ALBUM REVIEW: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation

    If you remember back to the start of the year (which already seems so long ago), you'll remember that Gizzard came swinging into 2023 with a massive bootleg release of their Red Rocks performances from 2022 - the concert garnered immediate praise from fans, and I myself gave it a 10 while also lauding it as a seminal record from the group. Of course, a live show is not the focus of this review, but rather a dive into one of their studio records good and proper. Anyone familiar with Gizzard will know about their ability to switch through a handful of different genres in their recordings, but on this album (which I'll just call PetroDragonic Apocalypse for brevity sake), the Gizz are returning to the sounds of 2019's Infest the Rat's Nest with a dark and thrashing metal approach for this here album - the result is not only just as immediately grabbing and energizing and their previous outing in the genre, but serves as a solid combination with the album's major concepts about environmental destruction and apocalypse on the Earth. The result is a smashing good sonic experience from King Gizzard, and one that's as interesting as it is thought-provoking in the unfolding chaos of the album's story.

    I think its worth breaking down the "story" or concept that's at the heart  of this here release, because isn't just an album about climate change and environmental havoc - no, King Gizzard do something more, and present a certifiably off the wall story with this idea, and run with it from start to finish. The exposition of the album shows a worship of oils and fossil fuels, not dissimilar from a cult ("Motor Spirit"), which eventually leads to incredibly destructive storms and tornadoes that begin to destroy the Earth ("Converge"). As a group of wizards attempt to summon a fire monster amidst a chaos, their attention is shifted to a small lizard, birthing the "Gila Monster", which eventually sprouts wings, becoming a dragon that torches the Earth in fire, and even destroys the final remnants of humanity in space ("Flamethrower"). It may be an extreme and fantastical take on the end of the world, but it's one that still holds many fears of reality, primarily in the overuse of oils and increasing natural disasters. All throughout the lyricism of the album, the band themselves created a certifiably hectic atmosphere with oil-drinking cults, destructive tornadoes, and the climactic scorching of the planet by the Godzilla-esuqe Gila Monster - the group is also similarly clever with revising lyrical motifs throughout, with one of the best examples begin in "Dragon" which recontextualizes an earlier bridge from "Converge", and the album's ending chant of "Motor Spirit". It makes for a conceptually entertaining record through and through, and one that is boosted all the more by the material itself.

    As previously mentioned, Gizzard isn't new to metal music, having already recorded and released the thrash-inspired Infest the Rat's Nest in 2019, which also hosted similar themes of climate disaster - you could consider PetroDragonic Apocalypse a sister album, although this album's themes are more fantasy then sci-fi. With this record, however, Gizzard chooses to take a more adventurous approach to metal, and you can find songs that are more than double the length of the average Rat's Nest song, which is typically the result of some heft jamming, expansive lyricism, or both. Hey, I'm not one to complain, especially when so much of the album kicks as much ass as it does. The opening track "Motor Spirit" does a fantastic job at immediately setting the frantic tone and energetic highs of the album. "Gila Monster" was the album's leading single, and its chorus chant of "Gila! Gila! Gila!" makes it not only an exciting moment, but a truly invigorating and aggressive moment smack-dab in the middle of the album, and it does wonders in carrying the album through its incredibly strong second half. The combination of "Dragon" and "Flamethrower" makes for a vigorous finale to the album, especially as the latter undergoes a metamorphosis from a metal song into a psychedelic jam in the second half. The first chunk of the album is no slouch, either, with the fantastic "Supercell" that follows the expositional "Motor Spirit" and the enjoyable "Witchcraft" smack dab in the middle of the album - things do get a bit weaker in the middle with "Converge" and "Witchcraft" back to back, but the album makes up for this with a soaring second half. This is all without mentioning the group's efficiency in their playing - Joey Walker's lead playing is as fantastic as ever, although I think the real MVP on this album is Michael Cavanag behind the drumkit - his ability to switch rhythms on a dime and his energy make him an incredibly valuable asset here. Fantastic.

    At the time of writing, Gizzard have an upcoming album later this month - I had planned to have this review out in June, but life gets in the way of course. That album, The Silver Cord, is planned to be very different sounding to the material on this record, but designed to compliment PetroDragonic at the same time. If previous releases are any marker of potential, Gizz have maintained an impressive streak of quality throughout their existence, even when it comes to multiple album releases a year, so I'm sure it will still be a great work that can stand on its own. Of course, that will be then; for now, PetroDragonic Apocalypse is an off-the-wall burst of energy from Gizzard, one part stooped in haywire and pandemonium and the other in pure, unfiltered energy that goes right through the members and into the speakers. It's a great studio release from the group, and yet another sign that 2023 may be another highly successful year for the band - until The Silver Cord comes out, this will be more than enough to hold some fans over.

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Listen to PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation.