King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have announced their 28th studio album, Alien Metal, due later this year via p(doom) Records, alongside the release of its first single, ‘Level 5’, and an accompanying video directed by Hayden Somerville.
Following the band’s recent series of electronic-focused “rave shows”, including a free Melbourne performance at Federation Square that attracted around 10,000 fans, Alien Metal marks another dramatic shift in direction for the ever-restless Melbourne six-piece. Building on ideas first explored on 2023’s The Silver Cord, the new record sees the band fully embrace the worlds of techno, house, jungle and hardcore through an extensive modular synthesiser setup affectionately nicknamed “Nathan”.
The album was written and recorded using the same synthesiser rig the band toured with last year, abandoning their traditional guitar-driven approach in favour of collaborative live manipulation and electronic experimentation. According to frontman Stu Mackenzie, discovering Eurorack synthesis fundamentally changed the band’s creative process, leading them to discard years of material before finally finding the record’s identity during a late-night improvisation session that became the foundation for the entire album.
Rather than constructing songs individually, every track on Alien Metal evolved from that single extended performance, resulting in a seamless electronic journey that still retains the unmistakable adventurous spirit that has defined King Gizzard throughout their prolific career.
The newly released video for ‘Level 5’ also features a cameo from acclaimed Australian actor Vince Colosimo, whose film and television credits include Chopper, Lantana, The Wog Boy, Underbelly and The Great Gatsby.
The announcement continues another busy period for the band. This August they return with their sold-out Field of Vision Festival before heading to the United States for three headline performances at Forest Hills Stadium in New York, preceded by another of their increasingly celebrated rave shows in Brooklyn.
Across nearly three dozen albums, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have consistently refused to remain in one musical lane. From psychedelic rock and garage to thrash metal, progressive rock, jazz and microtonal explorations, Alien Metal represents yet another reinvention, this time placing electronic music firmly at the centre of the band’s constantly evolving universe.
