 20th. On 30 December, the band posted on Facebook that Gumboot Soup, their fifth and final album of the year, would be released the following day. Mackenzie explained in an interview that the songs on Gumboot Soup are "definitely not B-sides or anything. They're more songs that didn't work in any of the rest of the four records, or they didn't fit into any of those categories that well, or they came together slightly after when those records came together."
In December, Consequence of Sound'' named King Gizzard Band of the Year, praising both the quantity and quality of their 2017 releases.

Reissues, ''Fishing for Fishies'' and ''Infest the Rats' Nest'' (2018–2019)

Throughout 2018, King Gizzard continued to perform live shows, but did not release any new material. Instead, they re-released five older records, the Willoughby's Beach EP, 12 Bar Bruise, Eyes Like the Sky, Float Along – Fill Your Lungs and Oddments, on CD and vinyl. They also released an official pressing of 2017's Polygondwanaland.
On 21 January 2019, the band announced on their Instagram page that new music was in the works, with an image in a studio of Gareth Liddiard flipping the bird as members of King Gizzard play in the background, which led to some speculation as to Liddiard's possible involvement in the band's new material. On 1 February, the band put out a music video for their new single "Cyboogie" and released the song as a 7 inch single backed with "Acarine". A week later, they announced another North American tour and a show at Alexandra Palace in London which they promised would feature "a new set, new songs and a whole new visual experience", and described as being their biggest ever.
In early March, details of the band's at-the-time announced fourteenth album, Fishing for Fishies, were seemingly leaked onto webstores. The album title, cover and track listing were leaked, as well as 60-second previews and the entirety of the title track, and a release date of 26 April. The band then confirmed this leak on 11 March by officially announcing the album through their Facebook and Instagram accounts with the same release date on 26 April 2019. A day later, the band officially released and uploaded a music video for the title track to YouTube. Later that month, the band released another single from the album, "Boogieman Sam", and on 24 April, two days before the album release, the band released a final single, "The Bird Song". Two days later, Fishing for Fishies was released.
On 9 April, the band released a music video for a new song, "Planet B", a thrash metal song regarding the environment and a distinct departure from the softer sounds of Fishing for Fishies. As this song did not feature on the track listing for Fishing for Fishies, it led to fans speculating it was a selection from a second album to be released in 2019 prior to Mackenzie's later confirmation.
During a Reddit AMA on 30 April, Mackenzie confirmed that the next King Gizzard album was being made and would include "Planet B", but the band had not decided whether or not it would be released in 2019. The album was initially believed to be titled Auto-Cremate due to the band's ambiguous response to a question regarding the use of the title as their username in the AMA, but was later confirmed to be titled Infest the Rats' Nest. Mackenzie also said that the band planned to release a sequel to Eyes Like the Sky featuring a new story written by Broderick Smith and that their Gizzfest festival would be held outside of Australia for the first time in 2019.
Almost a month later on 29 May, a week after a teaser on social media, the band released the music video for a new song, "Self-Immolate", which incorporates a thrash metal style similar to "Planet B". On 18 June, the band posted a teaser on social media that confirmed their new album's title as Infest the Rats' Nest, which was officially announced three days later for a release date of 16 August.
On 25 June, they released the single "Organ Farmer", another thrash style similar to "Planet B" and "Self-Immolate". Its music video included fans as extras. Infest the Rats' Nest was later released on 16 August 2019. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2019, Infest the Rats' Nest was nominated for ARIA Award for Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album.
On 12 November, the band announced two 3-hour live shows for 2020 whose set lists will contain elements of their entire discography, the first of which is to be performed on 18 April at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California. The second marathon show would be performed on 6 May at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. The band however was quick to announce on 22 November that another marathon show would be performed at Red Rocks on 5 May, a decision made shortly after the Red Rocks show sold out within four days of its announcement.

Live albums, ''Chunky Shrapnel'' and other projects (2020–present)

