If you liked the hippy happy-go-lucky Fishing for Fishies and were hoping to hear more of the same, you’re about to be brutally disappointed. One would be forgiven for thinking that Spotify actually made a mistake and mislabeled the album, which sounds more like Motorhead than the King Gizzard we heard on the album which was released just four months ago.

Musically, the throwback thrash sound of Infest The Rats Nest sits somewhere between Foo Fighters, Electric Wizard and Slayer. Metal is infamously not a genre to experiment with, but a way of life. And yet King Gizzard seamlessly slips into a heavier, angrier sound with double bass drums and shredding. Given that thrash metal and King Gizzard both have roots in blues and acid rock, perhaps the album should be treated not as an experiment, but as an inevitable phase. Perhaps the point the album makes is that metal doesn’t have to be a committed way of life, it’s a mood we all go through.

Lyrically, the album is a natural progression from Fishing For Fishies. While the April album is an environmental plea, Infest The Rats’ Nest is the story of the end. While the rich retire to Mars, the poor “stare sadly into my beer”, longing to escape. “Superbug” is the deadly contagious, inter-generational bug that never stops. You can take that as a metaphor for whatever you want.

Somewhere between “Venusian 1” and “Venusian 2”, the thrash metal surprise shifts from a jarring one to a welcome one. As a King Gizzard album, it’s impossible to know where it ranks as it simply doesn’t compare to anything he’s made before. As a metal album, however, it’s energized, impassioned and musically terrific.

4/5

The post King Gizzard’s “Infest The Rat’s Nest”: a Tantalizing Account of The End appeared first on Hot Pop Today.

The upcoming record, however, will be nothing like the environmentalist summer anthem we received a few months ago. Instead, the album will take the band in an entirely new and much heavier direction.

The record will be called Infest The Rats’ Nest and will see the band throwing themselves headfirst into the metal genre.

Frontman Stu McKenzie said: “In year 4 there was an older kid who was into Rammstein. I made friends with him and we put together a performance at our school assembly where we headbanged to ‘Du Hast’.”

He continued: “I got whiplash, which I thought was pretty cool. That was my introduction to heavy metal, and soon Rammstein led to Metallica, Metallica led to Slayer, Slayer led to Kreator and Sodom. The German bands really kicked my ass and scared the hell out of me too. Later on, when I picked up a guitar I realized that s**t was too hard to play, so I got into rock ‘n’ roll and garage. That was liberating.”

The metal record is scheduled for release on August 16. You can expect a review from us when it comes out.

The post King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Announce Another Album For 2019 appeared first on Hot Pop Today.

“Boogieman Sam” is hella groovy. If you weren’t dancing already, you will be now. It’s the indie anthem for an American road trip, complete with grilled stickies and dive bars. King Gizzard keeps it simple. He sings: “Causing mayhem / ‘Cause he’s the Boogieman / Bottoms up, flailing / ‘Cause he’s the Boogieman.”

There are two more songs on the album with the word “boogie” in and that’s just as well because that’s what the album has us doing. “Plastic Boogie” is a real tune, complete with an important environmental message. “Oh, the way we wrap it is wrong” King Gizzard sings, before relentlessly cursing our overuse of plastic. The track is hectic but reinforces the message that we need to take our “vendetta against our mother nature” more seriously.

In “The Cruel Millennial”, the King does not throw shade at the millennial but instead owns up to being one. He confesses his addiction to “tablet screens” and wittily owns up to being a “cruel millennial”. Meanwhile, the guitar licks are seriously slick and we’re still bobbing our heads up and down, daydreaming about whiskey and old country roads while vowing to never use plastic straws again.

The rest of the album is just as fun and just as tasty. It’s easy to forget that the band is from Australia as the record sounds so American influenced. “Acarine” gets a little more psychedelic and sounds influenced by the likes of Tame Impala and Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Of course, the harmonica soon makes its return and we’re back on Highway One.

The album finale “Cry Boogie” is more like the King Gizzard we’re used to. It’s groovy, psychedelic and has weird distorted keys and guitar. Ending the album this way is a statement that the road trip’s over and we’re back in the land of Lizard Wizards, where everything is strange and teases us into floating away.

Overall, Fishing For Fishies makes a statement regarding our treatment of our planet (without being preachy) while also containing some damn good tunes. The record is accessible, groovy and a whole load of fun.

4/5

The post King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard “Fishing For Fishies”: Darn Good Fun appeared first on Hot Pop Today.

