music band from Australia, formed in Melbourne in 2010. The current line-up is Stu Mackenzie, Ambrose Kenny-Smith, Cook Craig, Joey Walker, Lucas Harwood and Michael Cavanagh. They are renowned for their constant exploration of different genres of music, energetic live performances and a very extensive record collection.
The band's discography is truly impressive, with their 25th studio album released last year. Starting with garage and surf rock, the gizzards have released psychedelic and progressive rock albums, then added jazz and folk elements, various forms of metal, and even tried occult rap and synth-pop.
The online publication Stereogum sums it up: "It's a rare band that can convincingly blend the lines between Phish, Neu!"
In 2024, the band plans to play nearly 60 shows around the world, an average of one every weekend, and sometimes more often. Some of their performances are marked with a special "3-hour marathon" tag.
In both their work and their recordings, the musicians are always looking for unexpected solutions. On one album, the vocalist recorded his voice with four "aphones" arranged in a room. On another album, critics described the sound as if it had been recorded in an adjoining room through a wool sock. Inspired by the music of the Middle East and Turkey, gizzards adapted their guitars to the traditional instruments of the region. The musicians experiment with microtonal music and polyrhythms unusual in the Western rock tradition. To the sceptic's question "Why do it?", they answer "Why not".
In the band's latest album, The Silver Cord, the musicians, inspired by an electronic Simmons drum kit they had acquired, have abandoned the guitar-rock sound to focus on synthesiser music. The release consists of two parts: half an hour of the original compositions and more than an hour and a half of extended versions. Interestingly, PetroDragonic Apocalypse, also released in 2023, features a completely different sound, with the musicians paying tribute to the heavy metal sound. The musicians themselves present these two records as different and complementary sides of the yin and yang.
"King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard" is very concerned about environmental issues. In 2020, the single "If Not Now, Then When?" they were awarded the Environmental Music Prize. The musicians donated the $20,000 they received to the non-profit organisation The Wilderness Society. Earlier, they released a short documentary, the money raised from screenings of which the band donated to initiatives helping Aboriginal Australians. Last autumn, the musicians urged their compatriots to support indigenous rights in the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum.
According to Pitchfork, "Fourteen years into their career, the band's stamina is endless. They've crossed ancient Mesopotamia into outer space and still seem to be looking for new territories."