In January 2020, the band released three live albums as downloads on Bandcamp, pledging to donate of the proceeds towards relief for the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season. Live in Adelaide '19, recorded at Thebarton Theatre on 12 July 2019, and Live in Paris '19, recorded at L'Olympia on 14 October 2019, were released 10 January; while Live in Brussels '19, recorded at the Ancienne Belgique on 8–9 October 2019, was released 15 January. The albums' sales benefit Animals Australia, Wildlife Victoria, and , respectively.
In the first months of the year, the trio of Stu Mackenzie, Joey Walker and Michael Cavanagh, who composed and recorded the material for King Gizzard's latest album Infest the Rats' Nest, teamed up with previous collaborator Leah Senior and others to create a new soundtrack for the classic horror film Suspiria by Dario Argento, with the previous soundtrack created by himself with the progressive rock band, Goblin. Later on 18 April, in an interview Stu Mackenzie reveal that the soundtrack would be released under the moniker, “Professor of the Occult”.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the band postponed their Greek Theatre and Red Rocks marathon shows for later in the year. The band had also produced a film to be released, entitled Chunky Shrapnel from a lyric of the song "Murder of the Universe", from the album of the same name; however, also due to the outbreak, the initial viewing has been postponed for a later date. It was directed by Jason Angus Stewart, a friend of the band who does visuals for their live shows and who also directed the music videos for the singles from Infest the Rat’s Nest. The band decided to stream the film live for 24 hours from 17 April 6 PM to 18 April 6 PM. A double-live album of the concert film will also be released with physical pre-orders starting on 10 April and available for streaming on 24 April. The band released three different limited edition copies of Chunky Shrapnel for pre-order. One of the editions, the "Copper Nitrate" wax pressing edition, sold out on the Flightless website within three minutes of being posted. The other limited edition copies sold out within an hour.
In an April interview, the band stated that, during lockdown, they had worked on new material for upcoming albums. Mackenzie reported that one will be “pretty chill”, another “kind of jazzy”, and “some of it is microtonal” with the possibility of a sequel to Flying Microtonal Banana, with the band also experimenting with electronic music and "messing around with some more polymetric stuff". In the same interview, when asked about more live recordings, Mackenzie also said that the band had recorded every show they played in 2019, and may release them in a similar fashion to Pearl Jam's official live bootlegs.
On June 9, an article stated the band was releasing a limited print of 10 eco-friendly versions of previous albums for Love Record Store Day on June 20. These albums include the 9 LPs released between 2014 to 2017, from I’m In Your Mind Fuzz to Gumboot Soup and a 12” single for Head On/Pill from Float Along - Fill Your Lungs.
On June 18, the band announced the release of a short documentary about their most current album, Infest the Rat’s Nest, called RATTY. It was directed by Jason Angus Stewart, who previously directed Chunky Shrapnel. The film will be available to watch online on June 22 for the rental price of $3 with all the proceeds going to The Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation, BlaQ Aboriginal Corporation, DJIRRA, and Indigenous Social Justice Association Melbourne. After the band released RATTY, it was confirmed through multiple sources that the audience had raised $20,000 for the charities after renting the documentary. The documentary was then made free to watch on YouTube.
In an interview that NME had with Jason Angus Stewart, he talked about the filming process of RATTY, as well as confirming that the band have finished their next album and two music videos for the singles during the quarantine. On July 13, the band released a snippet of a video featuring Stu playing a riff of a new song for the upcoming album. The day after the teaser, the music video for "Honey" was released, incorporating an acoustic microtonal sound and themes centered around the COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the marathon shows and North American tour have been postponed once again. The marathon show at the Greek Theatre will now occur on October 3, 2021, the two marathons at Red Rocks will now occur on October 11 & 12 and the North American tour will start on October 5. In an interview with Stu; he mentions that the tickets from the original dates are still good, that the band really want to go back on tour but can't do to the conditions, and recommends that everyone stay safe until it's over. He also mentions in the interview that "a couple of new records" will be out before the tour starts, and that they'll be released between July 2020 to October 2021.

Musical styles and the "Gizzverse"

The band has explored a wide range of genres, including psychedelic rock, garage rock, acid rock, progressive rock, psychedelic pop, indie rock neo-psychedelia and thrash metal.
Many of the band's releases are based on a unique concept, yet share lyrical themes and feature characters that form a recurring cast, the most famous being Han-Tyumi, a cyborg who appears across multiple albums. Their songs also tell stories of people-vultures, bushrangers and Balrogs, as well as "lightning gods, flesh-eating beasts, sages and space-faring eco rebels". Members of r/KGATLW, a subreddit dedicated to the band, popularised the term "Gizzverse" to describe the overarching narrative of their discography, about which many theories have been propagated. In a 2017 interview, Stu Mackenzie confirmed that the band's releases are all connected, saying, "They all exist in this parallel universe and they may be from different times and different places but they all can co-exist in a meaningful way". In the same interview, drummer Eric Moore stated that even prior to the band's formation, they decided how the story will end.

Band members

;Collaborative members
;Studio albums
  1. 12 Bar Bruise
  2. Eyes Like the Sky
  3. Float Along – Fill Your Lungs
  4. Oddments
  5. I'm in Your Mind Fuzz
  6. Quarters!
  7. Paper Mâché Dream Balloon
  8. Nonagon Infinity
  9. Flying Microtonal Banana
  10. Murder of the Universe
  11. Sketches of Brunswick East
  12. Polygondwanaland
  13. Gumboot Soup
  14. Fishing for Fishies
  15. Infest the Rats' Nest
  16. Untitled 16th Album
;Live albums
  1. Live in Adelaide '19
  2. Live in Paris '19
  3. Live in Brussels '19
  4. Chunky Shrapnel
;Extended plays
  1. Anglesea
  2. Willoughby's Beach