If you liked the hippy happy-go-lucky Fishing for Fishies and were hoping to hear more of the same, you’re about to be brutally disappointed. One would be forgiven for thinking that Spotify actually made a mistake and mislabeled the album, which sounds more like Motorhead than the King Gizzard we heard on the album which was released just four months ago.

Musically, the throwback thrash sound of Infest The Rats Nest sits somewhere between Foo Fighters, Electric Wizard and Slayer. Metal is infamously not a genre to experiment with, but a way of life. And yet King Gizzard seamlessly slips into a heavier, angrier sound with double bass drums and shredding. Given that thrash metal and King Gizzard both have roots in blues and acid rock, perhaps the album should be treated not as an experiment, but as an inevitable phase. Perhaps the point the album makes is that metal doesn’t have to be a committed way of life, it’s a mood we all go through.

Lyrically, the album is a natural progression from Fishing For Fishies. While the April album is an environmental plea, Infest The Rats’ Nest is the story of the end. While the rich retire to Mars, the poor “stare sadly into my beer”, longing to escape. “Superbug” is the deadly contagious, inter-generational bug that never stops. You can take that as a metaphor for whatever you want.

Somewhere between “Venusian 1” and “Venusian 2”, the thrash metal surprise shifts from a jarring one to a welcome one. As a King Gizzard album, it’s impossible to know where it ranks as it simply doesn’t compare to anything he’s made before. As a metal album, however, it’s energized, impassioned and musically terrific.

4/5

The post King Gizzard’s “Infest The Rat’s Nest”: a Tantalizing Account of The End appeared first on Hot Pop Today.

The upcoming record, however, will be nothing like the environmentalist summer anthem we received a few months ago. Instead, the album will take the band in an entirely new and much heavier direction.

The record will be called Infest The Rats’ Nest and will see the band throwing themselves headfirst into the metal genre.

Frontman Stu McKenzie said: “In year 4 there was an older kid who was into Rammstein. I made friends with him and we put together a performance at our school assembly where we headbanged to ‘Du Hast’.”

He continued: “I got whiplash, which I thought was pretty cool. That was my introduction to heavy metal, and soon Rammstein led to Metallica, Metallica led to Slayer, Slayer led to Kreator and Sodom. The German bands really kicked my ass and scared the hell out of me too. Later on, when I picked up a guitar I realized that s**t was too hard to play, so I got into rock ‘n’ roll and garage. That was liberating.”

The metal record is scheduled for release on August 16. You can expect a review from us when it comes out.

The post King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Announce Another Album For 2019 appeared first on Hot Pop Today.

“Boogieman Sam” is hella groovy. If you weren’t dancing already, you will be now. It’s the indie anthem for an American road trip, complete with grilled stickies and dive bars. King Gizzard keeps it simple. He sings: “Causing mayhem / ‘Cause he’s the Boogieman / Bottoms up, flailing / ‘Cause he’s the Boogieman.”

There are two more songs on the album with the word “boogie” in and that’s just as well because that’s what the album has us doing. “Plastic Boogie” is a real tune, complete with an important environmental message. “Oh, the way we wrap it is wrong” King Gizzard sings, before relentlessly cursing our overuse of plastic. The track is hectic but reinforces the message that we need to take our “vendetta against our mother nature” more seriously.

In “The Cruel Millennial”, the King does not throw shade at the millennial but instead owns up to being one. He confesses his addiction to “tablet screens” and wittily owns up to being a “cruel millennial”. Meanwhile, the guitar licks are seriously slick and we’re still bobbing our heads up and down, daydreaming about whiskey and old country roads while vowing to never use plastic straws again.

The rest of the album is just as fun and just as tasty. It’s easy to forget that the band is from Australia as the record sounds so American influenced. “Acarine” gets a little more psychedelic and sounds influenced by the likes of Tame Impala and Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Of course, the harmonica soon makes its return and we’re back on Highway One.

The album finale “Cry Boogie” is more like the King Gizzard we’re used to. It’s groovy, psychedelic and has weird distorted keys and guitar. Ending the album this way is a statement that the road trip’s over and we’re back in the land of Lizard Wizards, where everything is strange and teases us into floating away.

Overall, Fishing For Fishies makes a statement regarding our treatment of our planet (without being preachy) while also containing some damn good tunes. The record is accessible, groovy and a whole load of fun.

4/5

The post King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard “Fishing For Fishies”: Darn Good Fun appeared first on Hot Pop Today.